Editor’s note: This episode of The Metro aired prior to the president signing an executive order directing federal funding cuts to PBS and NPR.

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.

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.

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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.

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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. He joined The Metro along with Vault of Midnight owner Curtis Sullivan to talk about comic book culture here in Detroit and southeast Michigan. 

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.

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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.

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.

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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.

Selfridge Air National Guard Base

Selfridge has operated a fleet of A-10 Thunderbolt II Warthogs since 2009. But with that plane retiring, questions over whether the base would get a replacement have muddied its future. Those concerns are now eased. During his visit, President Trump announced Selfridge will receive 21 new F-15s. “This is the best there is anywhere in the world — the F-15EX Eagle II,” Trump said. “This will keep Selfridge at the cutting edge of Northern American air power.” Trump added there are also plans to update the refueling planes at Selfridge. The president was joined at the announcement by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who he credited with bringing the bases need for a new plane to his attention.

Macomb Community College

After Selfridge, the president headed to Macomb Community College, where he gave a campaign-style speech to a crowd of supporters. Trump used his time at the podium to tell the crowd he’s making good on promises, including on tariffs and immigration. He also told the crowd he’s making good on promises on topics like immigration, and took aim at ongoing court battles against his administration. “We cannot allow a handful of communists and radical left judges to obstruct the enforcement of our laws and assume the duties that belong solely to the President of the United States,” Trump said. The administration is facing a number of legal challenges over its handling of deportations and funding cuts. A federal judge ordered the White House to restore $12 million in funding to Radio Free Europe. Despite stock market volatility in his first 100 days, Trump told supporters he feels his economic plan is working. The president also repeated criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates, telling the crowd that Powell is doing a bad job. “You’re not supposed to criticize the Fed,” Trump said. “You’re supposed to let him do his own thing. But I know much more about interest rates than he does about interest rates — believe me.” The Federal Reserve has said it’s holding off on cutting interest rates for now in order to fight inflation. Some economists say tariff uncertainty isn’t making the Fed’s life easier.

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 213 people detained at the bridge since January included families with children. At least 90% of the individuals detained were people who made a wrong turn, she said.

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

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.

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Arab Detroit is constantly in flux. In the last 10 years, new communities of refugees from Syria, Iraq and Yemen have settled here. And each new community brings with them different perspectives of what it means to make it in America — to be American. 

The backdrop is that many have fled political crises that the U.S. has initiated or intensified. 

But when they arrive in the U.S., some Arabs in metro Detroit learn that speaking up about these conflicts can be a thorny matter. Still, the last 10 years have ushered in a new wave of political representation and engagement led by Arab lawmakers and residents.

The new book, “Beyond Refuge in Arab Detroit,“ explores how life is changing for Arab Americans in Detroit and what it means to thrive here during a time of intense political turmoil — both here in the U.S. and also in many of the countries Arabs have fled.

It weaves together writings from multiple contributors who delve into politics, environmental justice and sexual stigma and violence — all through the lens of Arabs in metro Detroit.

Sally Howell is one of the editors of the book, and a professor of history and Arab American studies at University of Michigan-Dearborn. She joined The Metro on one of the last days of Arab American Heritage Month to discuss the book.

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.

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Democratic state lawmaker Donavan McKinney announced this week his intentions to run against Congressman Shri Thanedar in the 13th District primary election next year.

McKinney, 32, grew up in the district on Detroit’s east side and is the second person to join the race, alongside former state Rep. Adam Hollier. 

He was first elected to the Michigan House in 2022 as a representative for the state’s 14th district. He was reelected in the 11th House District last year, after district lines were redrawn. 

Metro Producer Sam Corey spoke with McKinney on the heels of his Congressional bid announcement to discuss his campaign priorities, which include advocating for clean air, clean water, and economic security.

Fact check: During the conversation, McKinney said the 13th District is the second poorest in the country. WDET couldn’t confirm that, but it is among the poorest districts in the nation. The Commercial Driver License law McKinney helped pass will also likely impact about one million Michiganders, not two million as he mentioned. 

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

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Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell is one of 50 U.S. House Democrats demanding a full explanation of an alleged National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) data breach. 

Whistleblower Daniel Berulis, who did IT work for the NLRB, says a representative from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) did more than search for fraud and waste when it visited the agency last month. 

Berulis says DOGE appears to have uploaded a huge amount of data from NLRB’s computers, erased traces of what it did and then left all of the system’s security features turned off. Then someone with an internet address based in Russia repeatedly, but unsuccessfully, tried to access the NLRB computers. 

DOGE never requested access to their systems and the agency’s own internal investigation found no sign of a computer breach,  a spokesperson for the NLRB said. 

Dingell spoke to WDET Senior News Editor Quinn Klinefelter about her concerns and what DOGE could have done with the data. Klinefelter also joined The Metro on Tuesday to recap their conversation.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

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We’re four months away from the primary and already, there’s drama with Detroit’s city council race.

Unofficially, there are 45 people vying for nine seats on the council in the Aug. 5 primary election. District 6 Councilwoman Gabriela Santiago-Romero was supposed to be among them, but didn’t make it on the ballot after being disqualified for failing to pay a campaign finance fee, according to the City Election Department. 

Santiago-Romero called her removal erroneous and “undemocratic,” and is now suing the Detroit City Clerk’s Office and Clerk Janice Winfrey to get her name restored on the ballot.

Detroit reporter Sam Robinson has been covering the story for his Substack, Detroit One Million. He joined the show to share the latest on the race.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

More stories from The Metro on Monday, April 28, 2025:

• Political analysts say Canada’s federal election is the most important in decades
• New MOCAD exhibit to highlight contributions of Black tech innovators
• Detroit public schools have higher than average teacher retention rates, report finds

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

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Good teachers can be hard to find and even harder to keep, especially in districts with limited funding and high needs. 

But a recent report from Detroit PEER researchers at Wayne State University’s College of Education found that Detroit Public Schools Community District has a teacher retention rate above the national average. 

To learn more about the report’s findings, Metro Producer Cary Junior II spoke to its lead author, Bianca Burch.

Lakia Wilson-Lumpkins, president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, also joined The Metro to discuss changes the district is making to retain teachers. She also spoke about the unique and untold challenges teachers currently face.

View the full report at detroitpeer.org.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

More stories from The Metro on Monday, April 28, 2025:

• Political analysts say Canada’s federal election is the most important in decades
• New MOCAD exhibit to highlight contributions of Black tech innovators
• Detroit Councilwoman Santiago-Romero is suing to get back on August primary ballot

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

More stories from The Metro

Many have criticized U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in recent weeks for making sweeping claims about the cause and prevalence of autism and the United States.

At a news conference last week, Kennedy called autism “an epidemic” due to rising diagnosis rates, attributing the rise to “an environmental exposure.” He also called autism “a preventable disease,” promising to launch studies to find out what “caused the autism epidemic” and “eliminate those exposures” by September.

While it’s true that autism rates are on the rise, health experts say the increase is much more likely due to better screenings and higher diagnosis rates in recent years. The definition of autism has also broadened to include a variety of neurodivergent conditions, known as Autism Spectrum Disorders. 

“Autism destroys families,” Kennedy said. “More importantly, it destroys our greatest resource, which is our children. These are children who should not be suffering like this.”

Kennedy’s broad claims mirror a larger problem: There are persistent misconceptions about autism that affect autistic people and the way the world interacts with them. 

To discuss all of this, Autism Alliance of Michigan President and CEO Colleen Allen joined The Metro. She also founded the Henry Ford Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

–WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.

More stories from The Metro on Wednesday, April 23:

• How children’s education impacts parental dementia risk
• Detroit Fashion Revolution Week aims to reshape industry toward sustainability
• What’s behind Dearborn’s drastic drop in fatal overdoses?
• How Community Violence Intervention programs stop harm before it happens

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

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The city of Detroit has a lot of concrete streets, slabs of road and old industrial buildings. 

But green spaces like Palmer Park provide an outlet to connect with nature. The park is home to one of the city’s old growth forests with diverse plant and animal life. 

And it’s just one of many spaces in Detroit hosting Earth Day celebrations and events this week to inspire environmental awareness and encourage community involvement.

On Sunday, the park will host Art in the Trees, an outdoor art exhibition among the trees in Palmer Park’s old growth forest featuring large-scale sculptures, music, activities and more.

Event organizer Mark Loeb joined The Metro on Earth Day to share more about the event.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

More stories from The Metro on Tuesday, April 22:

• Detroit’s Pope Francis Center leader reflects on late pontiff’s legacy
• WDET is ‘rooting’ itself in local environmental reporting with tree canopy project
• Detroit Public Library is ready to help in many ways
• Michigan ends mandatory life sentences for 19 and 20-year-olds convicted of murder

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

More stories from The Metro

WDET is embarking on a new project exploring the multifaceted relationship between trees and community health in Michigan.

Amanda Le Claire, lead reporter and managing editor of the tree project, joined The Metro on Earth Day to talk about Detroit’s tree canopy and some of the most recent stories produced by the WDET newsroom.

Le Claire also shared a conversation she had with Andrew “Birch” Kemp, executive director of Arboretum Detroit, about a community forest restoration project on Detroit’s east side.

Studies have shown that urban tree canopies help make communities more climate resilient, reduce air pollution, and combat the urban heat island effect — exposing residents to higher risks of heat-related illness and higher cooling costs. 

The tree canopy project will dig into all of these topics and more over 24 months of reporting.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

–WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.

More stories from The Metro on Tuesday, April 22:

• Detroit’s Pope Francis Center leader reflects on late pontiff’s legacy
• Enjoy ‘Art in the Trees’ at Palmer Park in celebration of Earth Day
• Detroit Public Library is ready to help in many ways
• Michigan ends mandatory life sentences for 19 and 20-year-olds convicted of murder

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

More stories from The Metro

Caring for the poor and having mercy for the marginalized were values that played a central role in Pope Francis’ leadership, which touched many parts of the world.

In Vatican City, Pope Francis created a sanctuary for people experiencing homelessness. He called them Nobles of the Street.

In Gaza, a small war-torn parish received daily calls from Pope Francis. The pontiff began making those calls shortly after the war in Gaza started in October 2023. 

In southern France, Pope Francis inspired Le Village de Francois, a community partnership offering shared living spaces for vulnerable people, from the elderly to former sex workers and people with disabilities. 

And in Detroit, the late pontiff continues to inspire the work of the Pope Francis Center, which was renamed in his honor in 2016. Led by Father Tim McCabe, the Pope Francis Center welcomes many vulnerable people through its doors, offering everything from meals and hot showers to access to laundry facilities.

McCabe joined The Metro on Tuesday to discuss the life and legacy of Pope Francis and how the center will continue to embody the pontiff’s cherished values.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

–WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.

More stories from The Metro on Tuesday, April 22:

• WDET is ‘rooting’ itself in local environmental reporting with tree canopy project
• Enjoy ‘Art in the Trees’ at Palmer Park in celebration of Earth Day
• Detroit Public Library is ready to help in many ways
• Michigan ends mandatory life sentences for 19 and 20-year-olds convicted of murder

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

More stories from The Metro

There are more women attending college in the U.S. than men, enrollment data shows. 

And more women have college degrees today than men of the same age. Research shows the more education a person gets, the lower their chances are of living in poverty.

Today on The Metro, we’re having a conversation on why boys are struggling with two people who are working to help Black boys find success right here in Detroit — Black Male Educators Alliance Founder Curtis Lewis and Bottom Line Executive Director Danielle North.

We’re looking at this approach through the Black lens because while all boys are struggling, Black boys are falling behind the most. 

We also asked listeners:

“Why do you think boys aren’t going to college at the same rate?”

Adelia in Detroit said: “There are a couple of discussions about this matter centered around Black boys and men, and their traumas inflicted upon them through centuries and years. And even as recent as days and months, centered around white domination and supremacy…and so that’s the root that has to be kind of rooted out and try to capture it and heal our young men, and our grown young men and our grown older men of color in America.” 

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.

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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. 

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.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

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-Governor 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.

Read more: Mallory McMorrow wants to bring a new generation to the US Senate

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.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

More stories from The Metro on Thursday, April 17:

• Bookstock, Detroit’s largest used-book sale, supporting literacy initiatives across the state
• Auto industry taking an economic turn due to tariffs
• Flint program providing financial support to new moms expands to Wayne County

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

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

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.

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

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. 

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

More stories from The Metro on Wednesday, April 16:

• Labor professor says Trump tariffs’ impact on autoworkers ‘will be very painful’ to watch
• Legendary hip-hop producer J Dilla’s music still beating in Detroit
• Nonprofit aims to conserve bird habitats in metro Detroit

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