On Hand

Recycling plastic is more complicated than we would like to believe when we throw a cup or packaging into the recycling bin. To that end, environmentalists, entrepreneurs, and chemists are looking for ways to repurpose plastic that is otherwise discarded. Today on the pod, we talk to one of them about new ways to reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfills. 

GUEST: 

Anne McNeil, professor of chemistry at University of Michigan 

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Music in today's episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

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We’re deep into campaign season, and State Senator Lana Theis – a Republican who represents a part of Livingston County – recently accused Michigan Democrats of wanting to groom and sexualize children in a fundraising email. She mentioned Senator Mallory McMorrow by name, and McMorrow responded with a speech on the Senate floor that subsequently went viral online. Today, we talk to McMorrow about her reaction. 

GUEST: 

Mallory McMorrow, state Senator (D-MI 13th District)

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When something like the shooting death of Patrick Lyoya happens it’s easy to question what city officials have been doing - if anything - to prevent this kind of tragedy. As you might imagine, the answer is, it’s complicated.

GUEST:

Brandon Davis has been working as the first director of the office of Oversight and Public Accountability for the city of Grand Rapids

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Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

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It’s not news to Black folks in Grand Rapids that interactions with the police can go south fast. With the investigation into Patrick Lyoya’s shooting underway, advocates say this awful, awful outcome was all too predictable. On today's episode, you'll hear the latest news on the case–and we'll talk about the police reforms that Black Grand Rapids residents have been waiting on for years. 

GUESTS: 

Dustin Dwyer, Michigan Radio reporter 

Cle Jackson, president of the Greater Grand Rapids NAACP

Kareem Scales, administrator of operations at the Greater Grand Rapids NAACP

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Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

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Tomorrow we'll know who plans to really run for governor, Congress, and the Legislature in Michigan this year. Petition signatures for candidates are due, and for some candidates and causes those signatures come with a big price tag.

GUESTS:

Yue Stella Yu, reporter, Bridge Michigan

Rick Pluta, Capitol Bureau Chief, Michigan Public Radio Network

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Stateside’s theme music is by 14KT.

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Today, one Grand Rapids City commissioner talks about next steps after the shooting death of Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old Congolese refugee. He was killed after a traffic stop in Grand Rapids on April 4. It’s a story that’s rocked the community - especially since Grand Rapids Police Department released video of the incident. As much as police reform has been a topic in Grand Rapids for years, the shock, and the horror are not going away anytime soon. 

GUEST:

Senita Lenear, Third Ward City Commissioner 

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Stateside’s theme music is by 14KT.

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A Grand Rapids police officer shot and killed a Black man named Patrick Lyoya in a routine traffic stop. The Grand Rapids police chief says to his knowledge, the only weapons recovered at the scene were the officer's taser and firearm. Officials have released footage of the killing, but not the name of the police officer who pulled the trigger.

GUESTS:

Dustin Dwyer, reporter, Michigan Radio

Bryce Huffman, reporter, Bridge Detroit

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Stateside’s theme music is by 14KT.

Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

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Tens of thousands of Afghans have fled their home country after U.S. troops withdrew and Taliban forces seized control of the government last summer. Among them are around 1,400 unaccompanied minors, some of whom have ended up in refugee youth shelters here in Michigan. Today on the pod, we talked to two reporters about the experience of these young people--and what their future might hold. 

GUESTS: 

Anna Clark, reporter with ProPublica  

Melissa Sanchez, reporter with ProPublica

You can read Clark and Sanchez's reporting on the young Afghan refugees here.

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Stateside’s theme music is by 14KT.

Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

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At county conventions all over Michigan on Monday, local Republican party members met to lay groundwork for nominating candidates, and to settle some scores between hardcore supporters of former President Donald Trump and their opponents. This is obviously a big midterm election year for a lot of statewide races and congressional races. Today, we talk with two reporters who covered different county party conventions last night. 

GUESTS:

Clara Hendrickson, Report for American fellow at the Detroit Free Press 

Craig Mauger, Detroit News politics reporter 

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Stateside’s theme music is by 14KT.

Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

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The Big Lie. That’s what some have taken to calling former President Donald Trump’s false assertions that the 2020 election was stolen and that there was widespread voter fraud. 

But if you thought that all the investigations, reporting, and debunking meant that Trump loyalists had moved on, you’d be sorely mistaken. Today on the pod, journalist Byard Duncan talks about his deep dive for Reveal into how the Big Lie is shaping Michigan's next election: the 2022 midterm. 

GUEST: 

Byard Duncan, engagement reporter at ProPublica. You can find his reporting for Reveal here.

Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way.

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

Stateside’s theme music is by 14KT.

Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.