The Metro

We’re four months away from the primary and already, there’s drama with Detroit’s city council race.

Unofficially, there are 45 people vying for nine seats on the council in the Aug. 5 primary election. District 6 Councilwoman Gabriela Santiago-Romero was supposed to be among them, but didn't make it on the ballot after being disqualified for failing to pay a campaign finance fee, according to the City Election Department. 

Santiago-Romero called her removal erroneous and "undemocratic," and is now suing the Detroit City Clerk's Office and Clerk Janice Winfrey to get her name restored on the ballot.

Detroit reporter Sam Robinson has been covering the story for his Substack, Detroit One Million. He joined the show to share the latest on the race.

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.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) is unveiling a new exhibition next month to help shine a light on the many contributions of local Black artists and thinkers in the world of tech.

Titled “Code Switch: Distributing Blackness, Reprogramming Internet Art,” the project was first launched by The Kitchen — a New York-based artist-driven collective — to highlight the work of Black creative technologists in Harlem from the 1960s to the '90s. 

Opening at MOCAD on May 2, "Code Switch" will feature artists from across the country and highlight Detroit’s tech contributions. The opening reception is free and open to the public. 

To share more about the exhibit, Artistic Director and Co-Director of MOCAD Jova Lynne joined The Metro. Johnnie Turnage, co-founder and creator of Black Tech Saturdays — an organization that’s helping Black people thrive in Detroit’s burgeoning technology field — also joined the conversation.

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

Just across the Detroit River in Windsor and throughout Canada, voters are headed to the polls to cast their ballots in federal elections. 

Political analysts are calling the election the most important in decades. Key issues at the ballot box include the economy, housing, tariffs, and how to address U.S. President Donald Trump's extreme policies.

In this election, Canadians will select Members of Parliament and the political party that will run the government for the near future. Five parties are vying for that power, including the Liberals, Conservatives, and the New Democratic Party. 

Lydia Miljan, a professor of political science at the University of Windsor, spoke with WDET news director Jerome Vaughn about the potential outcome and impacts of Canada's federal elections.

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

For the first time since he won the role 12 years ago, Mayor Mike Duggan will not be on the ballot for Detroit mayor.

The longtime Democrat, whose term expires at the end of this year, announced in December that he'll instead be campaigning (as an independent) for Michigan governor — opening up a competitive field of candidates vying to succeed him as mayor.

During his more than 10 years as mayor of Detroit, Duggan prioritized ridding the city of blight, revitalizing parks and recreation centers, and decreasing crime with the help of initiatives like community violence intervention (CVI) programs. 

Now, with nine people running to replace Duggan, what should they prioritize?

Anika Goss is the chief executive officer of Detroit Future City, a local think tank and policy advocate organization. In a new report, the organization is encouraging the city's next mayor to focus on creating more middle class neighborhoods, generating more wealth opportunities for residents, and establishing a climate-resilient city. 

Goss joined The Metro on Thursday to discuss the report and the importance of this pivotal moment for the city.

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

This year's Detroit Jazz Festival just announced its first wave of artists they'll be bringing to downtown Detroit this Labor Day weekend. It's the largest free jazz festival in the world, and will feature performances from Keyyon Harrold, John Scofield and many more. 

This year's Artist-in-Residence is pianist Jason Moran, who will perform three very different sets over the three-day festival. It's just one aspect of Jason Moran's role this year, which will also include supporting the Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation's educational initiatives and community engagement activities, among other initiatives.

WDET's Ryan Patrick Hooper spoke with Moran about his residency, his musical influences and what he plans to play at jazz fest this summer.

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

U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens launched her U.S. Senate campaign on Tuesday — joining a growing crowd of candidates vying for outgoing Sen. Gary Peters' open seat.

The Michigan Democrat is the fourth well-known candidate to join what is quickly becoming one of the nation’s most-watched Senate races, alongside Democrats Dr. Abdul El-Sayed — the former director of Wayne County’s Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services — and State Sen. Mallory McMorrow. Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers is the only Republican in the race so far.

Peters' retirement announcement has caused a frenzy among Democrats, who hope to hold onto the seat to avoid expanding Republicans' 53-47 Senate majority in a battleground state Trump won in November.

Stevens joined The Metro on Thursday to talk about her Senate campaign and what motivated her to run. 

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Over one million gallons of raw sewage were recently dumped into a Macomb County drain, and officials say Oakland County is responsible.

In early April, Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller sent a letter to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) stating that raw sewage from Oakland County’s Retention Treatment Basin is running into the Red Run Drain at Dequindre Road. 

Pat Batcheller, host of Morning Edition and senior news editor for WDET, has been covering the ongoing feud between the two counties. He joined The Metro on Thursday to share the latest.

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

The Detroit Pistons have local sports fans buzzing going into Game 3 of the team's first-round series against the New York Knicks — currently tied at 1-1.

The young, scrappy team worked their way into the playoffs after having one of the worst records in the NBA last season, at 17-65. For those who’ve toughed it out and have remained hardcore fans, this has been a long time coming.

Before beating the Knicks in Game 1 and ending a league-record, 15-game playoff losing streak, the Pistons had not won a postseason game since the 2008 Eastern Conference finals at the Palace, where the franchise won NBA championships in 2004, 1990 and 1989.

Today on The Metro, Detroit Pistons beat writer for the Detroit Free Press, Omari Sankofa II, and former sports reporter Perry Ferrell joined the show to discuss the various factors playing into the Pistons' exciting playoff run.

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

The city of Detroit reported a historic drop in violent crime last year. There was a 19% drop in homicides in 2024 compared to the previous year — the city's fewest homicides since 1965 — and a 25% drop in non-fatal shootings.

Officials partially attribute these significant drops to community violence intervention (CVI) initiatives like the city's ShotStoppers program. 

Yesterday, in a nearly unanimous vote, Michigan lawmakers in the state House passed a $115 million annual public safety fund aimed to decrease violent crime in communities, with money going to CVI programs. 

Zoe Kennedy, executive director of Detroit CVI group FORCE Detroit, joined The Metro to help shed more light on how community violence intervention works.

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

Many have criticized U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in recent weeks for making sweeping claims about the cause and prevalence of autism and the United States.

At a news conference last week, Kennedy called autism “an epidemic” due to rising diagnosis rates, attributing the rise to "an environmental exposure." He also called autism “a preventable disease," promising to launch studies to find out what "caused the autism epidemic" and "eliminate those exposures" by September.

While it's true that autism rates are on the rise, health experts say the increase is much more likely due to better screenings and higher diagnosis rates in recent years. The definition of autism has also broadened to include a variety of neurodivergent conditions, known as Autism Spectrum Disorders. 

“Autism destroys families,” Kennedy said. “More importantly, it destroys our greatest resource, which is our children. These are children who should not be suffering like this.”

Kennedy’s broad claims mirror a larger problem: There are persistent misconceptions about autism that affect autistic people and the way the world interacts with them. 

To discuss all of this, Autism Alliance of Michigan President and CEO Colleen Allen joined The Metro. She also founded the Henry Ford Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities.

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