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There are many religious rituals and traditions practiced around the world where food plays a central role.

Food encourages us to gather with one another and share stories, while particular dishes and cuisines help tell the story of where we came from, who we are and where we hope to go. 

The holy month of Ramadan, which began at sunset on Friday, is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims around the world through prayer, fasting, reflection and ending with a large, celebratory breaking-of-the-fast, known as Eid al-Fitr. Today is also Fat Tuesday, marking the end of the weeks-long Mardi Gras celebration leading up to Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent in the Christian faith.

Today on The Metro, we were joined by three metro Detroit chefs to discuss the common connections food has with cultural or religious traditions and celebrations.

Guests:

• Nikita Sanches: Detroit-area chef and owner of the Patchwork Culinary Project, a nonprofit education program that offers culinary training to immigrants and refugees. 
• Omar Anani: Chef and owner of the James Beard-nominated Saffron De Twah, an award-winning modern Moroccan bistro on the east side of Detroit.
• Ameneh Marhaba: Founder and owner of Little Liberia, a West African eatery which is about to relocate to Detroit’s East English Village neighborhood.  

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

More headlines from The Metro on March 4, 2025:  

• At the turn of the 20th century, metro Detroit had one of the largest mass transit system in the United States. But ridership decreased over the years, and the streetcar system became too costly for the city to maintain. The streetcar tracks across the city have since been paved over, but a new campaign from the Metro Detroit Democratic Socialists of America aims to restore the tracks along Michigan Avenue. Metro Detroit DSA member Melina Herrera joined The Metro to discuss how the organization is working to move the needle on transit in Detroit.

• Juli McLoone is a curator in the Special Collections Research Center at the University of Michigan. One of her focus areas is the evolution of cuisine in various regions and cultures, and she helped preserve and digitize the only known copy of the earliest cookbook authored by a Black woman, “A Domestic Cook Book: For the Kitchen” by Mrs. Malinda Russel — published in Michigan in 1866.

• We also revisited two recent conversations on The Metro with Bharat Ramamurti, senior advisor for economic strategy at the American Economic Liberties Project, and Canadian Economist Jim Stanford 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.

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

President Donald Trump has put Elon Musk in charge of getting government workers to leave their posts and jobs. Already, the Office of Personnel Management has said that 75,000 federal employees accepted a deferred resignation proposal. 

There are pending freezes for funding to government agencies, including money that funds critical research and money that would otherwise fund programs and services related to food, housing, healthcare and infrastructure. 

Today on The Metro, we’re looking at whether Trump’s actions are good-old fashioned conservative values in action or if there’s something fundamentally different and dangerous. 

Guests: 

• Denise Elias:The executive director of the Oakland County Republican Party. 
• Tom Wraight: A lecturer in Political Economy at Queen Mary University of London.
• Lucan Way: A distinguished professor of Democracy at the University of Toronto.

Hear the conversation using the media player above.

More headlines from The Metro on Feb. 26:

• Under the leadership of Elon Musk, the Department of Government Efficiency is slashing jobs across more than a dozen agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs. Ten year Marine Corps veteran Andrew Lennox joins the show. He was working as an administrative officer in the primary care department in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Ann Arbor, and is now without a job due to DOGE cuts. 

• Court-ordered minimum wage and sick leave laws were set to take effect Friday, but Michigan lawmakers struck a deal changing the laws again. The President of One Fair Wage Saru Jayaraman joins the show to discuss how supporters of the court-ordered laws are feeling. The organization is advocating for a 15 dollar minimum wage for workers nationally. 

• NASA scientists determined that Asteroid 2024 YR4 had little to no chance of hitting Earth, but the moon should watch out. Recently, the news of a possible asteroid impact on Earth in 2032 sent folks into a frenzy. Michigan Science Center CEO Dr. Christian Greer joins the show to let us know what’s up with asteroids and our solar system. 

Tomorrow’s question: What’s your neighborhood connection spot? 

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.