On Hand

The Gordie Howe International bridge crossing the Detroit River is nearing completion and is expected to open in the fall of 2025. On this episode of the Stateside podcast, we spoke with one of the officials behind the bridge about what it takes to pull of a project of this magnitude.

GUEST:

Grant Hilbers, Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority chief capital officer

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Over the past few months, encampments and protests on college campuses have been a constant in the headlines. But how does news media shape our perception of these actions?

GUEST:

Danielle K. Brown, 1855 Community & Urban Journalism Professorship and associate professor at Michigan State University

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A garden designed to bring awareness and combat environmental racism will launch with a major installment this month - a large work of art that will serve as a gateway to the park, but also monitor air quality.

GUEST:

Jordan Weber, Activist and Regenerative Land Sculptor 

Rukiya Colvin, Sidewalk Detroit Project Manager

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Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

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Ann Arbor Public Schools is facing a projected $25 million dollar deficit in the coming year. So, what happens now? On this episode, we ask the board of education's president about how one of the state's wealthiest school districts ended up here and about the plan for righting the ship.

GUEST: 

Torchio Feaster, AAPS Board of Education President

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Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

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Former President Donald Trump was in Michigan again campaigning for reelection. A few days later Vice President Kamala Harris was in Detroit promoting the strength and importance of the auto sector. And President Joe Biden will be here as well, making a campaign sweep through Detroit.

On this episode of the Stateside podcast, how Michigan is shaping up as a battleground state.

GUEST:

Zoe Clark, host of It’s Just Politics

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Earlier this week a series of tornadoes whipped through West Michigan, destroying buildings in their path. Images of the aftermath show ruined houses and a caved-in FedEx warehouse facility, where 50 workers were trapped due to downed power lines. On this episode, we look at the immediate affects of the storm. Plus we zoom-in on Portage, a city in Michigan particularly hard hit.

GUESTS:

Brett Dahlberg, news editor at Michigan Public

Patricia Randall, mayor of Portage, Michigan

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Yumna Jawad is best known as the Feel Good Foodie, with millions of followers on TikTok and Reels. Her shortform videos gained popularity for combining the easy and comfort of Midwestern cooking, but with Lebanese flavors and sensibilities. Now Jawad has a new cookbook, "Feel Good Foodie" publishing this week. 

GUEST:

Yumna Jawad, Feel Good Foodie

 

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In Michigan, the warmer months mean mushrooms! On this episode, we learn about some of the mushrooms in season, the basics of foraging, and some simple ways to prepare your bounty.

GUESTS:

Jill Grenchik, co-owner of Great Lakes Treats

Aaron Grenchik, co-owner of Great Lakes Treats

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Gaza solidarity encampments have been present at the University of Michigan's Diag for more than two weeks. The coalition of students organizing the protest are calling for the university “to divest from its financial holdings in companies that invest in Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza.” In this episode, Michigan Public reporters joined Stateside to share their analysis of the university's decades-long history with divestment and divestment-related protests. 

Then, several Jewish students discussed what a call for divestment means to them, their different experiences on campus since the conflict began last October, and what they wish to see from the university moving forward.

GUESTS: 

Kate Wells, Michigan Public health reporter 

Adam Yahya Rayes, Michigan Public data reporter 

Ryan Silberfein, UM undergraduate and chair of Michigan Hillel 

Jack Landstein, UM undergraduate and vice president of engagement at Michigan Hillel 

Katya Olson Shipyatsky, UM graduate student and organizer with Jewish Voice for Peace

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Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

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Tiff Massey is an interdisciplinary artist whose work focuses on ideas of community and adornment. She makes everything from custom, wearable jewelry to large scale architectural sculptures. Her work contends with race and class, while evoking the history of West African and Black American culture. Massey's solo exhibit, "7 Mile + Livernois ," opens at the Detroit Institute of Arts May 5th.

GUEST:

Tiff Massey, interdisciplinary Detroit-based artist

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