Come November, Detroit residents will decide who among them will lead the city into its next chapter by taking Mike Duggan’s place as mayor.

Today’s episode of The Metro features Todd Perkins, one of the ten mayoral candidates, as well as an Attorney, Founder and owner of The Perkins Law Group. He speaks with our host Tia Graham about what he thinks makes him the one for the job.

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We’re coming off a powerful weekend of action. Millions of people in hundreds of cities were united in “No Kings” protests that swept the country. 

Americans were out to condemn what many see as President Donald Trump’s federal overreach, aggressive anti‑immigrant enforcement, and a military parade that celebrated him and the U.S. Army. 

In Los Angeles, protesters have been out for days and Trump responded with a page from the authoritarian playbook. He deployed thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of active-duty Marines onto the streets of L.A. On Friday, for the first time in recent history, military personnel temporarily detained a civilian.

Here in Detroit, thousands raised their voices at Clark Park, shouting “down with deportations.” Local advocates say ICE agents recently arrested a Venezuelan family in Southwest Detroit moments after their asylum hearing was dismissed. At the McNamara federal courthouse, asylum seekers were detained just as judges ended their proceedings. 

That tactic — attend your immigration hearing and risk arrest — is becoming common.

An almost-graduated Detroit high school student was also detained during a traffic stop on his way to a school field trip. He was deported last week despite many calls from the community urging officials to let him temporarily stay. 

To help us think about this moment, we’re joined by attorney and professor Sabrina Balgamwalla. She’s the director of the Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic at Wayne State University. 

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Father’s Day is this weekend, and today on The Metro we’re celebrating fatherhood, past and present. We’re joined by The Metro dads, Jerome Vaughn, David Leins and Jake Neher, plus listener dads calling in to share what fatherhood has taught them.

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As Detroit’s mayoral race begins to take shape, residents will have to decide which candidates will address the issues most important to them. The candidates have outlined the issues they believe will improve the lives of Detroit residents, but what do residents and community leaders believe needs to be addressed by the next mayor?

Cindy Gamboa is the Executive director of MI Poder– a non profit civic engagement organization that services Michigan’s Latino population- and she’s joined  The Metro today to shed light on the subject.

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Throughout its parks and recreation centers, the City of Detroit puts on its annual Senior Olympics, to make sure the city’s elders are supported and a part of our community. The competition ends this Saturday and concludes with an Awards Dinner Dance at Northwest Activities Center.

Cary Junior II spoke with Crystal Perkins, Director of the General Services Department, about this year’s event and what he’s most excited for—on today’s episode of The Metro.

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Protests against President Donald Trump’s executive order activating more than 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines in Los Angeles have ignited unrest across the country.

This weekend, “NO KINGS” protests are scheduled in multiple cities, drawing people from all backgrounds—including faith leaders like Rev. Barry Randolph. A lifelong Detroiter, Rev. Barry recently spoke at a press conference urging peaceful demonstrations and is now joining us on The Metro to share why he’s calling people to the streets this Saturday.

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As Detroit continues its fight to stabilize population loss and rebuild its tax base, one mayoral write-in candidate believes the solution lies in physically expanding the city.

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Since October 7th, the world has felt different for many American Jews, and antisemitism has been on the rise. More recently, two people were shot dead outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C., and a man with a flamethrower in Colorado attacked Israeli hostage advocates.

At the same time, Israel, a Jewish-majority country, has continued its attacks against Hamas in Gaza. On Sunday, 13 Palestinians were killed and over 150 injured after Israeli troops and American contractors opened fire on crowds waiting for food near two aid distribution sites. Israel’s months-long blockade of food aid has left one in five Palestinians on the brink of starvation.

Since October 7, 2023, an estimated 57,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks. So where does this leave American Jews? What does it mean to hold a range of difficult, sometimes opposing, views on an issue that remains a lightning rod in American discourse?

This tension has long shaped American Jewish identity. Today on The Metro, we explore the evolving challenges faced by American Jews—focusing on the rise in antisemitism and the often-misunderstood distinction between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. While Zionism refers to Jewish nationalism, antisemitism is rooted in prejudice against Jews.

The 1967 Six-Day War marked a major turning point, deepening loyalty to Israel for some American Jews while prompting resistance from others—particularly those influenced by anti-colonial movements during the Vietnam War era. Over time, Israel’s role in American Jewish identity has become increasingly divisive.

Julian Levinson, professor of American Jewish studies at the University of Michigan, works with students—many of them young Jews—to hold space for multiple perspectives. He emphasizes the importance of engaging with the complexity, rather than flattening it.

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The documentary “The Razor’s Edge” opens in the woods of northern Michigan, where people are living in tents beneath a thick blanket of snow. A lone winter hat dangles from a branch; plastic bags and scattered trash mark the spaces between their fragile shelters. They tell us this place is a last resort.

For many people in Michigan and across the nation, living without stable housing is a daily reality. Keith Famie’s “The Razor’s Edge” gives us an unfiltered glimpse into that world, capturing the complexity of life without a stable home, and the harsh connection between poverty and food insecurity.

Famie’s Emmy-nominated documentary explores how real change can happen, and underscores why humanizing the problem matters so much. On the heels of his Emmy nomination, Famie joined The Metro to discuss the people he’s met, the misconceptions he’s challenged, and the lives impacted by this film.

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From the start, Black Twitter permeated popular culture and sparked social change. An ecosystem in it’s own right, Black people went to twitter to read about what went down, and to watch the timeline react with jokes, memes and laughter. 

Professor Sherri Williams joins us on The Metro today to share how Black Twitter transformed the way we watch our favorite shows together, drawing from her book Black Social Television: Black Social Television: How Black Twitter Changed Television and more.

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For a long time, one of Detroit’s biggest challenges was blight. Generational disinvestment and residential flight left about 80,000 homes blighted by 2014. Since then, the city has removed or rehabbed thousands of properties. But blight and disinvestment have given way to a different problem: housing speculation.

To make quick profits, speculators, often from outside Detroit, buy homes cheaply, rent them out, and invest little to nothing in upkeep.

The City of Detroit once filed suit against several major speculators but dropped the cases more than a year ago, leaving many to wonder what happened and what harm remains. Will the city resume efforts to hold them accountable?

Today on The Metro, Aaron Mondry, senior reporter at Outlier Media, explores how rent-to-own housing agreements can be exploitative. These deals often lack legal protections and leave buyers vulnerable to eviction if payments are missed.

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Studies show women live longer than men. According to the CDC, women are expected to live about five years longer. While there isn’t a single explanation for this gap, several contributing factors shed light on the disparity.

Biology and hormones may play a role, along with external factors like job-related risks. Men are also more likely to smoke, drink heavily, and skip annual checkups.

To raise awareness and promote healthier habits, June was established as Men’s Health Month. On The Metro today, we spoke with Harold Neighbors, professor emeritus at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

As Professor Neighbors explained, men often face societal pressures that discourage them from seeking mental and physical health care. A national organization is working to change that.

Demetrius Scott is leading those efforts in Detroit as the local coordinator for the African-American Male Wellness Agency, a nonprofit focused on reducing health disparities among Black men through free programs and services.

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The skies over Southeast Michigan have been thick with smoke due to over 200 wildfires burning in Canada. Fire officials have classified roughly half of those as “out of control.” 

These fires come with many consequences. They have led to thousands of evacuations, with people leaving their homes under duress. The fires have also released vast plumes of smoke, degrading air quality across the American Midwest.

Health experts warn that wildfire smoke poses risks not just to vulnerable groups, but to everyone. Fine particulate matter in the smoke can enter the lungs and bloodstream, leading to serious health issues. 

To discuss the health impacts of wildfire smoke and the broader implications for public health, Dr. Omer Awan joined The Metro.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

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So little is discussed about “The Change”. That’s right Menopause is not widely discussed and can bring a sense of feeling ashamed. It’s something that’s often held close to a woman’s chest, a secret that only she knows. 

While some do share their experiences, many women continue to struggle with finding community when preparing for and enduring menopause. 

Menopause It’s a biological process when a menstruating woman no longer has periods. Each woman experiences the stage differently, whether it’s with hot flashes, sleep problems or a low libido. But all menstruating women will experience menopause; it’s just a matter of when. 

A new comedy special aims to tackle the inevitable process with laughter. “Confessions of a menopausal femme fatale” is a stand-up storytelling concert by multidisciplinary artist, storyteller, and social entrepreneur Satori Shakoor. 

Shakoor is the founder and Executive Producer of The Secret Society of Twisted Storytellers, host of PBS’s Detroit Performs. The special, which was taped at Detroit Public Theatre will be available to stream Thursday, June 12th.

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President Trump is taking direct aim at NPR and PBS—threatening to cut a billion-dollar lifeline from America’s public airwaves. He claims public media is biased and is pushing Congress to eliminate $1.1 billion in federal funding, with a vote expected this week.

Free speech advocates warn the stakes are high. Without this funding, millions could lose access to trusted news, emergency alerts, and a platform for civic engagement. Experts say this move echoes the slow erosion of press freedom seen in countries like Hungary, Turkey, and Venezuela.

Victor Pickard, a media scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, joins The Metro today to explain why weakening public media weakens democracy.

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Cass Community Social Services had its first food pantries open during the Great Depression and is now under the leadership of executive director Rev. Faith Fowler. During her time, she has expanded services, bringing in new resources and broader support.

Iron Chef Detroit was created last year as an annual fundraiser for Cass Community Social Services. This Thursday, Iron Chef Detroit 2 will showcase two Cass Corridor chefs during a head-to-head culinary competition at Eastern Market.

Rev. Faith Fowler is on The Metro today  to talk about Iron Chef 2’s goal of “fighting poverty, creating opportunity, and building community” as well as the support Cass Community Social Services provides for Detroit.

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Iron Chef Detroit was created last year, with the goal to establish an annual fundraiser for Cass Community Social Services. This Thursday, Iron Chef Detroit 2 will showcase two Cass Corridor chefs during the culinary competition at the Eastern Market.

Chef Anthony Lombardo, winner of the first Iron Chef Detroit, and Chef Andy Hollyday– Executive Chef and Partner at Selden Standard-  join us on The Metro today to tell us more about their game plans for the upcoming competition.

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After serving in office for more than a decade, Mike Duggan is in his final term as mayor of Detroit. That has led to a crowded mayoral race, with nine people formally entering to have their names appear on the August primary ballot. Two candidates will advance to the November general election.

Whoever becomes Detroit’s next mayor will have a number of issues to tackle and one of them is transit. The city’s bus and streetcar systems are in need of upgrades. Meanwhile, Southeast Michigan as a whole still lacks a truly regional transit system.

With so many candidates in the race and so many topics to cover, Detroiters are eager to know where they stand on transit. A nonprofit called Transportation Riders United hosted a forum last week, giving each candidate a chance to discuss how they would address transit issues if elected.

Today on The Metro, WDET reporter Alex McLenon joins us to talk about the hour-long forum. The discussion included how DDOT has reimagined its service plans. The department spends a significant amount of time and money training and paying drivers, yet many of those drivers leave for higher wages at SMART after completing their certification.

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Last month, then University of Michigan President Santa Ono announced his resignation from the college after accepting a role leading the University of Florida.

But despite the University of Florida’s Board of Trustees voting unanimously to approve Ono as the school’s 14th president, the Florida Board of Governors — which oversees the state’s universities — voted against it, reversing the decision.

David Jesse, a senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education, joined The Metro to discuss this unprecedented reversal and the political motivation behind it. 

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

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