The Metro

The Michigan Global Talent Initiative released a report saying Michigan is on track to add 125,000 college-educated immigrants to the state's job market as part of the state's Sixty by 30 goal.

The goal aims to have 60% of Michigan’s workforce to obtain a post-secondary degree or professional credential by 2030.

Steve Tobocman, executive director at Global Detroit, spoke with WDET's Nargis Rahman about the goal and what resources are being utilized to grow the number of high-skilled immigrants joinging Michigan's economy.

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.

For the first time in over a decade, Mayor Mike Duggan will not be on the ballot for Detroit mayor.

The longtime Democrat announced in December that he’ll instead be campaigning (as an independent) for Michigan governor — opening up a competitive field of candidates vying to fill his shoes.

That includes former Detroit police Chief James Craig, Detroit Councilmember Fred Durhal, Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield, former nonprofit CEO Saunteel Jenkins and attorney Todd Perkins. 

As mayor, Duggan prioritized ridding the city of blight, revitalizing parks and recreation centers, and decreasing crime with the help of initiatives like community violence intervention programs.

Today on The Metro, BridgeDetroit reporter Malachi Barrett breaks down the Detroit mayoral race and the candidates' priorities for the city. We also revisit a recent conversation with Detroit Future City CEO Anika Goss about what she believes the city's new leadership should be prioritize.

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

Americans are struggling to find affordable places to live. With the cost of living, gas and groceries going up, Detroit it is no exception. According to a report from the Detroit Justice Center, Detroit is behind in supplying affordable homes to residents.

Still, this is an issue city leaders have tried to address. For the better part of a decade, officials have invested millions of dollars into affordable housing projects. But the city is still unable to keep up with demand. Those efforts have only multiplied in recent years.

Julia Cardi, an investigative reporter for The Detroit News, has been covering affordable housing in Detroit. She joined The Metro on Wednesday to talk about the city’s past investments and the work that’s happening now to bring more affordable housing to the city.

Also, MiSide Community Impact Network President Sean De Four joined the show to talk about Campbell Street Apartments — Southwest Detroit's new $18 million affordable housing development — ahead of the project's ribbon cutting.

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.

At the beginning of Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's new memoir, armed protesters surround her house.

It’s December 2020, one month after the presidential election that Joe Biden won. He was not the preferred candidate of the armed mob shouting outside Benson's home. 

The protestors yelled “treason” and “lock her up.”

In the moment, Michigan’s top election official tried to play it cool, all while her 4-year-old son sat unknowingly in front of the television watching "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

Benson was indeed scared that night. But as she points out in her book, "The Purposeful Warrior," "standing up to bullies" is nothing new for her. 

She did it investigating white supremacists in the American South, while she was dean of Wayne State’s law school, and during her tenure as Michigan’s Secretary of State amid President Donald Trump's lies of a stolen election.

Benson joined The Metro this week to discuss her new book and why she is running to be Michigan's next governor.

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.

There are many faces of housing insecurity and homelessness — sleeping in cars or cramped spaces, the constant fear of eviction, or exhausting, frequent moves. 

It’s an issue hitting young people especially hard. 

Nationwide, kids under the age of 18 experienced the largest increase in homelessness from 2023 to 2024. 

In Michigan, more than 35,000 students experienced homelessness last school year. But research suggests those numbers are much higher. In other words, the problem can be dangerously invisible. 

Detroit Phoenix Center has been working to address this quiet crisis. They provide housing for young people, and services, and support to help break the cycle of poverty.

Now, the center is taking some of these services on the road with a mobile unit. The brightly painted RV offers a place for kids to hang out, shower, snack, and even play video games. 

Courtney Smith, the founder and executive director of the Detroit Phoenix Center, joined The Metro to discuss how this can make a dent in youth homelessness.

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

Pro-Palestine protesters charged last year at the University of Michigan were celebrating in an Ann Arbor courtroom.

That’s because Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel dropped all charges against the protesters. They were facing misdemeanor and felony charges for trespassing and resisting and obstructing police. 

In a statement, Nessel said, “the case has become a lightning rod of contention...and baseless and absurd allegations of bias have only furthered this divide.”

Advocates have doubled down on those allegations of bias, arguing that Nessel’s interest in the case was unusual and displayed a double standard.

Today on The Metro, we revisit our recent conversation with Defense attorney Amir Makled to give more context about the case.

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

In southeast Michigan, there are a few places where home construction is growing a little faster. 

The “exurbs,” including Lyon, Milford and Commerce townships, recorded some of the highest housing permits last year.

Today on The Metro, we revisit a conversation with President of RE/MAX of Southeastern Michigan Jeanette Schneider, who joined the show in January to shed light on this new wave of construction.

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

Housing policies are not just for the current time they’re created in. They produce laws and rules around housing that affects future generations, even if they weren’t intended to. 

Detroit’s Black homeowners have faced systemic barriers due to predatory governance, which generates public revenue through discriminatory policies.

That’s one of the themes of the new book, “Plundered: How Racist Policies Undermine Black Homeownership in America.” The book explores restrictive housing policies such as racial covenants, redlining and property tax over-assessments. 

Professor Bernadette Atuahene, the author of “Plundered,” works at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, focusing on land stolen from people in the African Diaspora. Her research highlights the urgent need for housing reforms to address racial inequities in property ownership.

She joined The Metro on Tuesday to discuss her years spent in Detroit trying to understand the way housing policies have prevented or overturned homeownership for many Black folks in the region. 

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

The event “Essential Things Seniors Should Know About Hoarding” is taking place at the Lincoln Branch of the Detroit Public Library on Thursday, May 8.

It’s organized by Brenda McGadney, an expert in aging. As a social worker, her focus was gerontology. But she says her work did not prepare her to deal with the disease her mother struggled with as she aged.

Almost 3% of the population is affected by ‘hoarding disorder.’ It’s more common in people over 60 and those dealing with other psychological issues, especially anxiety and depression.

McGadney’s 94-year-old mother died after she fell in a home where she had been hoarding for many years. She shared her story with WDET’s Sascha Raiyn ahead of the event. 

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

Metro Detroit is home to one of the largest populations of Arab Americans in the US. Arabs who are Lebanese, Syrian, Egyptian, Iraqi, Jordanian, Palestinian, Moroccan and Yemeni have cultivated communities here.

The Arab American National Museum in Dearborn was founded in 2005 to celebrate the Arab world and solidify pride in being Arab American. Alongside the opening of the museum, the Arab Film Festival debuted. 

Dave Serio is the curator of the Arab Film Festival. He joined The Metro on Tuesday to talk about the festival's 20th anniversary and the films being presented, including “No Other Land,” an Oscar-winning film not carried by American streaming services. 

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