The Metro

The Trump administration eliminated a division of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that focused on blood disorders such as sickle cell. That was recently reported by Outlier Media, and it’s big news for people here. 

That’s because metro Detroit is home to one of the largest groups of people with sickle cell disease in the country. The painful disease is caused by an inherited genetic mutation and most of the people who have it are Black.

Today on The Metro, we revisited a conversation Metro co-host Tia Graham and former WDET reporter Laura Herberg had about the disease last year with Koby Levin, a science reporter for Outlier Media, and Larenz Caldwell, a sickle cell patient who underwent a stem cell transplant six years ago. 

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

The Detroit Documenters covered the Detroit Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) for the first time last week.

The committee meets quarterly to discuss issues related to hazardous materials reporting and planning for emergencies. It's made up of representatives from the Detroit police, fire and health departments as well as from various hazardous material storage facilities and private hospitals in the Detroit area that all work together to plan for emergency situations like industrial fires, explosions or other hazards.

At the meeting last Tuesday, Chris Jodoin, manager of emergency management at Henry Ford Health, warned that proposed cuts by the Trump administration to the Hospital Preparedness Program would negatively affect a variety of local emergency preparedness programs in Detroit.

Metro Producer Jack Filbrandt spoke to Detroit Documenter Larae Baker and Coordinator Noah Kincade to learn more.

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

The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit has made it a mission to be more visible to the community it serves, especially during major community events like the upcoming Movement festival. 

MOCAD will be hosting a Party Safe Resource Fair this Saturday to ensure party goers are prepared for a safe experience and to provide harm reduction resources. The event will also include a DJ popup from Detroit DJ Zoe Talley.

Mark Sleeman, executive coordinator at MOCAD, joined The Metro on Monday to share more about the event.

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

In Rochester, a dense grove of 300 native trees and shrubs is taking root behind City Hall planted by volunteers, city staff and master gardeners.

The 1,000-square-foot micro forest sits on a plot previously used as a garbage dump. Its design is based on a Japanese method called the Miyawaki Technique, utilizing densely planted native trees and on heavily degraded soils.

Rochester City Council Member Marilyn Trent is the founder of the nonprofit Rochester Pollinators, which led the project in collaboration with the city. She says the initiative is just one innovative way to restore natural habitats and green spaces in the community.

Trent joined The Metro on Monday to talk about the forest and her experience working with Rochester Pollinators.

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

Ibram X. Kendi has a new children’s book out called “Malcolm Lives.” In the book, he’s introducing the life and antiracist work of Malcolm X to young people. 

The book continues Kendi’s antiracist work and scholarship. He is the New York Times bestselling author of “Stamped from the Beginning,” and “How to Be an Antiracist.” 

The summer of 2020 was a unique time in America. Many were staying at home, trying to slow the spread of COVID-19. The Trump administration’s popularity was waning. And, there was a surge of interest in the ways that racism was hurting people's health, their politics and their minds. 

But five years later, Americans are a lot less concerned with the ways that racism impacts themselves and others. The Trump administration is now back in power. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts are in retreat. The “Black Lives Matter”-painted street in Washington D.C. has been removed. 

Kendi joined The Metro on Thursday to discuss the new book and how the Trump administration's efforts are making life harder for Black people in America. He joined us ahead of a rally in Detroit, with Author Bernadette Atuahene, to stop tax foreclosures of Detroit homes under $50,000 in value.

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

Movement is right around the corner, and many in Detroit and beyond are getting ready to hit the dance floor together and celebrate.

But dance is much more than just movement — it's a mode of self-expression and a bridge to human connection, or as author Emma Warren calls it, a "technology of togetherness."

In her recent book, “Dance Your Way Home: A Journey Through the Dance Floor,” Warren reflects on how different styles of music like Detroit techno can influence movements, promote connection and create cultural change.

Today on The Metro, we revisit a conversation Warren had with WDET’s Ryan Patrick Hooper last year about the book and why dance is so important to humans.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

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

Today on The Metro, we continue our conversation about the untold experiences of living in public housing on the heels of the opening of the National Public Housing Museum in Chicago. 

The Jeffries Projects in Detroit are gone now — bulldozed and redeveloped like many other public housing developments. But for Kendall Werts, they live on.

He grew up there, in a world shaped by closeness: grandmothers cooking for a crowd, kids packed into twin beds, neighbors passing ingredients through open doors. It was public housing, but it was also public joy, public survival, public love.

Today, Werts runs The Jeffries — a creative agency that’s named for the place that raised him. It’s more than a name. It’s a memory. A map. And a reminder that even in places society was quick to discard, beauty thrived.

He joined the show to talk about what it means to come from a place like that— and to carry it with you wherever you go.

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

They're back. Algae are growing in western Lake Erie as they do every year, posing a potential health threat to people and pets.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration monitors Lake Erie for harmful algal blooms. Each spring, it estimates how large and toxic they might become.

NOAA oceanographer Rick Stumpf tells WDET on a scale of 1 to 10 — with 10 being the worst — this year's bloom should be relatively mild.

"Right now, we're estimating between 2.5 and 4.5," he said.

WDET's Pat Batcheller joined The Metro to discuss NOAA's efforts to monitor harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie, and why their estimates could change.

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

It’s no secret that the city of Detroit has a rich music history. But when most people think of the city’s most famous labels, Motown is usually the first — or only— one that comes to mind. 

But there are many other lesser known labels that contributed to the city’s thriving music scene and deserve more recognition. 

Fortune Records is definitely among them, and yet somehow the influential mom and pop label has largely faded into obscurity.

Detroit author and music historian Michael Hurtt aims to change that with his book “Mind Over Matter,” which he co-wrote with his longtime friend Billy Miller.

The book offers a comprehensive history of Fortune and the many “myths and mysteries” associated with the label.

Hurtt spoke with WDET’s Jenny Sherman and Natalie Albrecht about the label for the latest episode of CuriosiD, and he joined The Metro on Thursday to share more.

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

For over 70 years, the Michigan Department of Education has annually selected a teacher of the year. The winner then serves as a representative and advocate for teachers across the state.

Last week, Cory Rosser  — an alternative education teacher at Quest High School in North Branch, Michigan  — was named the 2025-26 Teacher of the Year. Now in his 22nd year of teaching at Quest, Corey teaches social studies and Imagine Learning courses for students in grades 10-12.

Corey joined The Metro on Wednesday to discuss the Teacher of the Year honor and his approach to creating an engaging environment for students in class.

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