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While it does not feel like spring, warmer days and Detroit Tigers baseball are on the way. The Tigers started pre-season baseball in Lakeland, Florida this weekend, having two wins in their first two games. 

Today on The Metro, we’re turning back the clock on some favorite Tigers memories and looking ahead to 2025 Major League Baseball Opening Day. 

Guests:

• Josh Tebeau: A Romeo Middle School Teacher and Detroit Tigers superfan. He was invited onto the field to celebrate with the team when they clinched a wild card spot in 2024.
• Shawn Windsor: A sports columnist for the Detroit Free Press. He is also the co-host of the Free Press Sports with Carlos and Shawn Podcast. 

We also asked listeners:

“What’s your favorite Tiger’s memory?”

Harold in Detroit said: “I can remember, I think it was 1966 or 1967, my brother took me down to Tiger Stadium. In my first game, I saw the New York Yankees. Tigers won a game and Danny McLean pitched for the Tigers.”

Use the media player above to listen to the full conversation.

More headlines from The Metro on Feb. 24, 2025: 

• Executive Director of Ed Trust-Midwest Amber Arellano joined the show to discuss the role of the Department of Education and the impacts potential federal funding cuts could have. Ed Trust-Midwest is a non-partisan organization working to level the playing field for vulnerable students in Michigan. 

• Highland Park is a city circled by Detroit. The small city’s decline is in sharp contrast to Detroit’s revival. Detroit Documenters have been attending Highland Park City Council meetings to understand exactly what kinds of challenges local leaders are prioritizing. Metro producer Jack Filbrandt sat down with Detroit Documenters Coordinator Noah Kincade and Documenter Sherrie Smith to learn more. 

• Renaissance High School boys and girls basketball teams won the city PSL championships earlier this month. Chris Bass is one of several coaches and supporters of women’s sports who wants to see a shift in sports journalism coverage, with more spotlight on women and girls in sports. He joined The Metro to talk about the win, coaching the girls team and pushing girls in sports to the front page.

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 recent film “Sing Sing” is giving viewers a lot to think about, and not just within the bounds of fiction. Besides its engaging plot, “Sing Sing” marks the first time a film has simultaneously been released in theaters and in prisons. 

It tells the story of Divine G, a man incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit. Played by Coleman Domingo, Divine G joins a prison acting class where he finds community and purpose.

The film is fictional, but the acting class is based on the actual Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at Sing Sing Prison in New York. The film also features formerly incarcerated graduates of the program who give powerful performances alongside Domingo. He’s nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor and the movie has been nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay.

When “Sing Sing” was released in theaters last summer, it also became available to stream on Edovo, a free online education platform serving over 900,000 incarcerated learners. 

Brian Hill is the CEO of the Edovo Foundation. He joined The Metro to talk about the significance of connecting incarcerated people to information and education.

Use the media player above to hear the conversation.

Hear more stories from The Metro on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025.

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 public library is more than a place that houses books and other reading materials. It’s a community hub, art gallery, summer barbecue spot and even a place to rent tools. 

Libraries are also helping people access information outside their buildings too, giving access to online services through a library card. 

In addition to hosting MI Local on WDET (on-air Tuesdays at 9 p.m.), Jeff Milo is an avid reader and an employee at the Ferndale Area District Library. He joined The Metro to talk about the many things that libraries offer residents year-round.

Hear more stories from The Metro on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2025.

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.

We’re celebrating a belated Valentine’s Day today and bringing you a conversation with some people we love, The Detroit Documenters. They train and pay residents to cover local government meetings in Southeast Michigan, improving our access to public information. 

They’ve been appearing on The Metro every Friday, but you’ll now be able to hear conversations with Producer Jack Filbrandt and the Detroit Documenters every Monday. 

Today on The Metro, we bring you a conversation with Detroit Documenter Madeline Beck and Coordinator Noah Kincade on a potential cigar lounge coming to Detroit Metro Airport. The cigar lounge won’t be hard to miss, located just past security at the McNamara Terminal between gates A43 and A45. To many, this is a drag — so we discuss why.

Hear more stories from The Metro on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2025.

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.

Reading is one of the most beneficial life skills one can have. It opens up so much: economic opportunity, quality of life, lifelong learning, personal expression.

But reading abilities for students in America aren’t where they should be. One third of eighth graders nationwide test below the National Assessment of Educational Progress’ basic reading level, often referred to as the nation’s report card. 

But a new pilot study by the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute and Shoelace Learning shows promise for “gamified learning” as an effective reading intervention.

Julia Dexter is the Founder of Shoelace Learning, an education platform that developed the games used in the pilot study. She spoke with The Metro‘s Senior Producer David Leins about how gamified learning can improve reading skills in students.

Hear more stories from The Metro on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2025.

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.

Now at the Detroit Public Theatre, the new stage play “Confederates” explores how history is in conversation with the present. 

The performance takes audiences back and forth from Sara, an enslaved woman preparing to fight in the Union army during the Civil War, and Sandra, a political science professor at a prestigious university fighting institutional racism. 

“Confederates” was written by DPT’s Executive Artistic Producer Dominique Morisseau, a Detroit-born Tony-nominated playwright. 

Professor of Hip Hop Theatre Goldie E. Patrick and Philadelphia-based theatre artist Will Street joined The Metro to discuss their roles in the production.

Hear more stories from The Metro on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2025.

Join the conversation by calling 313-577-1019 or leaving us an Open Mic message on the WDET app.

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 Downtown Detroit Partnership is developing a project to cap the I-75 freeway, connecting the downtown and midtown districts. The design would create more public space and it represents a vital shift in the city. Freeways have long divided neighborhoods here. 

The project has been in the planning stages for a while, but it recently received additional federal funding in January. DDP CEO Eric Larson joined The Metro to provide an update on the project.

Hear more stories from The Metro on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2025.

Join the conversation by calling 313-577-1019 or leaving us an Open Mic message on the WDET app.

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.

On Tuesday, President Trump’s order to place 10 percent tariffs on Chinese imports went into effect. And China was apparently ready, placing retaliatory tariffs of 15 percent on U.S. goods. 

Meanwhile, the proposed tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico are temporarily paused after both countries agreed to send troops to their respective borders with the U.S. It’s a deal that President Trump says will help stop migrants from entering the U.S. and slow the illegal flow of fentanyl. 

Bharat Ramamurti is the senior advisor for economic strategy at the American Economic Liberties Project and a former economic communications advisor for the Biden-Harris administration. He spoke with senior producer David Leins about Trump’s tariffs, both paused and in effect.

Hear more stories from The Metro on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2025.

Join the conversation by calling 313-577-1019 or leaving us an Open Mic message on the WDET app.

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.

President Donald Trump ran on promises to shrink the federal workforce, impose tariffs, harden America’s borders and eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the federal government. They are promises Trump appears to be making good on now.

While the country is split on Trump’s actions and policies, we’re all taking in a lot of new information. There has been a lot of confusion and fast-changing court decisions on Trump’s executive orders. 

Today on The Metro, we explore how people are navigating the news and seeking valuable information.  

Guests: 

Michael Seltzer: Franklin Village Trustee who voted for Trump. 

Emily Sydnor: Senior researcher at the Institute for Democracy, Journalism, Citizenship and teaches communications at Syracuse University.

Jihii Jolly: Freelance journalist, writer and someone who thinks a lot about media literacy.

We also asked listeners:

“How has your media diet changed over time?”

Use the media player above to listen to the full conversation.

Monday’s question: Do you watch women’s sports? 

Join the conversation by calling 313-577-1019 or leaving us an Open Mic message on the WDET app. 

More headlines from The Metro on Feb. 6, 2025: 

• Now at the Detroit Public Theatre, the stage play “Confederates” explores how history is in conversation with the present. Professor of Hip Hop Theatre Goldie E. Patrick and Philadelphia-based theatre artist Will Street joined the show to discuss. 

• The Downtown Detroit Partnership is developing a project to cap the I-75 freeway, connecting the downtown and midtown districts. The project has been in the planning stages for a while, but it recently received additional federal funding in January. DDP CEO Eric Larson joined the show to provide an update on the project.

• Bharat Ramamurti is the senior advisor for economic strategy at the American Economic Liberties Project and a former economic communications advisor for the Biden-Harris administration. He spoke with senior producer David Leins about Trump’s tariffs, both paused and in effect.

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

When temperatures dipped dangerously low during the recent polar vortex, the Pope Francis Center opened a 24-hour emergency warming center at its Bridge Housing Campus. 

This is just one of many ways the center works to support people experiencing chronic homelessness in Detroit. 

The Pope Francis Day Center downtown is open daily at Saints Peter and Paul Jesuit Church. People are served two meals a day, have access to showers and laundry, and can find information on housing assistance. 

In September the center’s Bridge Housing Campus welcomed its first group of residents. The campus takes a holistic approach to supporting people in need. It provides folks with up to 120 days of housing and support services to help them carve paths out of homelessness and poverty.

WDET’s Jack Filbrandt spoke with President and CEO of the Pope Francis Center, Fr. Tim McCabe about how they’re working to end chronic homelessness in Detroit.

Hear more stories from The Metro on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025.

Join the conversation by calling 313-577-1019 or leaving us an Open Mic message on the WDET app. 

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.

Americans toss out an average of five pounds of trash each day, according the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

While some of that gets recycled, most of it ends up in landfills, leading many households to seek out solutions for reducing their waste output and making more eco-conscious choices. But there are several ways to accomplish that — from composting organic waste, to simply consuming less, to opting for a bike or public transportation instead of a car.

Today on The Metro, we discuss what the city of Detroit is doing to reduce waste, what we can do personally, and what it means to center sustainability in our food system.

Guests:

Tepfirah Rushdan: Director of Detroit’s Office of Sustainability.

Amanda Brezzell: Creative director and co-founder of Fennigan’s Farms in Detroit.

Dazmonique Carr: Director of operations for Deeply Rooted Produce and board president for Deeply Rooted Gardens in Detroit.

We also asked listeners:

“What are you doing to be less wasteful?”

Katie in Detroit said she’s “separating out my wants and my needs, you know. Like, I want to buy new clothes all the time. I don’t need to buy new clothes all the time. You don’t need, you know, to always have the trendiest thing or whatever.”

Use the media player above to listen to the full conversation.

Monday’s question: Would you homeschool your kids and why? 

Join the conversation by calling 313-577-1019 or leaving us an Open Mic message on the WDET app. 

More stories from The Metro on Jan. 30, 2024:

• Drew Fralick is the co-lead pastor of the Renaissance Vineyard Church in Ferndale. He joined the show to talk about how the church is helping people through addiction recovery and regular comedy events. 

• WDET’s Ryan Patrick Hooper ordered up a cold glass of history on the latest episode of CuriosiD when he visited the Two Way Inn, Detroit’s oldest bar. Hooper also spoke to bar historian Mickey Lyons on The Old Miami’s 45th anniversary. 
• James Wheeler curated exhibits and traveled around the world showing his rare collection of Black media. The collection features film, visual arts, albums, books, magazines, artifacts and so much more. Wheeler’s daughter and co-founder of The Black Canon and The Black Canon Collection Alima Trapp joined the show to talk about it. Motor City Cinema co-founder John Monaghan also joined the show to discuss an event showing pieces from the collection this weekend.

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

American politics has long had too many lobbyists and too much money fueling campaigns. But Donald Trump’s administration breaks records. The total net worth of billionaires involved with it amounts to over $382 billion, which is more than the GDP of 172 different countries.

Today on The Metro, we discussed how wealthy individuals are now influencing our politics, and how much of a change that is from past administrations.

Guests:

• Graeme Robertson – Professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and director of the Center for Slavic, Eurasian and East European Studies. His work focuses on political protest and regime support in authoritarian regimes.
• Bilal Baydoun – Director of Democratic Institutions at Roosevelt Forward, an advocacy affiliate of the Roosevelt Institute, a progressive think tank. 

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

We also asked listeners:

“Should the government be run like a business?”

Christian in Grosse Pointe Park said: “I don’t think it’s black and white. I think we need to look at each individual situation and realize if we make it primarily like that we’re going to be opposing each other as opposed to working together to find tenable solutions to issues.”

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Tomorrow’s question: Should the U.S. government get rid of diversity, equity and inclusion? 

Join the conversation by calling 313-577-1019 or leaving us an Open Mic message on the WDET app. 

More stories from The Metro on Jan. 28, 2024:

• Black Bottom Archives is a community archive that’s committed to preserving Black Detroit stories, and the organization is celebrating its 10th year. 

• Being from Detroit has created a strong foundation for Emmy-award winning journalist and Fresh Air co-host Tonya Mosley. She joined the show to talk about her hometown and career.

• Detroit’s Adopt-A-Park program is asking groups like block clubs, churches, and nonprofits to become stewards of a city park. Executive Director of the Detroit Parks Coalition Sigal Hemy joined the show to discuss the magic of Detroit’s parks and what it means to adopt one.

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

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, K-12 students across the nation have been missing more school.

The percentage of chronically absent students — referring to those who miss more than 10% of school days — nearly doubled from 2018 to 2022, according to The Brookings Institution.

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

Last school year, Michigan recorded one of the highest rates of chronically absent students compared to other states, according to data from the state Department of Education. The rate among Detroit students was more than double that.  

Now through March, Detroit Public Schools Community District is giving high school students $200 gift cards every time they have perfect attendance for 10 school days in a row. That’s just one approach of many that schools are experimenting with to get kids back into the classroom.

We’ve addressed this topic before on the show. Today on The Metro, we took a deeper dive into the different approaches for combating chronic absenteeism with Nat Malkus, senior fellow and deputy director of education policy at the American Enterprise Institute; and Sarah Lenhoff, associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies at Wayne State University.

Malkus noted how being chronically absent from school can cause a ripple effect in a student’s life that can affect them well into adulthood. 

“We know that kids who are chronically absent are less likely to read at the critical grade three, they’re more likely to struggle in middle school academically, they’re really less likely than their peers who attend regularly to graduate from high school, and the effects go into the future in the labor force as well,” he said.  

Lenhoff,  who also serves as the director of the Detroit Partnership for Education Equity & Research, led a study on chronic absenteeism and says solutions to the issue can’t only come from the schools. She suggested that one way to curb it could be creating a stronger school-to-neighborhood social connection in communities. 

“If a parent, you know, has something come up and they can’t get their child to school then they have people to rely on in their neighborhood, they have a neighbor, they have maybe a senior who lives across the street, maybe a friend who’s going to the same school,” Lenhoff said. 

482 Forward Communications Lead Imani Foster also joined the conversation. She is one of the community members who helped in the research project. Monitoring attendance and school engagement is mainly left up to teachers, but she says this wasn’t always the case.

“I think most of the schools fired their attendance agents because they cut a lot of different positions,” Foster said. “And so the teachers are now asked to be attendance agents. Attendance agents were normally the ones that kept up with families, right, that made the calls home, that maybe even made house visits to check on if everything was OK. Now that’s a gap that teachers are trying to fill.”

We also asked our listeners:

“Should we pay students to go to school?”

Nick in St. Clair Shores said: “Personally, I missed a lot of high school my final year, and I skipped a lot to go work at Red Robin. I would pick up a lunch shift instead of going to math class. And I feel like if I was paid to be in school, I wouldn’t have done that.”

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation, and other stories from “The Metro.”

More headlines from The Metro on Jan. 27, 2024: 

• Since 1958, the Jim Dandy Ski Club has been working to lower barriers for Black kids and adults to get involved in skiing, and to bring them deeper into connection with a broader community. This Friday, the club is hosting its annual “Black Out” ski event, which is open to anyone, not just members. Miles Maxey, former president, vice president, and board member of the Jim Dandy Ski Club, joined the show to discuss the event and how the club has made snow sports more accessible.
• “Techno: The Rise of Detroit’s Machine Music” is a new exhibit set to open at the MSU Museum on Feb. 4, that aims to explore Detroit’s role as the birthplace of Techno music and its connection to Afrofuturism.  The exhibition’s curator. Julian Chambliss, joined the show to discuss the project. We also spoke with John Collins, an important figure in Detroit’s techno culture, member of Underground Resistance and exhibition community curator.
• In President Donald Trump’s first term in office he made good on a campaign promise to cut taxes. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was passed by Congress and signed into law in 2017. The Biden administration did not roll back the tax cuts, so they are still intact. But a significant part of those tax cuts are set to expire at the end of this year unless Trump and Congress act to extend them. The Metro producer David Leins spoke with Bharat Ramamurti, senior advisor for economic strategy at the American Economic Liberties Project and former economic communications advisor for the Biden-Harris administration.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.