Stateside

There is something special about strawberry season in Michigan: that brief moment of the year when we trade the pale gigantic plastic clamshell berries for the sweet, deep red jewels of in-season strawberries. On this episode, Chef Abra Berens is back with a recipe that gives those summer strawberries the respect they deserve. 

GUEST: 

Abra Berens, cookbook author and culinary director at Granor Farm 

Looking for mor...

This summer, the Scripps Howard Fund gave Detroit Free Press reporter M.L. Elrick an award for his column “On Guard”, in which he publishes all manner of exposes, in the muckraking tradition. 

Back in 2009, Elrick and his colleague Jim Schaefer shared a Pulitzer prize for covering corruption in the administration of then-Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. 

Elrick is also the creator of a student journalism projec...

For a pilot, ejecting mid-flight is always a bad scenario.

Lt. Kegan "Smurf" Gill narrowly escaped from a fighter jet traveling 695 miles per hour, approaching the speed of sound. It’s the fastest survived ejection in naval aviation history.

“I have a very clear linear memory, right up to the point where I pulled the ejection handle, and after that I have no linear memory,” he said about ...

Everything you hear on Stateside is made possible by listener support. Please become a member today and help keep Michigan Public strong.

In the wake of the U.S. military airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, an Iranian-American scholar at the University of Michigan-Dearborn reflects on how public perception of Iranians has evolved alongside U.S. relations with the country ove...

As the weather heats up in Michigan, so does the excitement of the Ann Arbor District Library's 15th annual Summer Game. We talked to AADL library director Eli Neiburger about the origins of the beloved tradition and how it's changed through the years.

If you're already a Summer Game fan, we've got a treat for you! Enter the word 'STATESIDE' as a summer game code to earn 500 point...

Movement, Detroit’s long-running techno music festival made its way back to the city last month. Dynamic sounds and energetic tempos could be felt miles away from Hart Plaza as massive crowds danced their way through Memorial Day Weekend.

Headlining this year’s festival was Carl Craig, a Detroit music producer, DJ, and founder of the record label Planet E Communications. Last year, a documentar...

This year Mackinac Island celebrates a big milestone; it's been 150 years since it was named a National Park. It was only the second space given that designation in the nation, behind Yellowstone. Mackinac Island is a State Park these days, and it enjoys a rich and intriguing history that creates a sense of timelessness. Today we explore some of the chronology that take the island from Anishinaabe fishing community, to Revolutionar...

The Stonewall Riots in New York City in 1969 brought attention to the harassment and violence that LGBTQ+ people faced in America. But it wasn't just America that was paying attention. We talked to an assistant professor at Michigan State University about how Pride celebrations have evolved in Mexico—which saw its first Pride celebration in 1979.

GUEST: 

Immigrant advocates in Grand Rapids say ICE tried detaining people at routine check-ins. Now, immigrants face a difficult choice: show up and risk arrest, or stay home and break the law.

GUEST:

Gema Lowe, volunteer organizer with the immigrant rights group Movimiento Cosecha GR

Looking for more conversations from 

You may be wondering why you haven’t seen swarms of mayflies yet. Cold water temperatures have delayed their arrival—but don’t worry, they’re on their way. Experts predict the mayflies will begin hatching in Michigan over the next couple of weeks.

Scholar and poet Shonda Buchanan grew up in Kalamazoo with a deep love for Nina Simone. Her new book, The Lost Songs of Nina Simone, captures the singer's spirit in a unique blend of poetry, memoir, and historical reflection.

Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way.

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work.

Music in this episode by ...

A UM student who has been active in the pro-Palestinian protest movement on campus, says he was followed by apparent plainclothes private surveillance teams contracted by the university. And he has video to prove it.

GUEST:

Josiah Walker, UM student

Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way.

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work.

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

See omnystu...

Maykol Bogoya-Duarte is a Detroit high school student, who was just 3.5 credits away from earning his diploma when he was pulled over by Rockwood police for alleged tailgating. Bogoya-Duarte, who was already under an active deportation order and planning to fly back to Colombia with his mother, was detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement during the May 20 traffic stop. He had hoped to finish his high school diploma by the ...

How Lansing native Terk Brunk, aka Sabu, changed wrestling and became a global sports hero for Arab Americans 

GUESTS:

Shaffee Abraham, former radio host and ring manger for Sabu 

Khalil AlHajal, Deputy Opinion Editor at the Detroit Free Press

Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way.
If you like what you hear on the pod, consider sup...

The Senate may soon vote on a federal budget packed with President Trump’s priorities. The bill passed the house last month with major changes to Medicaid. Michigan’s Republican representatives argue these aren’t “cuts” – they say that they’re “protecting” Medicaid by removing “waste, fraud and abuse.” These changes, whatever you call them, could result in millions l...

Alex B. Hill is the principal of DETROITography, an organization that provides data resources for city residents.

"You know, I have Detroit maps in the back of my head. I've made so many of them. And the Great Lakes, I've lived here forever, but I hadn't ever really made a map of the region," Hill said.

As a cartographer and information designer, Hill focuses on Michigan locations, offering new perspectives for understanding these ...