"The Metro" covers local and regional news and current affairs, arts and cultural events and topics, with a commitment to airing perspectives and uncovering stories underreported by mainstream media in Detroit.
Social links
Follow the podcast
RSS FeedLast week, the Trump administration revoked the EPA's ability to regulate pollution. What does that decision mean for Michigan? What does it mean for DTE and Consumers Energy, which are both tasked with transitioning to clean energy sources instead of relying on things like natural gas?
Liesl Clark is the director of climate action engagement for the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability. She also used to run the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. The Metro's Sam Corey spoke with her about the president’s actions and what the state should do now.
Fat Tuesday or Paczki day has become a staple celebration in metro Detroit since Polish immigrants first migrated here in the 1910s. Michigan is home to over 740,000 Polish Americans. Only New York and Illinois have more. Originally, most lived in the city of Hamtramck, but they moved to suburban cities like Warren and Sterling Heights after the Dodge Main factory closed.
George Kurzatkowski is a board member of the American Polish Cultural Center in Troy. He joined the program to discuss Polish culture and history, and the meaning behind Paczki Day.
The Negro Leagues are widely credited with revolutionizing baseball.
The aggressive, scrappy, base-stealing style of play was an attraction for fans of all backgrounds. The league's founder, Rube Foster, was largely responsible for introducing that mentality and bringing the league to its early success. After Foster passed in 1930, the league continued to innovate for nearly two decades. During that time, the league pioneered night games, fielded some of sports greatest players and broke the color barrier.
Bob Kendrick, the President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, joined the show and details the Negro league’s lasting legacy in baseball, in sports and in American culture.
How is the Trump administration doing overall at managing the economy?
There are bright spots: inflation is down, unemployment is low, and the stock market is strong. But there are also concerns: Prices are still high in many areas, there's been a hiring freeze across a number of industries, and most of the investments energy is are concentrated in artificial intelligence — not spread across a diverse range of sectors.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is traditionally pro-free market, pro-business, and conservative leaning — and that's also true for their partner organizations around the country.
Faye Nemer is the CEO of the Middle East North Africa American Chamber of Commerce, which operates out of Dearborn. She told producer Sam Corey that she generally likes how the Trump administration is managing the economy. She thinks the tariffs are strategic. And while Nemer realizes small businesses are hurting, she thinks that's likely to change as national policies will trickle down to everyone else.
Online child exploitation is a criminal act that targets the most vulnerable people in our communities, kids and teens. Online child exploitation comes in many different forms, including online grooming, enticement and solicitation.
The REPORT act which passed in 2024 changed how we categorize these crimes.
Kathryn Seigfried-Spellar is a professor in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University. She's a renowned expert in the psychosocial and technological factors associated with cybercriminal behavior, with a focus on the criminological characteristics and grooming strategies of online child sex offenders.
Customers staying home. Workers not showing up. Revenue dropping. Small businesses across metro Detroit's immigrant communities are under pressure as federal immigration enforcement reshapes daily life in neighborhoods like Southwest Detroit, Dearborn, and Hamtramck.
Mark Lee, president and CEO of The Lee Group, joins Robyn Vincent to discuss what he's hearing from business owners across Southeast Michigan — and whether the damage can be undone.
Research shows that people who socialize more are more likely to participate in politics — to vote, to show up at meetings, to put money behind a cause. So what does it actually take to get people out into the world and into each other’s company?
Ian Solomon is an artist, journalist, and organizer. He joined the program to discuss what it looks like to build community power.
Rube Foster was a pioneer in American baseball. His efforts in the early 20th century to organize Black baseball teams sparked professional Negro Leagues. The league's style of play, the players, and the business model would go on to arguably alter the course of U.S. history.
Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, joined the show and described how Foster’s grit and business savvy tactics turned a fractured era in baseball into a lasting pillar of America’s favorite pastime.
Water and sewer rates in metro Detroit have climbed nearly 40% since 2018. Now, the Great Lakes Water Authority is proposing one of its steepest increases yet — roughly 7% for water and 6% for sewer — to fund repairs to a system where more than 83 miles of pipe are past their useful life.
Noah Kincade of Detroit Documenters joins Robyn Vincent to break down what's behind the numbers, what residents said at GLWA's January board meeting, and how to weigh in before the board votes on Feb. 25.
In metro Detroit, the vast majority of residents live within a 10-minute drive of a grocery store. But if you don't have a reliable car, it's a different story. Less than half of all residents can reach those same stores by walking, biking, or taking a bus. And the same pattern holds for schools and healthcare facilities.
We need to do better at linking the city and suburbs by bus, bike, and foot. But how? Ben Stupka is the executive director of the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan. He spoke with Robyn Vincent about what the RTA hopes to accomplish this year to connect neighborhoods and people.
