The Metro

Cases of younger people getting cancer — folks under the age of 50 — have been growing. Someone born in 1990 is now four times more likely to get rectal cancer, and two times more likely to get colon cancer than someone born in 1950.

Why? And, what is it like to be a doctor in metro Detroit fielding these cases?

Dr. Thomas Kelly is a gastroenterologist at the Karmanos Cancer Institute. He spoke with The Metro's Robyn Vincent.

Something a little different is happening at Michigan Science Center (MI-SCI)—something that blends culture, community and creativity in a way you don’t see every day.

"House of Harlōw 011: The Quantum Rave" is taking over, turning a space that’s usually about inspiring curiosity in science, technology, engineering, and math, into a dance floor. 

The show is for all ages and is a pay what you can event. It's built around the idea of giving people a space to decompress through music and movement.

What does it look like when a science institution opens its doors to a cultural movement like this? DJ With Love, Harlow and MI-SCI's managing Director of Engagement Melanie Depcinski, join The Metro to talk about the upcoming event.

The safety study behind Roundup was ghostwritten by the company that sold it. Harvard's Naomi Oreskes helped get it retracted. Then the president signed an executive order protecting the weedkiller and shielding its makers from lawsuits.

Oreskes returns to The Metro to break it all down with host Robyn Vincent.

The preservation of history doesn’t belong only to institutions, it lives in the hands, voices and memories of everyday people. 

In Detroit, a new generation of community historians is stepping forward.

The Black Bottom Archives' Preserving Black Legacy Fellowship builds living records of Detroit’s footprint. Through oral histories, archival research, and creative storytelling, fellows archive the stories of their neighborhoods in a year-long program.

All of the fellows' work will culminate in a public exhibit and a festival in 2026 celebrating Black Detroit history.

Lex Draper Garcia Bey is Director of Community Engagement and Programs for Black Bottom Archives. 

We begin the conversation talking about "From the Bottom, Up," an exhibition by Black Bottom Archives on display at the Detroit Historical Society. It's guided by the principle of Sankofa: “go back and get it.”  The closing ceremony is April 5 at the museum. 

In 2020, Detroit DJ and producer Carl Craig was tapped by the Dia Art Foundation in New York City to construct Party/Afterparty—a deeply personal sound and light exhibition that captured the euphoria of the club environment and the loneliness after parties ended. Now, Carl Craig is mixing it up as the Arts Power Up artist in residence at Michigan State University.

Craig is working with a nuclear physics lab called the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) to help explain what they do through an art installation so people like you and me can experience it. Carl Craig joined the show to explain his approach and why he has taken on these art projects.

Federal lawyers who argue deportation cases for Immigration and Customs Enforcement have leased office space in Southfield. The building's owner says the lease prohibits law enforcement or detention on the premises. The neighbors say that misses the point.

What started with six people in a living room has brought together dozens of residents, elected officials, and faith leaders — all demanding the lease be canceled. At the center of it is Lauren Fink, a Jewish mother who grew up haunted by the bystanders of the Holocaust and is determined not to become one.

She spoke with The Metro's Robyn Vincent about the moral weight of silence, the machinery behind deportation, and what it really means to show up for the people next door.

Artificial intelligence is all around us. AI can now create videos and provide analysis — it's even able to code. Where should we be using it?  And, where should we be limiting its use?

Penelope Tsernoglou is a Democrat representing East Lansing in the state House who has been regulating AI. She helped to outlaw the use of AI to create deepfakes, and supported legislation that would ban employers from using AI to make decisions about wages, and hiring and firing workers. Tsernoglou also wants to prevent AI from determining claims in the healthcare marketplace. But she sponsored legislation to make it easier to construct data centers in Michigan.

For someone skeptical of artificial intelligence, how should we be considering the construction of data centers, which would greatly advance the technology? Rep. Tsernoglou spoke with The Metro's Robyn Vincent about this and more. 

Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat is one of the most expensive races in the country. The Republican side is settled. The Democratic side is not.

Congresswoman Haley Stevens, State Senator Mallory McMorrow, and physician Abdul El-Sayed are running for the nomination — and they disagree on healthcare, ICE, Israel, campaign money, and the future of their own party. 

Host Robyn Vincent talks with WDET's Russ McNamara about what sets them apart.

For over 30 years, silent films were a major attraction at theaters. But in the 1920s “talkies” were born, making silent films obsolete. Despite that, its visual storytelling and compositional techniques shaped the work of "talkie" films since. 

The Senate Theater aims to honor that history by bringing the silent film era experience to Detroit.

Dennis Scott, a long-time theater organist and composer joined the show alongside historian and organist John Lauter. Scott will compose for a screening of the silent film “Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans” live at the Senate Theater. He will also host a hands-on workshop for anyone interested in learning how to play the organ. 

The music once sung by enslaved Africans is foundational to modern Christian and Gospel music. The music that was once used to give hope is preserved in various places throughout the country, including right here in Detroit. 

On the evening of October 29, 1978 in Detroit, the first Classical Roots Concert happened on the eastside. The concert included the best musicians in the area, local leaders and spiritual leaders.

This year marks 48 years of Classical Roots Concerts. It also marks 25 years of the Dr. Arthur L. Johnson- Honorable Damon Jerome Keith Classical Roots Gala Experience. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) will mark these anniversaries with a multi-year exhibition, celebrating the history, people, music, impact and future of Classical Roots. 

Dr. Daniel Washington is a bass-baritone and tenured Professor of Music - Voice at the University of Michigan. Dr. Washington is also a board member for the National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM) and president of the Detroit Musicians Association.

LaToya Cross is the Communications and Advancement Content Specialist at DSO. Both join Tia Graham on The Metro to talk more about the exhibition and the importance of diversity within classical music.