On Hand

Have you noticed a barrage of projectiles crashing down on your roof this fall? Much to the delight of squirrels, chipmunks and other creatures, 2021 has been a big year for acorns, walnuts and other fruit of Michigan trees. Today, a horticulturist talks about our unexpected bumper crops.

GUEST:

Bert Cregg, professor of horticulture at Michigan State University.

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Stateside’s theme music is by 14KT.

Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

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How do you capture the sense of a place? The sights, the sounds, its people? Author Jerry Dennis's new book, Up North In Michigan: A Portrait of Place Across Four Seasons, sets out to capture the essence of Northern Michigan. Today, we’re talking to Jerry Dennis about his love of the North Michigan landscape and what it means when the place you’ve known for a lifetime transforms because of climate change.

GUEST:

Jerry Dennis, author

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Stateside’s theme music is by 14KT.

Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michigan’s system of care for people hurt in car accidents is breaking down after the state implemented a package of major reforms to auto insurance laws this summer. That’s left auto accident survivors, and the home health care workers that support them, without the funding they’ve relied on for years.

On today’s episode, we talk to a reporter about how insurance companies are routinely delaying or denying payment for post-accident care—and putting the entire care industry in jeopardy because of it.

GUEST:

Tracy Samilton, reporter at Michigan Radio

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Stateside’s theme music is by 14KT.

Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

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Kent County’s health director was nearly run off the road by an angry county resident, after issuing a countywide mandate for masks in schools. A new bombshell report in Michigan Advance details a health official in distress. Today, the health director's appeal to the county’s Board of Commissioners for help.

GUESTS:

Anna Gustafson, assistant editor of Michigan Advance

Melissa LaGrand, Kent County County Commissioner representing parts of Grand Rapids

Phil Skaggs, minority Vice Chair of the Commission representing some of East Grand Rapids

Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

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Stateside’s theme music is by14KT.

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Doctors, nurses, and hospital staff have seen scores of COVID-19 patients pass away in the past year and a half. They've endured brutally long hours at the hospital. But now, they're up against a different kind of challenge: unvaccinated patients who are in denial about their condition or refuse to accept doctors' advice.

On today's episode, you'll hear from a doctor whose widely-shared Facebook post detailed his frustrations with trying to fight the misinformation he hears from patients.

GUEST: Dr. Matthew Trunsky, pulmonologist with Beaumont Hospital in Troy

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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.

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Back in 1972, a couple of contemporary artists created an installation that explored what it means to be a woman. It was called Womanhouse. And the artists transformed a deserted Hollywood mansion into an expression of womanhood, femininity, and its challenges. Now, nearly 50 years later, a group of Detroit artists are taking on the same concept and reinterpreting it for this present moment. On today’s episode, we’re talking about contemporary feminism and the making of Womxnhouse Detroit.

Reserve tickets here to see Womxnhouse Detroit  

GUESTS:

Jessica DeMuro Graves, multimedia and interdisciplinary artist

Laura Earle, Womxhouse Detroit co-curator

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Stateside’s theme music is by 14KT.

Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

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School is back in session—from college campuses to kindergarten classrooms. And, thanks to the highly contagious delta variant, COVID-19 outbreaks in schools are popping up across the state. On today’s episode, we talk to Michigan Radio data reporter Nisa Khan about the latest state data on COVID outbreaks in public schools, and how to interpret the numbers.

GUEST:

Nisa Khan, data reporter at Michigan Radio

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Stateside’s theme music is by 14KT.

Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

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It’s back to school season, and in this era of COVID-19 with the debate over mask mandates, what this looks like depends a lot on where you live. Today, we hear stories of two Michigan families: One family has an unvaccinated seven year old in a school district that is not requiring masks, and the other has a teenager who is vaccinated in a district with a mask mandate.

GUESTS: 

Erin Allen is a producer for Stateside. 

Rachel Ishikawa is Michigan Radio’s podcast producer. 

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Stateside’s theme music is by 14KT.

Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

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Surrounded by protesters on Belle Isle, former Detroit Police Chief James Craig announced his run for Michigan governor as a Republican. This may not be the announcement he had planned or hoped for, but it could work out in his favor. 

GUEST: Zoe Clark, Michigan Radio program director

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Stateside’s theme music is by 14KT.

Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

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After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, people who hadn’t thought much about domestic security were suddenly painfully aware of what could happen. And people whose business was public safety suddenly had a new set of concerns on their hands. On today’s episode, we’ll get into how that day changed the institutions charged with keeping us safe, and the implications those changes have had on a new era of domestic threats.

GUEST:

Barb McQuade, University of Michigan law professor and former U.S. Attorney for Michigan’s Eastern District

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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.