On Hand

When it comes to streaming services, you’ve got a lot to choose from these days. From the giants like Netflix, Hulu, HBO to smaller platforms catering to a more niche audience. The platform Tubi has become a go-to for fans and producers of independent Black cinema.

And it's not just L.A. or New York creators cashing in on the chance to put their work in front of an online audience. There's a sizable amount of Tubi content that's being written by Black Detroiters and produced right here in the Motor City.

GUEST ON TODAY'S SHOW:

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Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

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The next great Americana singer/songwriter could be not from Tennessee, not from the Carolinas, but from Southwest Michigan. Myron Elkins is an Allegan County native. His debut album, “Factories, Farms, and Amphetamines” is an ode to the Midwest, and every track carries the very grit and authenticity that’s characteristic of rural Michigan life. 

GUEST ON TODAY'S SHOW:

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If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work.

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

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Governor Gretchen Whitmer delivered her fifth State of the State address last night. It’s the first of her second term as governor, and her first in-person address in three years, due to COVID. It was also an opportunity to make her priorities known working with a Democratic majority in the Legislature. Today, we’re recapping what we heard from Gov. Whitmer.

GUESTS:

Colin Jackson, Michigan Public Radio Network

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Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

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Michigan's Upper Peninsula can get buried in snow during the winter. Some simply thank Mother Nature. Others use meteorology to explain it all. But to some members of the Finnish-American community in the Hancock area, the snow is because of Heikki Lunta. Legend has it, the mystical man's dancing has the power to summon snowstorms.

Hilary-Joy Virtanen wrote her master's thesis on the the legend of Heikki, his not-so-ancient origins, and his role in preserving Finnish-American culture.

GUEST:

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Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

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Lyndsay Green is a dining and restaurant critic for the Detroit Free Press, and the first Black person at the publication to hold that role. She finds that a lot of people in the restaurant world don’t expect to see her.

Green recently commemorated her first year at the Free Press by writing about her year in review. The essay, which documents her experience in the food industry as a 4’10” Black woman critic, went viral. She joined us to share the ups and downs of her past year in the Detroit food scene, plus what the fine line between anonymity and invisibility reveals about upscale dining and our culture more broadly.

GUEST:

Support for arts and culture coverage on Stateside comes in part from Michigan's Arts and Culture Council.

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If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work.

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

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In April 2020, Gov. Whitmer assembled a taskforce to target biases and barriers that have long prevented racial minorities from receiving adequate medical care; something that was made abundantly clear during the early weeks of the pandemic. The Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities was called to identify and help reduce the disparities in COVID cases.

GUESTS:

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If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work.

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tapestry in Black is a new podcast that gives Black Michiganders a space to share their experiences in their own words. Each episode of the show is a new story, told from the perspective of someone who lived it. Season 1 features tales from the Civil Rights era from the 1960s to the early 70s.

GUEST:

Khaliph Young, Tapestry in Black director

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Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

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There's a lot to think about when you're at the grocery store: your meal plans, your taste, your budget. But what about your plastic bag consumption? Today on the show, one artist’s cheeky take on the problem of single use plastics through art. And then, the Democratic effort to reverse the state's ban on local plastic bag bans.

GUESTS: 

Robin Frohardt, Brooklyn-based artist and filmmaker

State Senator Jeff Irwin, Democrat representing Michigan's 15th district  

More information about The Plastic Bag Store over here.

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If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work.

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

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This last weekend, nine candidates vying for Michigan Republican Party Chair took part in a forum in Midland. All nine endorsed false claims that the last two elections had fraudulent outcomes. Among the candidates for the top spot are some failed nominees for statewide office, including former attorney general nominee Matt DePerno and former secretary of state nominee Kristina Karamo. Craig Mauger of The Detroit News has been following the candidates as they look to lead one of Michigan’s two major parties.

Guest:

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If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work.

Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the age of 15, Leslie King was sex trafficked in Grand Rapids. For 20 years, she endured sexual exploitation, violence, and drug addiction, until finally escaping in the summer of 2000. Today, King runs an outreach organization in Grand Rapids called Sacred Beginnings. Its mission is to connect with others who may be victims of sex trafficking, and provide them with supplies and support. 

After years spent rebuilding her life, filling out applications, working with lawyers, and receiving denial after denial for expungement petitions, Leslie received a phone call she'd been waiting so long to hear: the governor had pardoned King for crimes committed decades ago when she was a victim of human trafficking.

Hear Leslie King's story of survival, and of her legal battle for a new beginning. 

GUESTS:

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Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way.

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work.

Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.