Detroit, like many parts of the country, is facing a housing crisis. 

Over half of renters in the city are cost-burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing. 

Meanwhile, the number of homeless children in Detroit reached a record high last year, with 455 kids experiencing homelessness.

In her new book, “And Housing for All: The Fight to End Homelessness in America,” Maria Foscarinis says homelessness is the outcome of calculated political choices. She says these decisions have entrenched poverty and made stable housing unattainable. 

Foscarinis is an attorney and advocate who’s spent decades fighting for housing justice. She joined The Metro to discuss what it’s going to take to shift America’s approach to housing and treat it as a human right.

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.

More stories from The Metro

From 1965 to 2017, John Conyers Jr.  dedicated his life to serving all people and creating new pathways for Black Americans, even serving in the Korean War.

He was a vocal supporter of the Civil Rights Movement, and also marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. During his time in Congress, Conyers was a founding member of the Black Caucus and was instrumental in solidifying Martin Luther King Jr Day as a federal holiday. 

His son, John Conyers III, recently published a biography of his late father titled “My Father’s House: An Ode to America’s Longest-Serving Black Congressman.” He joined The Metro to share more about the book, and his father’s life and legacy.

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.

More stories from The Metro

D.L. Holmes was the athletic director, track and cross-country coach at Wayne State University from 1917 to 1958. In a time when segregation in sports was the norm, Holmes coached athletes of all races, a radical act. He coached three Olympians, one gold medalist and 11 All-Americans.

Holmes, a beloved mentor known for nurturing hidden talent, was instrumental in nine national championship wins and four world record holders.

In his new book, “Coach of Champions,” Troy author Keith D. Wunderlich tells the story of Coach Holmes through team member interviews and “historically informed narratives.” Wunderlich is Holmes’ grandson and a former sprinter.

He joined The Metro to talk about the book and Holmes’ legacy in Detroit and beyond.

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.

More stories from The Metro

Ibram X. Kendi has a new children’s book out called “Malcolm Lives.” In the book, he’s introducing the life and antiracist work of Malcolm X to young people. 

The book continues Kendi’s antiracist work and scholarship. He is the New York Times bestselling author of “Stamped from the Beginning,” and “How to Be an Antiracist.” 

The summer of 2020 was a unique time in America. Many were staying at home, trying to slow the spread of COVID-19. The Trump administration’s popularity was waning. And, there was a surge of interest in the ways that racism was hurting people’s health, their politics and their minds. 

But five years later, Americans are a lot less concerned with the ways that racism impacts themselves and others. The Trump administration is now back in power. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts are in retreat. The “Black Lives Matter”-painted street in Washington D.C. has been removed. 

Kendi joined The Metro on Thursday to discuss the new book and how the Trump administration’s efforts are making life harder for Black people in America. He joined us ahead of a rally in Detroit, with Author Bernadette Atuahene, to stop tax foreclosures of Detroit homes under $50,000 in value.

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.

More stories from The Metro

Movement is right around the corner, and many in Detroit and beyond are getting ready to hit the dance floor together and celebrate.

But dance is much more than just movement — it’s a mode of self-expression and a bridge to human connection, or as author Emma Warren calls it, a “technology of togetherness.”

In her recent book, “Dance Your Way Home: A Journey Through the Dance Floor,” Warren reflects on how different styles of music like Detroit techno can influence movements, promote connection and create cultural change.

Today on The Metro, we revisit a conversation Warren had with WDET’s Ryan Patrick Hooper last year about the book and why dance is so important to humans.

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.

More stories from The Metro

It’s no secret that the city of Detroit has a rich music history. But when most people think of the city’s most famous labels, Motown is usually the first — or only— one that comes to mind. 

But there are many other lesser known labels that contributed to the city’s thriving music scene and deserve more recognition. 

Fortune Records is definitely among them, and yet somehow the influential mom and pop label has largely faded into obscurity.

Detroit author and music historian Michael Hurtt aims to change that with his book “Mind Over Matter,” which he co-wrote with his longtime friend Billy Miller.

The book offers a comprehensive history of Fortune and the many “myths and mysteries” associated with the label.

Hurtt spoke with WDET’s Jenny Sherman and Natalie Albrecht about the label for the latest episode of CuriosiD, and he joined The Metro on Thursday to share more.

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.

More stories from The Metro

At the beginning of Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s new memoir, armed protesters surround her house.

It’s December 2020, one month after the presidential election that Joe Biden won. He was not the preferred candidate of the armed mob shouting outside Benson’s home. 

The protestors yelled “treason” and “lock her up.”

In the moment, Michigan’s top election official tried to play it cool, all while her 4-year-old son sat unknowingly in front of the television watching “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

Benson was indeed scared that night. But as she points out in her book, “The Purposeful Warrior,” “standing up to bullies” is nothing new for her. 

She did it investigating white supremacists in the American South, while she was dean of Wayne State’s law school, and during her tenure as Michigan’s Secretary of State amid President Donald Trump’s lies of a stolen election.

Benson joined The Metro this week to discuss her new book and why she is running to be Michigan’s next governor.

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.

More stories from The Metro

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.

More stories from The Metro