The Metro

Bees' pollinating presence helps to ensure the vitality of our food systems. 

The work of bees isn’t just happening in fields of wildflowers or quiet suburban gardens. Bees in urban neighborhoods also have an important role to play.

The nonprofit Detroit Hives has turned vacant lots into thriving pollinator habitats and community green spaces. That work includes planting pollinator-friendly trees in neighborhoods that need canopy, beauty and biodiversity. One of the group's recent projects was at the Finney Community Arboretum and Botanical Garden, which they hope to transform into a thriving community space for pollinators and residents alike.

Detroit Hives Co-founders Tim Paule Jackson and Nicole Lindsey joined The Metro on Monday to discuss their work. 

–Segment produced by WDET’s Amanda Le Claire.

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

Public trust in the free press has been steadily declining for decades and President Donald Trump’s combative relationship with the news media has further eroded that trust. He frequently refers to the free press as “the enemy of the people” and “fake news.” 

Those words have had an impact. 

In 2020, American journalists faced a sharp rise in attacks, especially during the Black Lives Matter protests. 

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, “at least 400 press freedom violations were reported, including physical assaults, arrests, and damage to equipment.”  

The committee found that many of these incidents, including roughly 300 assaults, were attributed to law enforcement.

On the campaign trail in 2024, Trump continued his rhetoric against the press.

“To get to me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. I don’t mind that so much,” he told a crowd in Pennsylvania.

Now, after Trump’s first 100 days in office, the Committee to Protect Journalists is sounding a louder alarm. 

It says the beginning of Trump’s term has “been marked by a flurry of executive actions that have created a chilling effect and have the potential to curtail media freedoms. These measures threaten the availability of independent, fact-based news for vast swaths of America’s population.”

Trump has banned reporters from his press conferences. He is selective of which media outlets he speaks to, and he has filed multiple lawsuits accusing media companies of misconduct against him. 

The president is also taking aim at NPR and PBS.

NPR reported last month that the administration plans to request Congress cut funding from NPR and PBS — news and information that is not profit-based and relies on funding from listeners, sponsorships, and the government. WDET is an NPR affiliate station that also would feel strong impacts from these cuts.

NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik joined The Metro on Thursday to talk more about this.

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

Three years ago, “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” sold out shows at the Detroit Opera House for the first time in over a decade.

Now, the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer behind that success is back in Detroit. 

Anthony Davis returns this month to present “Central Park Five,” a gripping opera that tells the true story of the wrongful convictions of five Black and Latino teenagers in the assault of a white female jogger in Central Park in 1989. 

It’s a case that involved President Donald Trump, who at the time became an outspoken voice for convicting the teens. He spoke with WDET’s Ryan Patrick Hooper about the politics of bringing an opera like this to the stage, and how it feels to be back in Detroit.

Performances will take place on May 10, 16 and 18 at the Detroit Opera House. Visit detroitopera.org for tickets and more information.

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

In Canada, Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney won the federal election this week with his message to stand up to President Donald Trump and his policies.

But in three cities in Ontario, liberal incumbents who campaigned against Trump lost their seats. That includes Detroit’s neighbor, Windsor, where the CBC reports Conservatives swept the area for the first time in 95 years. 

Ahead of the election, WDET’s All Things Considered host and Senior News Editor Russ McNamara spent some time in Windsor talking to more than a dozen Canadians. He joined The Metro to share what he learned from those conversations. 

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

In 1938, two young Jewish kids decided they wanted to tell a story of an invincible man, who could move faster than bullets and was a hero to all. 

Superman took flight that year, first appearing in America Action Comics #1. Kal-El, Clark Kent or Superman was representation needed during the rise of fascism in Germany. 

The superhero was created to defeat The Third Reich and Nazi’s plot to take over the world. In American culture, comic books have been a way for readers of all ages to see themselves, in one way or another, as superhuman. 

From the friendly neighborhood Spiderman to the Green Hornet — which was a Detroit Radio program before appearing in comics — these stories told the hardships, joys and sorrows of life through the lens of these fantastical characters.

William Wallwinkel is the lead curator of "Heroes vs. Villains: Detroit’s Comic Book Story," opening at Detroit Historical Museum on Saturday, May 3, which is also Free Comic Book Day.

Vault of Midnight owner Curtis Sullivan joined The Metro on Thursday to talk about the comic book culture here in Detroit and southeast Michigan. 

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

Last week, a federal judge sentenced the former Chief Financial Officer of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, William Smith, to 19 years in prison for embezzling $44 million from the nonprofit over 12 years. 

The Riverfront Conservancy is a pretty prominent organization, responsible for all the changes along Detroit’s Riverwalk. So how did one man manage to dodge accountability? 

Investigative reporter Violet Ikonomova has been covering the story for the Detroit Free Press. She joined The Metro on Wednesday to provide insight into the case. Journalist, author and long-time Detroit Free Press columnist John Gallagher also joined the conversation.

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.

Recreational marijuana has been legal in Michigan for nearly six years, and cannabis culture is thriving. Dozens of dispensaries have opened up across the city and metro Detroit more broadly. 

But even as states like Michigan bring in millions of dollars in tax revenue from legalized cannabis, thousands of people are still sitting in state and federal prisons for marijuana offenses. And, as with many issues in the American criminal justice system, racism is central to this issue.

A 2020 report by the ACLU found that more than six million marijuana arrests occurred between 2010 and 2018. And in every state — including those that have legalized marijuana — Black people are still more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people.

The nonprofit Last Prisoner Project is on Capitol Hill this week as part of a larger effort to lobby for justice reform. Founded in 2019, the organization works within the criminal justice system to help individuals who are still incarcerated for cannabis.

Adrian Rocha, director of policy for the project, joined The Metro on Wednesday to discuss the group's efforts and the stark racial contrast in incarceration rates.

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

A recent report from the American Lung Association found Detroit’s air quality ranks sixth in the nation for smog and soot exposure. 

To many, this news is not entirely surprising. Wildfire smoke from Canada caused people to stay indoors or wear a mask outside two summers ago. And for people who live near Detroit’s heavily industrialized areas, the air quality is a constant issue. 

This caused Detroit to rank third for asthma last year. 

Today on The Metro, we spoke with two guests about the lasting impacts of this type of environmental exposure to human health.

Community Activist Sam Luqman is a resident of Dearborn’s Southend neighborhood, which is surrounded by industrial plants, like Ford's River Rouge Complex and Cleveland-Cliffs' steel mill. Dr. Garen Wolff, an allergy and immunology physician who works in Detroit, also joined the conversation.

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.

President Donald Trump was in Michigan on Tuesday, visiting Selfridge Air National Guard Base before speaking at Macomb Community College. The White House says the trip was in celebration of his first 100 days in office.

WDET’s Alex McLenon joined The Metro to discuss Trump’s message to his supporters on Tuesday and the various legal challenges his administration is facing over its handling of deportations and funding cuts.

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

In Detroit, it’s not entirely uncommon to make a wrong turn that leads you toward another country. Some of us have made this mistake… and found ourselves on the Ambassador Bridge to Canada. It’s annoying — and more than a headache. But recently, this wrong turn has been much more impactful for immigrants. 

After making that wrong turn, more than 200 people have recently been detained at the border this year in a facility that is not equipped for detention. Migrants seeking asylum in Canada who’ve been turned back have also been detained, according to an NPR investigation. 

That investigation led to an inquiry by Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who held a press conference on the matter last week with staff attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan and the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.

Tlaib says the investigation found that 213 people have been detained at the bridge since January, including families with children. At least 90% of the individuals detained were people who made a wrong turn.

Ruby Robinson, senior managing attorney with the Michigan Immigrants Rights Center, joined The Metro on Tuesday to talk more about the detainments.

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