The Metro

Some of the first Arabs came to Detroit by way of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

The fair recreated far flung parts of the world with exhibitions such as “Cairo Street," which featured a mosque and mausoleum and ancient Egyptian architecture. Performers from the Middle East traveled to the fair to be part of Cairo Street, along with recreations of city streets from Marrakech to Istanbul.

These exhibits captured for a Western audience some of the unknown sounds and sights of the Middle East. Meanwhile, many of the Middle Eastern performers stayed in the U.S. and made their way to metro Detroit amid the promise of thriving industry and a growing community of immigrants.

Later on in the Great Lakes, Yemeni sailors were commanding the waves and using their seafaring acumen to make a living in Michigan. 

For Arab American Heritage Month, we’re exploring some of this untold history with Sally Howell, professor of History and Arab American Studies at University of Michigan-Dearborn.

She joined The Metro to tell us more about what she has learned chronicling Arab history in metro Detroit.

Also, Metro co-host Tia Graham spoke with Arab American National Museum Curator Dean Nasreddine about the museum's latest exhibit, "Seeing the Southend," which is on view through July 31.

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

The United States spends more on health care costs than any other rich nation, yet maternal death rates remain alarmingly higher than comparable countries.

Those risks are much higher for Black women, who are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White woman, according the CDC. Racial disparities in quality health care, underlying chronic conditions and social determinants of health are all contributing factors to pregnancy-related complications.

Last week in honor of Black Maternal Health Week, leaders of the Congressional Mamas’ Caucus put up portraits of Black mothers who died from maternal health-related causes outside the offices of over 50 Congressional members at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.

The installation, titled "In Her Honor," was created by Omari Maynard, a visual artist and educator whose partner, Shamony Gibson, died after giving birth in 2019.

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib , chair of the Congressional Mamas’ Caucus  joined The Metro to discuss the event and help shine a light on maternal health care disparities. Tlaib represents Michigan’s 12th Congressional District, which includes Detroit and Dearborn. 

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

The U.S. health care system hasn’t been great about taking care of expectant mothers, especially moms of color.

Data has shown that stark racial disparities in maternal and infant health have existed for decades, with Black and American Indian mothers more likely to die as a result of childbirth.

In Detroit, a lot of expectant moms face grim outcomes in a number of ways. The city had the highest preterm birth rate at over 15%, according to a recent report from the March of Dimes. 

These statistics speak to a larger problem. People of color, especially Black women, face roadblocks to accessing health care more broadly. They also have worse health outcomes due to factors like racism, financial barriers and historical trauma.

In honor of Black Maternal Health Week, The Metro had a conversation with Dr. Mona Hanna, a Michigan pediatrician who is leading efforts to improve maternal health care and child poverty in Flint.

Her program, Rx Kids, provides cash payments to expectant mothers during pregnancy and throughout the child’s first year to accommodate families’ basic needs. The program, funded through public and private dollars, is now expanding to Wayne County.

Wayne State Professor of Emergency Medicine Dr. Phillip Levy also joined the show to discuss the Wayne Health Mobile Unit, which takes health care on the road to low-income neighborhoods in Detroit, creating easier access for pregnant moms. 

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 stock market has rebounded somewhat since last week, but there are still many Michiganders concerned about the state of our economy. They’re worried about what tariffs will do to their business and how the uncertainty is making it difficult to plan ahead. 

This is specifically true of auto suppliers. In a recent Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association survey, nearly one-fourth of auto suppliers said their companies would cut or delay investments during the first month of the tariffs. Roughly 21% of suppliers said modifications to supply chains would be needed and 13% said cutting U.S. jobs would be required.

Laurie Harbour, partner and automotive analyst at the tax advisory firm Wipfli joined The Metro to discuss how car companies are reacting. She’s been working with auto suppliers for over three decades. 

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

As spring arrives, so does Bookstock — Michigan’s largest used book and media sale. 

Now in its 21st year, Bookstock is returning to Laurel Park Place in Livonia from April 27 to May 4. But the event is more than just a sale, it's a mission.

With literacy rates still low in places like Detroit and access to books a continuing challenge, Bookstock helps close the gap by selling and donating gently used books, audiobooks, CDs and DVDs. Proceeds support education and literacy initiatives across Michigan.

Today on The Metro, Honorary Chairperson for Bookstock and longtime Detroit Free Press columnist Neal Rubin joined the show to discuss this effort, known as the Bookstock Fund. The fund awards grants to teachers and organizations working to improve literacy. WDET marketing intern and Bookstock enthusiast Natalie Albrecht also joined the conversation.

The weeklong event kicks off Sunday, April 27 with a pre-sale, a performance from the Walled Lake Performance Ensemble, and the joyful Bookstock Volunteer Parade. Nearly 600 volunteers help organize and staff the sale each year.

Bookstock also hosts a Teacher Appreciation Day, recognizing the educators who often buy books and materials for their classrooms with their own money.

Visit bookstockmi.org for more information.

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

The race for the U.S. Senate in Michigan is heating up. 

Dr. Abdul El-Sayed declared Thursday morning he is running for the state's open Senate seat next year.

El-Sayed, who is running as a Democrat, previously served as the head of the Department of Health and Human Services for Wayne County. Before that, he ran for governor in 2018 and lost in the primary to now-Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. 

Democratic state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and Republican Mike Rogers are also in the running to replace Sen. Gary Peters, who vacates his seat next year.

El-Sayed joined The Metro on Thursday to discuss why he is running, how his experience as a doctor and scientist inform his vision as a political leader, and what he sees as the most pressing issues facing Michiganders.

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

Global warming and climate change poses a significant threat to two-thirds of North American bird species, according to the National Audubon Society.

These impacts are causing many birds to leave their homes and relocate to places more favorable for their species, including in southeast Michigan.

That’s concerning because it’s not just beauty and sweet songs that birds provide to the world, they also play a vital role in our ecosystem — keeping insect populations low, helping to pollinate plants, disperse seeds and more. Without birds, both people and the environment would experience devastating impacts.

Ava Landgraf is the conservation and research coordinator for the Detroit Bird Alliance, a nonprofit working to protect birds and their habitats in southeast Michigan. Landgraf joined The Metro to discuss local species and the important role they play in our environment.

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

Last month, the U.S. government deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a native of El Salvador who has lived in Maryland for the past 15 years — ignoring a federal court order forbidding his removal. 

Garcia, who was detained for alleged association with the MS-13 gang, is now being detained at the Center for Terrorism Confinement in El Salvador. And the Trump administration insists it’s not required to engage El Salvador’s government to bring him back. 

Trump’s defiance of court orders at the national level, is also having a local impact. 

In February, the Trump administration eliminated a legal aid program serving about 26,000 migrant children. The legal aid program was stopped in defiance of a federal judge’s orders. Already, the move has led to the Michigan Immigration Rights Center laying off half of its staff.

To discuss this defiance to court orders by the Trump administration, University of Michigan law professor, legal analyst and former U.S. Attorney General for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara McQuade returned to The Metro.

Editor's note: The Metro reached out to Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall and Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt. We have yet to hear back from them. 

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

What will Michigan’s economy look like one year from now? How about just six months?

This is on many people’s minds as tariffs could hamper the state’s auto industry. Auto suppliers and advocates are concerned tariffs will devastate their businesses. Meanwhile, automakers worry they’ll drive up the cost of cars and reduce sales.

According to a new study by the Center for Automotive Research, Detroit's Big Three automakers could bear almost $42 billion in annual costs from the tariffs. That’s according to a report commissioned by Detroit’s automakers.

Marick Masters, a professor of business, Emeritus, at Wayne State University and an expert on organized labor,  joined The Metro on Wednesday to help us understand how tariffs might affect workers and why United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain is in favor of them. 

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

Detroit’s musical legacy has left an undeniable mark on the industry. The city gave the world Motown and icons like Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin — artists who reshaped modern music. And we can’t forget Detroit’s role in the rise of techno, born from the basements of Belleville and stretched across the globe.

But no one flipped the game quite like producer and artist James Dewitt Yancey — best known as J Dilla.

Dilla wasn’t just a producer, he was a visionary whose beat-making style redefined hip-hop and R&B. With his MPC3000, he crafted soulful, off-kilter rhythms that broke the rules — and built new ones. 

His touch can be felt in the music of Common, The Roots, Erykah Badu, A Tribe Called Quest, and Detroit’s own Slum Village, the group he helped form. Tracks like “The Light” by Common and “Runnin’” by The Pharcyde showcase his genius. And even now, nearly two decades after his passing, artists and producers still study his sound.

J Dilla died from lupus in 2006 at just 32 years old. Still, his sound lives on. From Detroit to Tokyo, Dilla’s music continues to inspire. 

Feb. 7 — Yancey's birthday — was recently designated "Dilla Day" by the city of Detroit. The city also renamed a street in his honor at the corner of Nevada and Charest. And this Thursday, Pershing High School — his alma mater — is hosting an event to celebrate his life and raise awareness about lupus.

Dilla is survived by his two daughters, Ja’Mya Yancey and Ty-Monae Whitlow.

Joylette Hunter, Ja'Mya's mother and public relations developer for the James Dewitt Yancey Estate, and hip-hop educator Quan Neloms joined The Metro on Wednesday to discuss the event and reflect on Dilla's legacy.

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