On Hand

We recently weighed the costs and benefits of Michigan's bottle bill. Today, a listener shares just how much the 10-cent bottle deposit meant to Central Michigan University students in the 70s.

GUESTS:

• Andrea Haupt, listener

• Michael Lehnert, listener

Want to submit a question to On Hand? Do it here:

• Online Submission Form
• Call us: 734-764-7840
• Email us: [email protected]

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work: michiganpublic.org/podfund

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is it really worth our time to haul returnables to the store for just 10 cents each? And is it worth it for Michigan's recycling industry to maintain a bottle deposit system when we already have curbside recycling?

• See Shelie Miller's "Comprehensive Ealuation of MIchigan's Bottle Deposit System" here
• Read more from the Container Recycling Institute here
• See a Reloop and CRI study about the impact of bottle deposits on beverage sales here

GUESTS:

• Susan Collins, president of the Container Recycling Institute
• Shelie Miller, Jonathan W. Bulkley Collegiate Professor of Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan; co-director, Center for Sustainable Systems

Cover photo by April Van Buren

Want to submit a question to On Hand? Do it here:

• Online Submission Form

• Call us: 734-764-7840

• Email us: [email protected]

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work: michiganpublic.org/podfund

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In last week's episode, we dug into the history of euchre and whether the quintessential Michigan game was actually created in the mitten. Turns out, not quite. The trick-taking game came to the Midwest — including Michigan — through farmers who visited New Orleans and Pennsylvania and came in contact with Alsatian immigrants, from a region along the Rhine River where France and Germany meet. The Civil War also helped spread the game across the country.

 

From the 1700s to today, the way we play euchre has evolved in countless ways and we heard from some of you on how you've managed to make the game your own.

Today, we’re sharing your euchre stories.

GUESTS:

• Keith Kim, an Ann Arbor resident who in college managed to skip doing the dishes countless of times by winning a few rounds of euchre

• Eric Farnum from Grand Ledge is one of the masterminds behind what he and his friends liked to call "Bastard Euchre"

Want to submit a question to On Hand? Do it here:

Online Submission Form

Call us: 734-764-7840

Email us: [email protected]

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work: michiganpublic.org/podfund

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For many Michiganders, euchre (pronounced yoo-kur) feels like a quintessentially Michigan game—but was it actually created here? Long story short, no. But the story of how the trick-taking game made its way to the Mitten state and became one of its most popular card game is an interesting one.

GUESTS ON THIS EPISODE:

Jamie and Becky DeVries, hosts of monthly euchre tournament at Oakestown Brewery in Grandville, Michigan
Steven Zink, retired IT professor at the University of Nevada and unofficial euchre historian

Want to submit a question to On Hand or a story about a game of euchre? Here’s how:

• Online Submission Form

• Call us: 734-764-7840

• Email us: [email protected]

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work: michiganpublic.org/podfund

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michigan is the only state in the country with two distinct peninsulas. How did it come to be this way? We share an episode of the Points North podcast that digs into the history of our states boundary lines. They story of our peninsula "up north" actually begins with a boundary dispute down south - in Ohio.

• Find a transcript of the episode here
• Check out more episodes of Points North from Interlochen Public Radio

GUESTS:

• Ryan Schnurr, producer, assistant professor in the Department of Humanities and Communication at Trine University
• Ted Long, author, local historian, and storyteller based in Toledo, OH
• Marty Herschock, professor of history at the University of Michigan-Dearborn

Cover photo from: AlgerCounty.gov

Want to submit a question to On Hand? Do it here:

• Online Submission Form

• Call us: 734-764-7840

• Email us: [email protected]

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work: michiganpublic.org/podfund

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rory McHarg was so intrigued by the trout label on Bell's Two Hearted Ale he tracked down the artist and made a documentary about him. The film is screening in Traverse City May 1-2, 2026.

GUEST ON THIS EPISODE:

• Rory McHarg, filmmaker, A Two Hearted Tale

Take our Michigan Beer Quiz to test your knowledge.

Have a question or story for On Hand? Submit here:

• Online Submission Form
• Call us: 734-764-7840
• Email us: [email protected]

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work: michiganpublic.org/podfund

 

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ask just about any beer drinker in the state and they will tell you their favorite Michigan brewery and craft beer. That's because our state has many high-quality breweries to choose from, often ranking high among all states for craft beer culture. But why? And how did it get like this? We break down Michigan's beer history.

Take our Michigan Beer Quiz to test your knowledge.

GUESTS ON THIS EPISODE:

Mickey Lyons, journalist, historian, and "barcheologist" 

Terry Rostic, founder of Black Calder Brewing Co.

Larry Bell, founder of Bell's Brewery

 

Got a home brewing story? Are you John Stroh? Have a question for On Hand? Submit here:

• Online Submission Form
• Call us: 734-764-7840
• Email us: [email protected]

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work: michiganpublic.org/podfund

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One listener shares memories of going to Angelo's Coney Island through the pages of his journal. Also: Patti Smith's Lafayette meet-cute, and your emails.

Have a story for us, or a question about oh-so-Michigan things?
Bring it on!

Here's our easy-to-use submission form.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ask 10 different Michiganders where the best coney is and you'll get 10 different answers. But where does this dog with meat sauce come from, and why do we call our diners Coney Islands? We dig into the debate about who does coney dogs best, and dig deep into the coney history. 

GUESTS ON THIS EPISODE:

• Damon Smith, coney enthusiast, TikTok and IG content creator, westside Detroiter with an opinion
• Katherine Yung, journalist and co-author of a book called Coney Detroit
• Joe Grimm, journalist and co-author of Coney Detroit 

Got a late-night Coney Island story? A family coney dog tradition? Want to submit a question to On Hand or a story about Michigan's political history? Do it here:

• Online Submission Form
• Call us: 734-764-7840
• Email us: [email protected]

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work: michiganpublic.org/podfund

Coney picture: Flickr user Steven Depolo/Flickr

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

West Michiganders Kate Lynnes once ran as a Democratic candidate for Congress against GOP incumbent Rep. Vern Ehlers, in an era when the district was deep red. Lynnes and Ehlers had a fine and cordial repertoire, but during a debate their distinct positions on whether medical marijuana should be legal made their political differences glaringly obvious.

GUEST ON THIS EPISODE:

Kate Lynnes, west Michigan resident and former Democratic candidate for Congress

 

Want to submit a question to On Hand or a story about Michigan's political history? Do it here:

• Online Submission Form
• Call us: 734-764-7840
• Email us: [email protected]

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work: michiganpublic.org/podfund

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.