The Metro

The Trump administration's tariffs on Canada and Mexico went into effect this week, despite economists concerns that the 25% tax on goods could be detrimental to the U.S. and its trading partners.

Shortly after Trump announced the tariffs, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced a retaliatory plan to implement a 10% tariff on Canadian energy, adding that he's willing to cut off electricity exports to the U.S. if Trump's tariffs against Canada move forward. 

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said his country would respond with tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods over the course of 21 days.

The tariffs will impact wide swaths of the U.S. economy, with the auto industries in metro Detroit and Ontario expected to be hit especially hard. 

To discuss those risks and how automakers are responsing, Automotive News reporter John Irwin joined The Metro.

Hear more stories from The Metro on Wednesday, March 5, 2025.

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

There are many religious rituals and traditions practiced around the world where food plays a central role.

Food encourages us to gather with one another and share stories, while particular dishes and cuisines help tell the story of where we came from, who we are and where we hope to go. 

The holy month of Ramadan, which began at sunset on Friday, is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims around the world through prayer, fasting, reflection and ending with a large, celebratory breaking-of-the-fast, known as Eid al-Fitr. Today is also Fat Tuesday, marking the end of the weeks-long Mardi Gras celebration leading up to Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent in the Christian faith.

Today on The Metro, we were joined by three metro Detroit chefs to discuss the common connections food has with cultural or religious traditions and celebrations.

Guests:

We also asked listeners:

"What’s your favorite food tradition?"

Use the media player above to listen to the full conversation.

More headlines from The Metro on March 4, 2025:  

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

"A Domestic Cook Book: For the Kitchen," published by Malinda Russell in 1866 Michigan, is the oldest known published cookbook written by a Black woman. 

The book contains 260 recipes and household tips drawing from Russell’s 20 years of experience cooking in Southern kitchens, her boarding house, and her pastry shop, according to the University of Michigan Press.

Juli McLoone is a curator in the Special Collections Research Center at U-M. One of her focus areas is the evolution of cuisine in various regions and cultures, and she helped to preserve and digitize “A Domestic Cook Book."

McLoone joined The Metro on Tuesday to discuss the preservation process and the unique history behind this extremely rare cookbook. 

More stories from The Metro on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

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

President Donald Trump’s long-threatened 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico went into effect on Tuesday, and economists are warning the tax on goods could be harmful to the U.S. and its trade partners.

Today on The Metro, we revisit two recent conversations about Trump's tariffs with Bharat Ramamurti, senior advisor for economic strategy at the American Economic Liberties Project, and Canadian Economist Jim Stanford.

Hear more stories from The Metro on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

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

At the turn of the 20th century, metro Detroit had one of the largest mass transit system in the United States,

Detroit's Department of Street Railways, the predecessor to the Detroit Department of Transportation, operated hundreds of buses and over 900 streetcars on 20 routes throughout the main spokes of the city — including the streetcar on Michigan Avenue — as well as routes leading to neighboring suburbs.

But over the years, as more families purchased automobiles and racial tensions grew, ridership decreased, and the streetcar system became too costly for the city to maintain. The streetcar tracks across the city have since been paved over, but a new campaign from the Metro Detroit Democratic Socialists of America aims to restore the tracks along Michigan Avenue — a vital hub of Detroit’s historic streetcar system.

Metro Detroit DSA member Melina Herrera joined The Metro to discuss how the organization is working to move the needle on transit in Detroit.

Hear more stories from The Metro on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

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

Educators have been sounding the alarm that cellphones disrupt learning. More than half of public school leaders feel their students' academic performance has been negatively impacted by cellphone usage, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. 

Many public schools already prohibit students from having their cellphones in class, but recently state lawmakers nationwide have taken things a step further — and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is joining them.

Whitmer recently said in her State of the State address that she wants Michigan lawmakers to enact restrictions on school cell usage.

Looking at schools is only one part of the conversation. Nowadays, younger children get their hands on devices well before they enter a classroom. Forty percent of children have a tablet by the age of 2  and exposure to screen time can impact a young child’s ability to develop their behavior and communication skills.

Today on The Metro, we discuss what the impacts of technology on developing children are, both good and bad.

Guests:

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

More headlines from The Metro on March 3, 2025:

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

Long before this city was home to gator shoes, Ford Motor Company and Motown music, before it was colonized by the French and given the name Detroit, this land was called Waawiyatanong.

Waawiyatanong is the ancestral homelands to three of the Anishinaabe nations of the Council of Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Ottawa and Potawatomi. 

And before war dominated our understanding of conflict resolution, the Anishinaabe — like several indigenous nations — used lacrosse to settle conflicts. For Native people, it was also a pastime and a recreational activity. 

The game that many of us know today differs from its origins. European settlers modified it extensively and those changes define the current collegiate and professional forms. 

Access and popularity of lacrosse is growing across the country once more, including here in Detroit.

Detroit Youth Lacrosse League is an organization trying to expand the sport in the city. Founded by the Chandler Park Conservancy, the league offers opportunities for all kids from all experience levels to participate in Olympic-style lacrosse.

Liam McElroy is the head coach of Cass Technical High School’s boys lacrosse team and the Motown Lacrosse Club. He is also the program director at Clark Park. McElroy joined The Metro to discuss the origins of the game and the sport's growing popularity in Detroit.

More stories from The Metro on Monday, March 3, 2025.

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

The Detroit Documenters have been taking notes on growing tensions in Ferndale. 

The Ferndale Police Department has contracted with Flock Safety, an automated license plate reader company, for over a year. Now, city officials are considering renewing the contract with Flock Safety. 

Most of the license plate reader cameras are along the Ferndale-Detroit border, and some people are worried it could result in police disproportionately targeting Black residents. 

The Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to Ferndale’s chief of police in 2014, asking for an investigation into traffic stops in the city. That letter came after several complaints from Black drivers about arrest statistics at the Ferndale-Detroit border. 

Metro Producer Jack Filbrandt sat down with Detroit Documenters Coordinator Noah Kincade to learn more. 

More stories from The Metro on Monday, March 3, 2025.

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

Last week, both the Michigan Democratic and Republican parties elected new chairs. WDET’s All Things Considered Host Russ McNamara spoke with the Michigan GOP's new leader, Jim Runestad, about the importance of building bridges between various factions of the GOP.

More stories from The Metro on Monday, March 3, 2025.

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

It’s been two weeks since streets and basements flooded on Beard and Rowan streets in Southwest Detroit after a 54-inch water main broke. The flooding impacted 400 households, which displaced many people who are now living in hotel rooms.

Since the main broke in February, the city of Detroit and the Great Lakes Water Authority have been repairing street infrastructure and cleaning up flooded basements. 

Great Lakes Water Authority CEO Suzanne Coffey joined The Metro on Monday to explain how the agency has fixed the main, and how it is continuing to repair infrastructure originally installed in the 1930s. Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

More stories from The Metro on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

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