The Metro

Truckers running between Detroit and Windsor finally have a choice of bridges — and a semi pays about half as much on the new Gordie Howe as on the Ambassador: roughly $35, versus $75. But a toll is what you pay to drive across. It has nothing to do with what's in the truck. And on Aug. 19, an additional 50% tariff is set to hit a long list of Canadian goods — wine, cement, plywood, furniture, hockey equipment. So who actually comes out ahead?

Mark Lee has advised small businesses in this region for nearly 20 years. He joins host Robyn Vincent to talk tolls, tariffs, Delray, and whether Canadian visitors are coming back.

Have thoughts? Email the show at [email protected]. The Metro is produced by WDET, Detroit Public Radio. More at wdet.org/metro

What’s So Funny About Detroit? returns to The Old Miami Thursday, July 30. In the Groove’s Ryan Patrick Hooper will host comedians such as Zech, Brett Mercer and Heather Jowett.

Melanie Hearn, an actress and writer from Detroit, will perform as a second-time headliner. She joins The Metro to share more about her career and her connection to Detroit.

Since the pandemic, overdose deaths are continuing to decline in Michigan. The number is dropping quickly in Metro Detroit. State leaders say peer recovery coaches are a reason for the reduction. That work received significantly more money from the state.

What does it look like to create intimacy with someone struggling with addiction, and to help them recover? Pepper Catt is a peer recovery coach with the Alliance of Coalitions for Healthy Communities out of Troy. Catt spoke about addiction and recovery with The Metro’s Sam Corey. 

A pending asylum application was never a legal status. But for decades, filing one within your first year — as the law requires — meant immigration agents largely left you alone while you waited. That's changed.

Attorney Kevin Piecuch runs a free legal clinic in Southwest Detroit. He tells Robyn Vincent that people with pending cases are now being picked up at their homes and their jobs. Robyn also speaks with a young woman detained while her case was still pending — we're not using her real name — and with Pastor Kevin Casillas of the First Latin American Baptist Church.

We asked ICE's Detroit field office to respond. It has not yet done so.

Have thoughts? Email the show: [email protected]

The Belle Isle Art Fair will celebrate 11 years over the course of two days. There will be free admission for those with a state park pass. The festival will feature over a hundred juried artists from more than a dozen states, with a special emphasis on teenage creatives.

Mark Loeb is the director of Integrity Shows and the ongoing producer of Belle Isle Art Fair. Mady Chen is a featured artist of the Belle Isle Art Fair. She serves as the owner of Apple and Thistle Press and the organizer of We The People - A Resistance Art Exhibit. 

They join The Metro to discuss what the public should expect from the event and how the revolution can be found through linocut printing.

WDET is supported by The Belle Isle Art Fair. 

Overdose deaths in Michigan have been declining since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic brought on concerning increase in drug-related fatalities. But, Wayne County's numbers stayed high until 2024 when it saw overdose deaths decrease by 42%.

Wayne County still leads the state in overdose deaths. Black Michiganders are disproportionately affected, with an overdose rate nearly double that of all other residents.

Accessibility to life-saving Naloxone (aka Narcan) and peer recovery coaches have been cited as a few reasons behind the decreases. However, experts say keeping people from becoming addicted to opioids has gotten tougher.  

Avani Sheth, the chief medical officer for Wayne County, says the introduction of drugs like carfentanil pose a challenge for continued overdose prevention. Sheth spoke to The Metro's Sam Corey about why certain communities experience more deaths, what helps patients navigate recovery, and how expanding resources can help local communities.

Detroit remembers the legacy of John ‘Jammin’ Collins, who served as the vice chair on The City of Detroit Entertainment Commission. He did everything—from being a DJ, radio host, booking agent, and label administrator.

In 2021, Collins spoke to Conor Anderson, an audio engineer and producer for WDET. They discuss the shows he produced for the Underground Resistance, his experience with overseas techno, and his kidney transplant.

Michigan is reporting more cyclospora cases than any other state with thousands sick from the food-borne parasite. But the outbreak is really a window onto something bigger.

Dr. Céline Gounder — infectious disease specialist, epidemiologist, and a doctor who still works the wards at Bellevue Hospital — joins Robyn Vincent to explain why America's public health apparatus is eroding. Have thoughts? Email the show at [email protected]

Eight years after ground broke, the Gordie Howe International Bridge is now open to vehicle traffic crossing between Detroit and Windsor. It comes amid political tension between Canada and the U.S.

The U.S. and Canada will split Gordie Howe net toll revenue 50/50 for the next 15 years. That represents a change from the original agreement, which would have seen Canada collect all toll revenue until it paid itself back for footing the entire cost of the bridge deck – splitting revenue with Michigan after that.

WDET's Alex McLenon speaks to host Robyn Vincent about the bridge opening. 

Dr. Carolyn Haliburton Carter is a Detroit historian, professional genealogist, and founder of the Storykeepers Heritage Network. She joins The Metro to discuss the relationship between identity, U.S. history and modern genetic testing. As more people use DNA tests as a doorway to their heritage, Dr. Carter outlines what could be missed if we stop at data instead of entering a realm of living history.