What happens when the regulatory systems we depend on to protect us break down?

In February, President Trump signed an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act — a wartime authority — to guarantee the domestic supply of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, the world’s most widely used weedkiller. The order extends legal immunity to its producers. It came one day after Bayer proposed a $7.25 billion settlement to resolve tens of thousands of cancer lawsuits without admitting wrongdoing.

The World Health Organization classifies glyphosate as a probable carcinogen.

Separately, the Supreme Court hears oral arguments April 27 in a case that could shut down state-level Roundup lawsuits nationwide. The EPA faces an October deadline to rule on glyphosate safety — with most of its research staff gone.

Last month on The Metro, Harvard historian Naomi Oreskes explained how the landmark safety study behind Roundup was ghostwritten by Monsanto, cited by regulators worldwide for 25 years, and finally retracted after she and researcher Alexander Kaurov documented its influence. Since then, she has identified more scientific research ghostwritten by Monsanto.

To discuss, Oreskes, author of “Merchants of Doubt,” returned to The Metro to join Robyn Vincent.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

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It’s a medical mystery with destructive elements. Our cells divide and grow with unstoppable force. They seize surrounding tissue. They invade from within. 

That’s how cancer works. And cases of younger people getting cancer — folks under the age of 50 — have been growing. Someone born in 1990 is now four times more likely to get rectal cancer, and two times more likely to get colon cancer than someone born in 1950. 

Why? And, what is it like to be a doctor in metro Detroit fielding these cases?

Dr. Thomas Kelly is a gastroenterologist at the Karmanos Cancer Institute. He spoke with The Metro‘s Robyn Vincent about different dietary and environmental factors that may be contributing to rising cancer rates.

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Artificial intelligence is all around us. AI can now create videos and provide analysis — it’s even able to code. What makes artificial intelligence so weird is that it’s not mechanistic like a light switch or a power button. Instead, AI can make decisions on its own. 

So, where should we be using it? And, where should we be limiting its use? 

Penelope Tsernoglou is a Democrat representing East Lansing in the state House who has been regulating AI. She helped to outlaw the use of AI to create deepfakes, and supported legislation that would ban employers from using AI to make decisions about wages, and hiring and firing workers. Tsernoglou also wants to prevent AI from determining claims in the healthcare marketplace.

Yet she also sponsored legislation to make it easier to construct data centers in Michigan.

For someone skeptical of artificial intelligence, how should we be considering the construction of data centers, which would greatly advance the technology? Rep. Tsernoglou spoke with The Metro‘s Robyn Vincent about this and more.

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Detroit’s musical contributions can not be denied. Musicians from across the globe have planted roots here in Detroit that have influenced the sound of Detroit for generations. 

Now, another genre of Detroit’s musical legacy is ready to take center stage nationally and internationally at South By Southwest, a yearly film and music festival that acts as a talent pipeline.

Headlining the showcase are:

• Bruiser Wolf
• Nasaan 

Additional featured artists include

• Neisha Neshae
• DJ Beastie
• B Free
• Asaka The Renegade
• 2Down
• Demaciiio
• Golden Boy Noel
• Que The Boy
• South North Southwest

Adrian Tonon is co-producer of Detroit 313 Selects and former night mayor of the city of Detroit. Neisha Neshae is a recording artist and a featured artist in this year’s showcase. 

Detroit 313 Selects is a local organization with the goal of putting Detroit’s artists in front of global audiences, while growing the creative economy in the city. 

Both Adrian and Neisha stopped by the studio to talk more about Detroit’s Hip Hop community, being an independent artist and the excitement surrounding this year’s SXSW showcase. 

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In 2020, Detroit DJ and producer Carl Craig was tapped by the Dia Art Foundation in New York City to construct a sound installation inspired by the techno party scene. Party/Afterparty was a deeply personal sound and light exhibition that captured the euphoria of the club environment and the loneliness after parties ended.

Now, Carl Craig is mixing it up by going in a new, more scientific direction. He is the Arts Power Up artist in residence at Michigan State University. The residency embeds renowned artists on the college’s campus to collaborate with the university’s scientists.

Craig is working with a nuclear physics lab called the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). What FRIB does is a mystery to most people, so they brought Craig in to help explain it. His job as a world-renowned artist is to learn what FRIB does, then translate it into a sound-rich art installation so people like you and me can experience it.

Carl Craig joined the show to explain his approach and why he has taken on these art projects.

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The music once sung by enslaved Africans is foundational to modern Christian and Gospel music. The music that was once used to give hope is preserved in various places throughout the co untry, including right here in Detroit. 

In 1972, The Brazeal Dennard Chorale was founded by Brazeal Dennard, an American educator and arranger. He wanted to discover new musicians while preserving the spiritual music of the African American experience and culture.

On the evening of October 29, 1978 in Detroit, the first Classical Roots Concert happened on the eastside. The concert included the best musicians in the area, local leaders and spiritual leaders.

Dr. Daniel Washington is a bass-baritone and tenured Professor of Music – Voice at the University of Michigan. Dr. Washington is also a board member for the National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM) and president of the Detroit Musicians Association.

LaToya Cross is the Communications and Advancement Content Specialist at DSO. Both join Tia Graham on The Metro to talk more about the exhibition and the importance of diversity within classical music.

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It began in a living room in Southfield. Six people around a table in February, trying to figure out what to do about the federal lawyers who had just leased office space five minutes from their neighborhood.

Those lawyers work for the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, arguing deportation cases on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They are the legal architecture behind ICE’s immigration raids.

The building is One Towne Square, an 18-story office tower on the Lodge Freeway. The owner, a company called Redico, says the lease prohibits law enforcement or detention on the premises. In a statement emailed to The Metro, a Redico representative said violating those terms would break the agreement. 

“From the beginning, we have been in close communication with our employees and tenants and have had ongoing discussions with city officials and community leaders,” the statement reads. “We will continue meeting with city and community leaders and remain committed to transparency.”

The neighbors say that’s not enough, and the number of them pushing back is growing. Six people in a living room became 150 at a recent rally. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, State Senator Jeremy Moss, and faith leaders also showed up.

At the center of all this is Lauren Fink. She co-founded the Southfield Neighbors Action Committee in that living room in Southfield with her husband, Cameron. She joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to talk about what it means to be a good neighbor when people around you are in trouble.

This story has been updated with Redico’s statement. -Ed

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The Metro is closely watching the race for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat.

The Republican side is settled. Former Congressman Mike Rogers, who lost to Elissa Slotkin by less than half a point in 2024, is running again. This time, he wants the seat Gary Peters is leaving behind.

The Democratic side is more complicated. Three serious candidates are competing for the nomination, and the distance between them tells you something about where the party is right now.

Congresswoman Haley Stevens has Chuck Schumer’s endorsement and millions in support from AIPAC. She is running on expanding the Affordable Care Act and working within existing institutions. State Senator Mallory McMorrow wants generational change inside the party — new leadership, new tactics — but within the current system. Physician Abdul El-Sayed is running to the left of both. He wants Medicare for All, the abolition of ICE, and says Democratic leadership has lost touch with its own voters.

They disagree on healthcare. They disagree on immigration enforcement. They disagree on Israel and Gaza, on whether billionaires should exist, and on who should be leading their own party.

WDET’s Russ McNamara sat down with all three — same questions, same mic — and the answers lay out a party in the middle of an argument with itself. The Metro listened back to that story, then Russ joined Robyn Vincent for some analysis about this moment.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

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For over 30 years, silent films were a major attraction at theaters. The movies relied on visual storytelling techniques and live musical accompaniment rather than dialogue. But in the 1920s “talkies” were born, making silent films obsolete for the average movie-goer. Despite that, the techniques that shaped the genre inspired the work of talkie films since that time.

The Senate Theater aims to honor that history by bringing the silent film era experience to Detroit.

Dennis Scott, a long-time theatre organist and composer joined the show alongside historian and organist John Lauter. Scott will compose for a screening of the silent film “Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans” live at the Senate Theatre. He will also host a hands-on workshop for anyone interested in learning how to play the organ. 

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For over a century, women have been playing baseball. Some of the earliest teams can be traced back to the 1890s. For a brief period during World War II, women played in their own league.

It was called the All American Girls Professional Baseball League and was depicted in the 1992 film “A League of Their Own.” That league lasted 11 years.

Since then, all other attempts to start one have fallen short. Will the new women’s league expected to start this summer last?  

Leslie Heaphy, President of the International Women’s Baseball center and Associate Professor of history at Kent State University, joined the show to discuss  the past, present, and future of women’s baseball.  

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One of the most popular programs in the City of Detroit is community violence intervention. It’s a policy that tasks neighborhood residents with intervening in disputes to reduce gun violence and mitigate harm. Many say it’s working. 

That’s because it’s attributed with helping to significantly reduce homicides — which continue to fall in Detroit. 

Now, the city is trying to institutionalize community violence intervention work and programs like it. That’s why Detroit created a new department: The Office of Neighborhood and Community Safety. 

What is the scope of the office’s responsibilities? And, how does it believe it can target and alleviate the roots of violence?

Teferi Brent is the office’s first director. He spoke with The Metro’s Robyn Vincent.

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The cities of Dearborn and Warren, MI have launched Drone-as-a-First-Responder programs. In Dearborn, a drone can now reach a 911 call in about two and a half minutes, often before a patrol car leaves the station.

Police and fire departments in Warren are sharing a fleet of these drones to scout house fires, crime scenes, and missing-person searches before officers arrive on the ground.

It’s fast and efficient. Police chiefs call it a game-changer. But more surveillance and more data come with increased risks and erode privacy and anonymity in public spaces.

Are the tradeoffs worth it? Drone researcher and author Arthur Holland Michel joined The Metro to discuss.

Arthur Holland Michel is a surveillance technology writer and researcher. He founded the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College and wrote the book “Eyes In the Sky: The Secret Rise of Gorgon Stare and How it Will Watch Us All.”

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Right now, across the country, communities are facing growing pressure from the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

According to the American Immigration Council, six people died in ICE custody in January of this year alone, in Texas, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and California, raising concerns and fears about what could happen next.

So how are people responding? How are communities making their voices heard? For some, the answer is public art.

Outdoor exhibitions have long had the power to democratize art. Displaying the works outdoors brings it out of galleries and into public spaces. It allows any and everyone to engage in shared cultural experiences and meaningful community connection.

A new installation called “ICEBREAKER”, created by multidisciplinary artist Rogerio Pinto, honors the lives lost to ICE and in detention centers.

He joined The Metro’s Tia Graham to talk more about the exhibition and the impact ICE has had on communities.

“ICEBREAKER” will remain on display at the corner of Harbrooke Avenue and Arbana Drive in Ann Arbor through April 19.

Names honored in the exhibit

Listed below are names featured in the exhibition.

Names of Lives Lost to DHS Enforcement

• Genry Ruiz Guillén
•  Serawit Gezahegn Dejene
•  Maksym Chernyak
• Juan Alexis Tineo-Martinez
• Brayan Garzón-Rayo
• Nhon Ngoc Nguyen
• Marie Ange Blaise
• Abelardo Avellaneda Delgado
• Jesus Molina-Veya
• Johnny Noviello
• Isidro Pérez
• Jaime Alanis
• Tien Xuan Phan
• Chaofeng Ge
• Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez
• Lorenzo Antonio Batrez Vargas
• Oscar Rascon Duarte
• Silverio Villegas González
• Santos Banegas Reyes
• Ismael Ayala Uribe
• Norlan Guzman-Fuentes
• Miguel Ángel García Medina- (shot by a sniper)
• Huabing Xie
• Leo Cruz-Silva
• Hasan Ali Moh’D Saleh
• Josué Castro Rivera
• Gabriel Garcia Aviles
• Kai Yin Wong
• Francisco Gaspar-Andrés
• Pete Sumalo Montejo
• Shiraz Fatehali Sachwani
• Isaias Sanchez Barboza
• Jean Wilson Brutus
• Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir
• Delvin Francisco Rodriguez
• Nenko Stanev Gantchev
• Keith Porter
• Ray Ruben Martinez (not included on Fences)

2026

• Geraldo Lunas Campos
• Luis Gustavo Núñez Cáceres
• Luis Beltrán Yáñez-
• Renee Nicole Good
• Parady La
• Víctor Manuel Díaz-
• Heber Sánchez Domínguez-
• Alex Pretti
• Lorth Sim
• Nurul Amin Shah Alam
• Emmanuel Damas
• Alberto Gutierrez Reyes
• Daphy Michel 

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For tens of thousands of people across metro Detroit, this past weekend wasn’t spent relaxing. It was spent in the dark, listening to 70-mile-per-hour wind gusts. Others were likely watching the water line creep up in their basements after days of rain.

When we talk about environmental risk, we’re talking about the collision between volatile weather, intensified by human-caused climate change, and fragile, aging infrastructure. It is the risk your lights won’t stay on, your basement won’t stay dry, and your utility bills will keep rising.

Nearly 95,000 households lost power in this latest storm. While many of the lights are back on, the frustration hasn’t dimmed, especially since DTE Energy’s $242 million rate hike just went into effect earlier this month.

Today marks the start of Severe Weather Awareness Week. Governor Gretchen Whitmer is urging you to “know your plan.” But for many metro Detroiters, that plan is at the mercy of a grid and a regional geography that feels fragile. 

To help us look past the downed limbs and into the systems that are failing, Nicholas Schroeck joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro. Schroeck is the dean of the University of Detroit Mercy’s School of Law and a leading expert on environmental policy.

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These days, when it rains, it much more often pours. That’s due in large part to climate change. Heat waves are longer, winds are stronger, and rains are heavier. 

Meanwhile, much of metro Detroit’s infrastructure is old. And, combined with the downpours, it has led to more flooding. That’s true on Hines Drive in Wayne County; it’s true in East Dearborn; and it’s true in Jefferson Chalmers, or the “Venice of Detroit.” 

In 2021, the eastside neighborhood was declared a “high-risk flood zone” by FEMA after heavy rains flooded many basements and roads. 

The City of Detroit recently announced a $1 million pilot program to repair or replace sea walls for low-income residents to protect them from flooding. What do people in the neighborhood make of this plan? What do they need to protect their neighborhood?

Blake Grannum is a longtime Jefferson Chalmers resident. She spoke with The Metro’s Robyn Vincent about that and more.

The Metro reached out to Detroit Council member Latisha Johnson, who represents Jefferson Chalmers. Her office did not respond to our request for comment.

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They called her the girl behind the camera, but make no mistake, Leni Sinclair wasn’t standing in anyone’s shadow. She was shaping history from the other side of the lens.

After emigrating to the United States in 1959 and studying at Wayne State University, Sinclair immersed herself in the cultural pulse of Detroit. In the 1960s, she documented revolution, both musical and political, capturing icons like Aretha Franklin and the raw passion of the MC-5. 

Her photographs didn’t just freeze moments in time, they helped define an era.

Leni wasn’t only observing movements, she was leading them. A political activist, cultural catalyst, and champion for generations of artists, she transformed Detroit’s creative landscape while chronicling it.

The Detroit Historical Society is honoring Sinclair’s extraordinary legacy with a year-long exhibition, “Leni: Looking Through the Lens”.

The celebration kicks off March 12 at the Detroit Historical Museum. The evening will be moderated by WDET’s Ann Delisi with an ensemble performance led by Kasan Belgrave, son of legendary trumpeter Marcus Belgrave.

Leni joined The Metro’s Tia Graham to chat briefly about her career and upcoming event.

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The Metro team has been noticing a chilling effect as we dig for answers and information: some sources who used to talk to us are not picking up. Community members, advocates, and elected officials are going quiet. But silence is only one side of the story. The other side is a deliberate wall of noise.

Washington Post reporters obtained thousands of internal Department of Homeland Security messages and found a taxpayer-funded media operation embedded in immigration raids. Producers were told to flag “cinematic scenes” for the camera. When someone arrested had no criminal record — and nearly 74% in ICE detention don’t, according to government data — officials were told to find something else “newsworthy.”

At the same time, DHS has sent hundreds of administrative subpoenas to Google, Meta, Reddit, and Discord demanding the identities of people who criticize ICE online. 

Maria Hinojosa has spent decades fighting against the silence and the noise. The Pulitzer Prize-winning host of Latino USA and founder of Futuro Media joined Robyn Vincent to talk about the federal government’s information war on immigration.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

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The war in Iran — and the regional fallout — is continuing. 

Without Congressional authorization, President Donald Trump and Israel launched strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader, and other military leaders of the current regime. And now, over a thousand people have died in this war.  

Iran has retaliated, launching military strikes across the region.

There is no clear path to peace. Neither Israel nor America have signaled that either have much interest in creating stability or democracy in Iran. 

Yesterday, we spoke with a Middle East scholar about what’s happening in Iran, and some of the different perspectives of the 92 million people living there. But there are a lot more voices to consider. What do folks from the diaspora who live in our region make of the situation? 

Layla Saatchi is an assistant Professor of Teaching at Wayne State University. She spoke with The Metro‘s Robyn Vincent.

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Romance books have been growing in popularity over the last few years. Now bookstores are following suit.

Carolyn Haering opened Mon Coeur, a romance bookstore, in Canton, Michigan just last year. The name means “my heart” in French.

Haering says she started the store because she believes the genre allows her to escape into a fun and typically happy story. She joined to discuss her store and recommend books about love.

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