A new coalition wants to curb the influence of corporate money in Michigan politics and unveil the source of political donations. “Michiganders for Money out of Politics” intends to create a ballot proposal to force state-level “dark money” advertisers to disclose their donors. The group plans to take its language to the state board of canvassers for approval this month.

Sean McBrearty is the vice chair of “Michiganders for Money out of Politics” and the Michigan Director for Clean Water Action. He joined the Metro to discuss the initiative. 

An annual showcase of music, dance and culture from across the African diaspora is coming to the Motor City. The AfroFuture music festival will be in Detroit on August 16th and 17th with events planned throughout the week leading up to it. 

The festival's Director of Operations, Akosua Ayim, joined the Metro to explain why they elected to host this year's event in Detroit. The festival’s t-shirt design contest winner, Rohna Battle Woodger, also joined to discuss her experience training at Pensole Lewis College.

State Representative Mai Xiong wants answers about why ICE detained Hmong refugees in Detroit.

She says the people detained are not undocumented immigrants — they are refugees who entered the U.S. legally. The incident has sparked fear and confusion in Southeast Michigan’s Hmong community, prompting calls for accountability.

This issue hits home for Xiong, Michigan’s first Hmong American legislator and a former refugee herself. She represents Warren in Michigan’s 13th House District.

She joined The Metro’s Robyn Vincent to explain what she knows and the lingering questions that remain.

The Metro contacted Detroit’s ICE field office and the Detroit Police Department for details. Detroit Police said they did not know about the detentions. ICE has not responded.

If the buildings, halls and walls of the Cass corridor could speak they would speak for days. The Cass Corridor, now dubbed Midtown, has been through significant changes. Art and culture have long been central to life in the Cass Corridor. A new short film, "Detroit Boi," portrays the neighborhood through the eyes of longtime residents.

Detroit native Mike Targus is a writer and director. He operates Detroit based Mack Black Productions. He also directed “The Corridor. Defended.” which won best in comedy at the 2017 New York Shorts Festival.

Patrick “PT” Trainor is a carpenter, who worked on most of the buildings in the Cass Corridor and he’s one of the voices featured in "Detroit Boi."

The short film premieres at the Old Miami at 8 p.m., August 9, 2025.

Twenty years ago, professor Robert Darden at Baylor University wrote an op-ed in the New York Times in which he called for gospel music from its “golden era” to be preserved. That idea eventually cam to fruition with the creation of the Black Gospel Music Preservation Program. 

Stephen Newby, an ambassador for the program and a professor of music at Baylor University, joined the Metro to explain what “golden era” of gospel music is, why its still being archived today, and how Detroit artists fit into all of it.

Michigan’s skies are blanketed in haze, clouding the outlook for metro Detroiters. Wildfires burning hundreds of miles away in Canada are sending plumes of smoke all over the American Midwest, and that smoke makes breathing hard and sometimes affects our health in untold ways. 

We know breathing wildfire smoke near the source is harmful, but there’s still uncertainty about what happens as the smoke travels. 

Some emerging research suggests wildfire smoke traveling long distances chemically changes and could become even more harmful.

Pulmonary specialist Dr. Erika Moseson has been closely following the issue of wildfire smoke and lung health. She hosts the podcast “Air Health, Our Health,” where she breaks down how things like wildfire smoke  — and how climate change, which is intensifying those fires — affect our health.

Bipartisan bills are stuck in legislative gridlock in both the Michigan House and Senate. Since the legislative term started in January, only six bills have been passed and landed on Governor Whitmer’s desk. That’s despite lawmakers introducing hundreds of bills. What is going on?

Elena Durnbaugh and Nick Smith cover the State House and Senate, respectively. They joined the Metro to explain how dysfunctional lawmaking in Lansing is right now. They co-reported the story, “House, Senate not taking up each other's bills amid low number of public acts.”

WDET’s Sounds Like Detroit Live is a celebration of Detroit’s rich music legacy while uplifting local talent. Tiny Desk Contest contestants from metro Detroit were all handpicked by WDET music hosts. One of those is the multi-talented Corazon Szell.

Corazon was selected by Jeff Milo, the host of MI Local on WDET. She will perform alongside three other artists at Sounds Like Detroit LIVE at Batch Brewing on August 14, 2025. Tickets are $25 and support WDET.

She joined Metro’s Tia Graham to talk more about her songwriting and career.

60 years after the Voting Rights Act was passed, the Jackson Home, a civil rights movement landmark, is coming to The Henry Ford’s Greenfield Village in Dearborn, MI.

The Henry Ford in Dearborn —- which includes the Museum of Innovation and Greenfield Village, acquired the Jackson house in 2023. It was owned by Dr. Sullivan Jackson and Mrs. Ritchie Jean Sherrod Jackson and was the site of organizing for the Selma to Montgomery Marches that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The Detroit Public Library is hosting a presentation by Amber Mitchell, Curator of Black History at The Henry Ford. She will discuss the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act being signed into law and the role the Jackson Home played in the Selma to Montgomery Marches. The discussion will be at the Main Branch of the Detroit Public Library, 6 p.m., Wednesday, August 6.

Guest: Amber Mitchell, Curator of Black History at The Henry Ford

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

Voters in Detroit face a defining choice in the August 5 mayoral primary election. But right now, fewer than 10% of registered voters have participated. Most of those ballots have been mailed in. In‑person early voting, which ended August 4, was minimal. The primary is Tuesday, August 5. The top two vote-getters will advance to the general election in November.

Voter accessibility has also been a question. During the 2021 election, disability advocates filed an ADA complaint saying key voting information, like where and how to vote, was inaccessible online for users of screen readers, affecting thousands of Detroiters. And, some polling locations across metro Detroit remain inaccessible to voters with disabilities.

Detroit’s top election official, City Clerk Janice Winfrey, joined Robyn Vincent to discuss.

The Metro has spoken with all of the candidates running for mayor. You can find those conversations in the podcast feed, or at WDET.org/voterguide2025.