The Metro

Food is a connection to the past and a living memory.  It has a way of reminding the senses that love existed. 

But it’s never just about the food.

It’s about who taught you. It's about who was there to help you stir the pot and give you the spoon to lick the cake batter. It's about the traditions passed down on purpose and by accident. And sometimes it's about learning the hardships that put the food on the table. 

Ifayomi Christine is a writer, director, and lens-based artist. She recently directed the film "Until It Feels Like Worship", which untangles generational grief and trauma through remembrance and release. 

Cornetta Lane-Smith is a Detroit-based filmmaker, writer and producer. She is the founder of Studio 8278. She wrote and executive produced the docu-series "Recipes of Resistance." The series explores how food and conversation help unpack human complexity. 

They both joined The Metro’s Tia Graham to talk more about the film and docu-series. 

Across metro Detroit, some leaders’ stances against ICE have gotten firmer. 

The Detroit police chief is not allowing his officers to work with ICE. Last week, Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor spoke with The Metro about his criticisms of the institution. Now, in Southfield, federal and state lawmakers are trying to stop ICE from opening an administrative office.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, who is running to be Michigan’s Attorney General, has expressed concerns about ICE enforcement, and the presence of ICE agents in her jurisdiction. She spoke with The Metro's Robyn Vincent about that and more.

The Metro reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They did not get back to us with a comment in time for this conversation.

This past weekend, the Iranian diaspora and others — amounting to hundreds of thousands of people around the world — protested the Iranian government. The demonstrations occurred in Germany and Los Angeles and Toronto and across the river, in Windsor.

One of the people participating the ongoing protests is Mahshid Soleimani. She’s a PhD student at the University of Windsor and leads an Iranian student group on campus. She spoke about her perspective as part of the Iranian diaspora with The Metro's Robyn Vincent.

The effort to uplift people with bigger bodies in the 2010s could to be slowing with the growing popularity of weight loss medications. The percentage of U.S. adults who use drugs like GLP-1s doubled from 2024 to 2025. At the same time, obesity rates in the U.S have been declining since 2022. 

Could this be the end of the body positivity movement? What does embracing weight loss drugs say about the shifting standards of beauty in the U.S?

Randy Seeley is the director of the Michigan Nutrition Obesity Research Center at the University of Michigan. He is also a paid consultant to pharmaceutical companies Lilly and Novo which manufacture drugs like Zepbound, Mounjaro and Ozempic. He joined the program to explain how GLP-1s are being used for both health and vanity.

Kendrin Sonneville, an associate professor and Chair of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Michigan joined to talk about how GLP-1 medications are changing the way we view bigger bodies. 

Last summer, the U.S. and Israel bombed Iran's nuclear sites. In January, millions rose up in the largest protests since 1979, and the regime killed thousands in response. Now the U.S. is at the negotiating table.

Middle East scholar Saeed Khan talks with Robyn Vincent about what connects these crises and what most coverage leaves out: what Iranians actually want next.

Monsanto ghostwrote a study declaring their own product, the weedkiller Roundup, safe. It shaped policy for 25 years. Harvard's Naomi Oreskes got it retracted. She joins host Robyn Vincent to explain what went wrong — and what it means now.

Last week, the Trump administration revoked the EPA's ability to regulate pollution. What does that decision mean for Michigan? What does it mean for DTE and Consumers Energy, which are both tasked with transitioning to clean energy sources instead of relying on things like natural gas?

Liesl Clark is the director of climate action engagement for the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability. She also used to run the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. The Metro's Sam Corey spoke with her about the president’s actions and what the state should do now.

Fat Tuesday or Paczki day has become a staple celebration in metro Detroit since Polish immigrants first migrated here in the 1910s. Michigan is home to over 740,000 Polish Americans. Only New York and Illinois have more. Originally, most lived in the city of Hamtramck, but they moved to suburban cities like Warren and Sterling Heights after the Dodge Main factory closed.

George Kurzatkowski is a board member of the American Polish Cultural Center in Troy. He joined the program to discuss Polish culture and history, and the meaning behind Paczki Day. 

Sacred Spaces is more than a tour,  it’s a celebration of cultural stewardship, collaboration, and the powerful role Black creatives play in shaping the city’s identity.

Throughout the month, nearly twenty Black-owned galleries, cultural institutions, and creative spaces have their doors open and are cross-promoting one another, inviting residents and visitors alike to experience the depth, diversity, and resilience of Detroit’s art ecosystem.

Misha McGowan is the gallery director and co-founder of Irwin House Detroit on West Grand Blvd. She also is the creator of Sacred Spaces. We begin the conversation learning more about its origins and what’s happening right now to keep Detroit’s arts ecosystem connected. 

The Negro Leagues are widely credited with revolutionizing baseball. 

The aggressive, scrappy, base-stealing style of play was an attraction for fans of all backgrounds. The league's founder, Rube Foster, was largely responsible for introducing that mentality and bringing the league to its early success. After Foster passed in 1930, the league continued to innovate for nearly two decades. During that time, the league pioneered night games, fielded some of sports greatest players and broke the color barrier. 

Bob Kendrick, the President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, joined the show and details the Negro league’s lasting legacy in baseball, in sports and in American culture.