In this week’s episode of Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music, we’re honoring Jazz Fest by revisiting an Acoustic Cafe interview from 2024 with festival performer Keyon Harrold and his Detroiter filled band!
Also, lots more jazz from Robert Glasper, Trombone Shorty, Brad Mehldau, plus some other music of interest this final week of Summer ’25!
See the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.
Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for August 30, 2025
HOUR ONE:
“Don’t Lie” – Keyon Harrold (at Big Sky Studio, Ann Arbor, March 2024)
“Beautiful Day” – Keyon Harrold (at Big Sky Studio, Ann Arbor, March 2024)
“The End Of Our Road” – Gladys Knight & The Pips
“Dandelions” – Whitney
“Petrichor” – Jon Batiste
“Same Old Song” – The Lumineers (coming to Comerica Park, 9/13)
“Between The Bars” – Brad Mehldau
“Love On Your Side” – Adam Plomaritas
“Listen To The Music” – The Isley Brothers
HOUR TWO:
“The Intellectual” – Keyon Harrold (at Big Sky Studio, Ann Arbor, March 2024)
“Foreverland” – Keyon Harrold (at Big Sky Studio, Ann Arbor, March 2024)
“Travelin’ Band” – John Fogerty
“I Just Want To Celebrate” – Marshall Crenshaw
“Rm 112” – Robert Glasper (flipped by Karriem Riggins)
“Optimistic” – August Greene
“Thirteen” – Brad Mehldau
“The Stuff” – Rachael & Vilray
“Earth” – Stratos (w/Santino Jones)
Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org
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On this week’s episode of Acoustic Café, our guest is Ketch Secor, who has fronted Old Crow Medicine Show for 25+ years. This summer, Ketch finally made an autobiographical solo debut called “Story The Crow Told Me.”
Also, we dip into the vast ACafe archives for songs from Beck, Jensen McRae, Old 97’s and much more!
See the playlist below and listen to the episodes on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.
“Let Me Be Wrong” – Jensen McRae (in-studio performance)
“A World Away” – Old Crow Medicine Show
“Old Man River” – Ketch Secor (in-studio guest)
“Thanks Again” – Ketch Secor (in-studio guest)
Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org.
Support the shows you love.
WDET’s unique music programs are dedicated to exploring the music and culture of our region and the world. Keep the music going. Please make a gift today.
Visitors sometimes leave stuff behind at Great Lakes beaches. Broken pieces from plastic toys or bits of styrene from coolers can get lost in the sand.
One of the most common pieces of plastic trash found are cigarette butts.
Lake Michigan is connected to Duck Lake by a small channel. When the big lake gets high, plastic trash is pushed into the smaller lake by wind and waves. Then when the water recedes, a lot of the plastic gets caught in the vegetation on either side of that connecting channel. A lot of plastic.
I visited the Duck Lake State Park beach again two years ago and did another microplastics story, which included information about recovering plastic as a recyclable resources for a line of outdoor wear.
This year, I went back to Duck Lake for a third time.
It had been raining earlier in the morning. When I arrived, it was a little cloudy, but there was a nice breeze coming off Lake Michigan.
My plan was to spend an hour picking up trash along the road adjacent to the beach and on the beach itself. I wanted to see if there was a pattern of a lot of cigarette butts on the beach.
I had a small bag for cigarette butts. I also took a larger garbage bag, because I figured I’d pick up the other trash I found.
I was going to compare this beach with another one in the afternoon, so I decided to limit the time to one hour.
In that time, I picked up 158 cigarette butts.
I had thought I might find 60. Obviously, my estimate was way off.
An employee at the park told me some people park their cars next to the beach to enjoy the view of Lake Michigan, and then toss their cigarette butts on the ground while they’re there. There’s a bit of irony there, right?
The fibers in those cigarette filters can quickly break down into microplastics and that’s not good.
Volunteers hold cleanup days at Duck Lake State Park beach, but it’s difficult to keep up with the trash that’s inadvertently or intentionally left behind.
“Wildlife can be ingesting it. It can end up in our drinking water source for 40 million people. It’s also just, you know, adding to the litter on the beach itself, of course, having impact on the enjoyment of the beach, things like that,” said Olivia Reda. She organizes beach cleanups for the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
“Eighty-six percent of the pieces that we find in a given season are composed of either partially or fully of plastic. So, cigarette butts, again being part of that problem, you know, breaking down into small pieces, less than 5 millimeters, end up in the Great Lakes, or they can end up in the Great Lakes,” Reda said.
She also found microplastics in Great Lakes beer, although the amount didn’t necessarily correspond with the microplastics in the tap water supply. That might be because the grains used in the beer often come in sacks made of woven polypropylene.
She said even if plastic itself is inert, additives or chemicals absorbed from the environment could be harmful to human health.
“We found in marine environments, at least, these plastic particles are very good at absorbing chemicals from the water,” Kosuth said, adding “So things like PCB, DDT, brominated flame retardants, things like these can actually form a coating on the outside of the plastic particles, which means that we would be ingesting higher amounts of that.”
Is that really that much of an issue in the Great Lakes? A study out of the Rochester Institute of Technology estimates 22 million pounds of plastic debris enters the Great Lakes from the U.S. and Canada each year.
A cigarette butt that would be headed for Lake Michigan during the next heavy rain if not picked up.
My day on the road was not finished. I still had more trash to pick up. My next stop was Ludington State Park about an hour away. It’s a much bigger beach and has a lot more visitors.
One of the things that could help is more bins for litter and recycling. That’s what Andrea Densham has found. She’s Senior Policy Advisor for the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
She says scolding people who smoke for throwing their cigarette butts on the beach doesn’t help much. She says a different approach is better. For example, signs at the park encouraging people to join together to keep the beach clean are helpful.
“Maybe the best answer is both signage, reminding folks that birds and children enjoy the beaches and that having cigarette butts is really damaging.”
That is, damaging to both the experience at the beach and to the environment.
She said having more trash cans at or near beaches would help.
“There aren’t actually enough in many places, both recycling and litter bins, right by the beaches. And that causes some unnecessary eye-trash, I think.”
Densham said receptacles for cigarettes and cigars are also needed.
Overall she said all plastic trash is a major problem and society needs to eliminate single-use plastic products as much as possible.
After wandering around Ludington State Park’s expansive beach for a while, I only found four cigarette butts. The road to the park runs along the beach for about three miles. There are places to park your car along the way. I found about a half-dozen cigarette butts at each of those places.
Cigarette butts at one of the areas where cars pull off next to the Lake Michigan beach at Ludington State Park.
I talked to a guy who’d been walking the beach and he said he only saw a couple of cigarette butts along the way. So, not a lot of that kind of trash compared to what I found at Duck Lake State Park earlier in the day.
So, I tracked down the Park Manager, Jim Gallie, and asked him about that.
“At least once per month, we have volunteers that come out to the park and they have segments of the beach that they walk and the pick up litter. They pick up cigarette butts, any debris that they find. Anything that they find that is larger than something they can handle, they report that to us. So, we work closely with the Friends of Ludington State Park on that. And that’s, I think at least one reason why are beaches are in pretty good shape,” he said.
Not all the state, county, township, and city beaches have that extra help on a regular basis.
On September 20th is International Coastal Cleanup. The Alliance for the Great Lakes expect thousands of its Adopt-a-Beach volunteers to clear the beaches of trash at sites across the Great Lakes. I imagine that will include tens of thousands of cigarette butts. If you want to help, take latex or nitrile gloves with you. Picking up cigarette butts is kind of nasty and smelly. Trust me on that one.
A couple strolls the beach near the main swimming area at Ludington State Park.
In this episode of The Detroit Evening Report, we cover a virtual learning milestone, Detroit’s jobs report and an upcoming event for Black tech empowerment.
Statewide GetSetUp partnership celebrates five years
The state is celebrating a five-year partnership with the digital platform GetSetUp. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services credits the partnership with safeguarding the mental health of many older adults in the state.
State health official Scott Wamsley says the program allows older Michiganders to socialize and learn computer skills.
“There are a lot of older adults that enjoy taking classes online,” Wamsley says. “In fact, we’ve had over a half million residents attend more than 1.5 million classes. So obviously people are enjoying the platform. It’s used across all 83 counties. And so it’s really been a win-win for us.”
Wamsley says the virtual classes offer everything from support for caregivers and the latest on Medicare to learning about the arts, travel, and food.
Detroit wages increasing
Jobs and wages are moving in the right direction in Detroit, according to a report from University of Michigan. In the City of Detroit Economic Outlook for 2024-2030, wage growth at jobs located in the city averages 3.2% annually, which is faster than the entire State of Michigan overall.
Detroit is expected to gain 1,500 payroll jobs annually during the forecast period. And by 2030, the jobless rate should decline to 8.9% while Michigan’s rate should be at 5.6%.
Detroit to host Digital Empowerment Summit
Black Tech Saturdays is having their 2025 Digital Empowerment Summit in Detroit on Sep. 26–27. This 3-day event is part of the National Digital Inclusion Week, aimed at fostering economic mobility through mass tech adoption. Dr. Megan Hicks will be a featured speaker. For more information, go to blacktechsaturdays.com.
Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.
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Chef Greg is the founder and owner of Smokey G’s Smokehouse, located at Valade Park on Detroit’s Riverfront.
He was a featured vendor during the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit, and Smokey G’s became the first smoker ever to appear at the Rocket Mortgage Classic Golf Tournament.
For the last 11 years, Greg has taken pride in welcoming people into his family through food, smoke, and plenty of laughs.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
CONTAINER On The Metro is a new WDET-produced storytelling series that brings Detroit’s creative heartbeat to the airwaves.
CONTAINER is a program created by The Love Building to showcase Detroit’s most promising creative talent across music, fashion, fine arts and food. Done in collaboration with WDET Public Radio with major support from the Gilbert Family Foundation.
On this episode of Detroit Evening Report Weekends, we speak with Maher Obeid, owner of a new halal brunch spot in Detroit called Haus of Brunch at the Westin Book Cadillac.
In this story, we discuss how halal food is becoming a booming industry, expanding to different genres of cuisine — including halal soul food — in downtown Detroit.
Listen to the episode using the media player above.
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Nearly two months after the original deadline, House Republicans passed a budget giving the legislature a month to negotiate ahead of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1. In this episode of MichMash, WDET’s Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben discuss what was included in this version of the budget.
Then, they’re joined by Gongwer News Service’s administration reporter Lily Guiney to talk about the new state superintendent and drama within the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
One-of-a-kind podcasts from WDET bring you engaging conversations, news you need to know and stories you love to hear. Keep the conversations coming. Please make a gift today.
Detroit’s Department of Transportation is installing new boarding platforms on East Jefferson for bus riders.
It’s part of a pilot program to enhance safety and efficiency for bus passengers. 21 new elevated platforms will extend from the curb across bike and parking lanes to provide faster boarding for passengers.
Buses will stay in the right lane to pick up riders instead of pulling to the curb and moving in and out of traffic.
The platforms will have ramps on each side to allow for bikers to seamlessly pass over the platforms without leaving the bike lane.
New shelters will be placed at each of the platform locations. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of next month.
Additional headlines from Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025
Section of Southwest Detroit nominated for historic designation
The Detroit City Council Historic Designation Advisory Board is nominating a section of the Bagley and West Vernor highway commercial district for a listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
The designation would honor Southwest Detroit’s century old legacy of Latin American culture.
The Board will present the nomination at its public monthly board meeting on September 11th at 4 p.m. Attendees will be able to comment on the proposed historic district designation, ask questions about the process, and learn more about the benefits of a National Register historic district.
The meeting will be held at the Mexicantown Community Development Corporation offices at 2853 Bagley.
Labor Day events in metro Detroit
Labor Day Weekend is here and there are several events happening across the Metro Detroit Area.
The Michigan State Fair at the Suburban Collection Showcase in Novi Starts today. The fair will feature a farmer’s market, carnival rides, livestock exhibits and competitions, a beer festival and more.
The Detroit Jazz Festival kicks off tomorrow, Friday, August 29 with a special performance by the 2025 Artist-in Residence Jason Moran.
Royal Oak’s Arts, Beats, and Eats returns. The four-day festival will feature over 200 performers, dozens of food vendors, and artists showcasing and selling their work.
Eastern Market is hosting the Detroit Sandwich Party on Sunday. The one-day festival for sandwich enthusiasts will feature many small format sandwiches for purchase along with beer, wine and other non-alcoholic beverages from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Campgrounds almost fully booked for this weekend
Michigan’s state park campgrounds are almost fully reserved this Labor Day weekend. Last minute campers can check the Michigan Department of Natural Resources digital dashboard map which tracks the booking status of state parks.
State forest campgrounds offer camping on a first-come, first-serve basis, meaning campsites can’t be reserved.
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In November, Detroit residents will vote for the next mayor and fill seats on the city council. It will be the first change in the city’s mayoral leadership since 2013, when Mike Duggan was elected as a write-in candidate.
There has been positive momentum in Detroit since that time. City services have improved, new development continues to pop up in the downtown and midtown areas, homicides are down and the city’s population is increasing. But despite that, a key issue in our politics lingers.
Only a fraction of Detroit residents show up to vote.
According an analysis by the Detroit Free Press, voting in municipal elections has dropped over the last 20 years while turnout in presidential and gubernatorial elections remains steady.
Free Press editorial page editor, Nancy Kaffer, joined the show to discuss their findings and share why residents in low turnout areas aren’t voting.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
In America, the average age of a homebuyer is 56. In Michigan, a variety of sources say that it’s closer to 40. But that’s still incredibly high when compared to the average age of homebuyers just a few decades ago.
The reason that people are buying homes later in life is because home prices have been rising exponentially. Many don’t have the money to buy homes, even when they want to. Affordable housing just isn’t around.
But there is political support behind changing this trend.
The Michigan Municipal League wants the state to spend $800 million over five years on affordable housing projects.
Dan Gilmartin of the Michigan Municipal League spoke with Robyn Vincent about how the state should be expanding its investment in housing construction and rehabilitation.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
The new school year is here. Teachers are meeting fresh faces, setting up their classrooms, and laying out lesson plans.
But the reality? Michigan doesn’t have enough teachers. Prep hours are disappearing. Class sizes are growing. Burnout is rising. And more teachers are walking away, some to retire, others to leave the profession altogether.
There is some good news, though. Middle schoolers, especially eighth-graders, posted gains in reading. But overall, proficiency in both reading and math is still below pre-pandemic levels.
Tara Kilbride is a co-author of that report and the Associate Director of the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative at Michigan State University. She joined the show to help make sense of Michigan’s teacher workforce.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
On August 28th, 1963, nearly 250,000 people from around the country marched to the Mall in Washington D.C, to hear remarks from civil rights activists. The climax of the event was Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior’s “I Have A Dream” speech.
Detroit was well-represented at the March – with hundreds of area residents attending the event. Among them was the Reverend Nicholas Hood, Senior – then pastor of Plymouth United Congregational Church. Back in 2013, he shared his memories of the day with WDET’s Jerome Vaughn.
Hood said the day was electric.
“It was the most amazing experience. As far as you could see, there were buses loaded with people from all over the country, coming into Washington DC. It was just unbelievable.”
Hood said it was a joyous day, but no one knew what to expect. Civil rights leaders reviewed their speeches, writing and re-writing remarks. But Hood said there was just one speech that people remembered.
“Well, I’m telling you, he just mesmerized the audience. He electrified the audience. And when he got to the ‘I have a dream’ portion, there was a rhythm to it. And when he got into the rhythm, people all throughout the mall got into the rhythm with him. ‘I have a dream. I have a dream.’ And he was saying something.”
Hood said hearing Dr. King’s speech was a spiritual experience. He said it was a day where Blacks felt like human beings. This was during the struggle for Civil Rights, where Blacks were beaten and even killed in Southern states for speaking out against injustice. “It was a day when we were given a moment of relief from the daily burden of racial segregation.”
The Reverend Nicholas Hood, Senior attended the March on Washington in August 1963. He worked with Doctor King and other civil rights leaders in the 1950’s when he lived in New Orleans. Hood said he had no idea the march would be a historic event.
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The debate over a new oil tunnel for Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline landed at Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s doorstep this week.
On Tuesday, tribal members and environmental advocates delivered letters and handwritten comments to the George W. Romney Building in Lansing. The notes urged Whitmer and EGLE Director Phil Roos to reject the proposal beneath the environmentally sensitive Straits of Mackinac.
This followed a virtual briefing that activists held with EGLE staff that was punctuated by a display of thousands of folded paper fish, a nod to the Great Lakes’ fragile ecosystem.
Enbridge Energy says a concrete-lined tunnel deep beneath the lakebed would minimize spill risks and ensure energy reliability.
“Enbridge is working with state and federal agencies to study and develop plans that will minimize and mitigate impacts to the natural environment, natural resources, cultural heritage and community priorities,” wrote Enbridge’s Ryan Duffy in a recent statement emailed to WDET.
Duffy said Enbridge “will build the Great Lakes Tunnel safely, in conformity with thorough safety and environmental reviews by permitting agencies.”
Opponents say the plan threatens wetlands, locks Michigan into fossil fuel reliance for decades, increases carbon emissions, and infringes on tribal treaty-protected waters.
Sean McBrearty of Oil and Water Don’t Mix joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss the coalition’s specific request and the evidence behind its concerns.
Share your thoughts on Line 5
EGLE’s public comment period for the permits tied to wetlands and bottomlands closes this Friday, August 29. Here’s how to add your voice:
Editor’s Note: Enbridge is a financial supporter of WDET. Our newsroom observes a clear boundary between funders and editorial content, and we do not serve the agendas of those who support us.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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It’s Labor Day Weekend, which means tons of annual festivals in Detroit. Plus, some unique celebrations for punks and sandwich enthusiasts. Read on to learn more.
The final WDET comedy showcase of the summer, hosted by In The Groove’s Ryan Patrick Hooper. This month’s headliner is Nicole Melnyk with special guests Alaina Bamfield, Madison Thomas, Andy Peters, Reeves Ledbetter, Pat Sievert, Brooke Van Poppelen and Joe Aasim. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m. Guests must be 21+.
A family-friendly festival featuring carnival rides, livestock shows, talent competitions, beer tastings and more. General admission is $10, and some festival activities cost extra. The fair is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday through Monday.
The world’s largest free jazz festival, featuring dozens of performances by world-renowned musicians across several local venues. General admission is free, but VIP seating and other perks are available for $125–$600. Performances start at 6 p.m. on Friday and at noon on Saturday through Sunday.
An annual festival featuring live music, a juried art fair, carnival competitions and more. General admission ranges from $10–$12 depending on the day and time, and VIP tickets are available for an additional $68 online. The festival is open Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Monday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
An annual Labor Day celebration featuring live music, carnival rides, canoe street racing and more. The Labor Day Parade takes place on Monday, Sep. 1, and the festival is open from noon to 10 p.m. each day.
A new community-driven art and music festival celebrating the underground punk and alternative scenes. There will be live performances by local bands, art for sale by independent makers and refreshments from unique kitchens. The festival goes from 2–11 p.m.
The second annual event celebrating the great sandwich makers of our city. Guests can sample small-format sandwiches from dozens of local vendors, and drinks are available for purchase as well. The party goes from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
An annual celebration Detroit’s designers, featuring a wide range of exhibitions, installations, product launches, tours, hands-on workshops and discussions. This year’s calendar features work from over 500 creatives on display at 95 events throughout the metro area.
Support local journalism.
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The national Democratic party is weighing proposals behind-the-scenes that could give Michigan a leading role in the 2028 presidential nominating process
The party is deciding which state will hold the first presidential primary election.
Iowa and New Hampshire had long been the initial states to host a Democratic primary or caucus. That changed in recent years.
Former President Biden pushed to set South Carolina as the first state to hold a Democratic primary in the last election cycle, though New Hampshire jumped ahead of it with an unsanctioned contest.
Now those states and Iowa are jockeying again for the pole primary position, along with Michigan and Nevada.
Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell is part of a committee determining the 2028 primary order.
Dingell says the decision will impact the presidential candidates’ policy priorities.
Listen: Michigan among states vying to lead next Democratic presidential primary schedule
The following interview has been edited for clarity and length
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell: The state that goes first is the state that gets a lot of attention. The candidates spend a lot of time there. The press spends a lot of time there. The country knows what the issues are there. But, unfortunately, some of the states that have gone first do not reflect the diversity of the country. They don’t have solid organized labor groups that, quite frankly, people have thought of traditionally as Democratic-leaning, but are not always these days Candidates should have to talk directly to the people about the issues that are going to determine the election in November.
Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: When you’re looking at it from that point of view, is Michigan a good choice to go first?
DD: I refuse to say that Michigan should go first. I don’t think any state should have a lock on going first. I think states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, purple battleground states that determine the outcome of what happens in November, should be part of the early process. Candidates should have to talk about the issues that are gonna determine the outcome in November.
QK: When you look at states like Michigan that have a large population, some people worry that they are too big for candidates to connect on the ground with many individual voters. They think those states favor candidates who have a lot of money to buy commercials. Do you think that’s a legitimate criticism, not just of Michigan, but of any larger state?
DD: I think that candidates are gonna have to be on the ground in larger states as well as they’re gonna have to be in the smaller states. And these larger states actually are dealing with the kind of issues that determine the outcome in November. Candidates should have to appear there. Work there. Win there. And part of that is raising money. That’s part of winning, to be perfectly frank. But I also think it’s more important to have “retail” politics. Going to union halls, talking to working men and women, hearing what they think, getting into senior centers, getting into veteran’s halls. Many of these purple states have a whole lot of different stakeholders that need to be heard from. And the candidates need to be talking with them about how they feel about the issues.
QK: I’ve heard some Democrats raise concerns about certain states, including Michigan, where they fear the party could become divided right off the bat over the situation in Gaza. States where there might be a large Arab or Jewish population. States that saw the rise of the “Abandon Harris” or “Abandon Biden” movements in the last presidential election over their support for Israel. Do you think there’s any legitimacy to that criticism?
DD: First of all, I think that while we do have a significant Muslim population and a significant Jewish population in Michigan, this is an issue that matters around the country. And I think it is better to talk about those issues early than to be losing in November and talking about it for the first time. I think it’s very important they be part of the early discussion.
QK: You were saying in 2016, when people thought that Hillary Clinton had a pretty good lead over then-candidate Donald Trump, that you thought Trump was actually making many more inroads among working-class people than was shown in polling. You predicted he had a good shot at winning in Michigan and elsewhere. When you look at what Democrats need to do now, both in the primary process and going forward, period, do you think your party needs to strengthen those kinds of “working-class” connections more than they are currently?
DD: Yes. That’s why I think that they have to campaign in states where those groups matter and where the stakeholders matter. I knew Hillary was gonna lose before that November election because I was in those union halls. Too many candidates don’t walk into a union hall. They need to.
Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department says it has surpassed its goal for enrolling residents in its new Easy Pay program. The department had projected 30,000 enrollees but instead drew more than 34,000 participants.
The program is designed to help residents who have fallen behind in their water bill payments. Detroiters can pay $10 to get into the program the first month and then in subsequent months pay their normal water bill and an extra $34.17 to eliminate any overdue balances. Participation in the program is geared to keep residents from dealing with water service shutoffs.
Additional headlines from Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025
County leaders ask state government to fix roads
The leaders of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties are asking for the state government to get its act together when it comes to fixing Michigan’s roads.
Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter and Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel wrote a joint editorial to the Detroit Free Press saying the state needs to do more to improve roads.
Legislators have not reached a deal for long-term road funding. The trio of executives calls for bi-partisan efforts to find money for roads before the current funding runs out.
Evans, Coulter and Hackel say the economic health of the region depends on the area’s strong infrastructure.
Dearborn Education Foundation adds member to board
The Dearborn Education Foundation has a new member. The non-profit organization announced the addition of Mary Hammoud to the board in a news release.
Hammoud attended Dearborn public schools and Wayne State University. She currently works as a pharmacy manager.
The Dearborn Education Foundation’s mission is to fund programs and projects that benefit public school students in the city.
Tomorrow marks anniversary of the March on Washington
Thursday, August 28 is the anniversary of the March on Washington.
On August 28th, 1963, nearly 250,000 people from around the country marched to the Mall in Washington D.C. to hear remarks from civil rights activists. The climax of the event was Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior’s “I Have A Dream” speech.
Detroit was well-represented at the March – with hundreds of area residents attending the event. Among them was the Reverend Nicholas Hood, Senior – then pastor of Plymouth United Congregational Church. Back in 2013, he shared his memories of the day with me.
“We endured all of the speeches leading up to Doctor King…and ‘what could he say?’ Well, I’m telling you, he just mesmerized the audience. He electrified the audience,” said Hood. “And when he got to the ‘I have a dream’ portion, there was a rhythm to it. And when he got into the rhythm, people all throughout the mall got into the rhythm with him. ‘I have a dream. I have a dream.’ And he was saying something.”
Reverend Hood worked with Doctor King and other civil rights leaders in the 1950’s when he lived in New Orleans. Hood died in 2016.
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The Detroit Jazz Fest sets itself apart by being the largest free jazz festival in the world.
It’s not easy or cheap for a cultural institution to be able to give it all away for free. Getting rid of any barrier of entry, however, ensures that this festival actually looks and feels like Detroit. That’s a big issue in a majority Black city that often struggles to represent itself via arts, culture and media.
The 2025 edition of the festival will feature major names performing like Keyon Harrold, Kenny Barron, Endea Owens, Chucho Valdes, Branford Marsalis, John Scofield and many more.
This year’s artist-in-residence is a big deal, too. That’s Jason Moran, an accomplished pianist, educator and composer who currently serves as the artistic director for jazz at the Kennedy Center. He’s racked up 18 solo releases via jazz stalwart labels like Blue Note.
During his residency with the fest, he’ll perform three varied sets over Labor Day weekend, including a tribute for Duke Ellington’s 125th birthday, an opening night set with techno pioneer Jeff Mills and Detroit poet Jessica Care Moore, and more. You can see the full schedule here.
Earlier this year, Jason Moran joined In The Groove to chat about the Detroit Jazz Festival, his influences (including the late great Detroit pianist Geri Allen) and more.
Click the audio above to hear that full interview.
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The Shifa Institute hosts Islamic psychoeducation workshops across community centers and college campuses as students return to school.
At a recent Institute for Muslim Mental Health networking event, Shifa founder Salman Pervez shared how this initiative is creating mental health safe spaces across the state.
“It’s it started at MSU as a school chapter, and then now we’ve branched out into the community… we have chapters starting at Wayne State University and the University of Michigan and University of Detroit Mercy this fall,” he says.
Shifa means healing in Arabic.
Salman Pervez (right) is a founder of The Shifa Institute, which educates college students about mental health wellness.
Pervez says the group uses creative outlets to introduce students to wellness, “like Golden Age ideas of Islam, like astronomy or art or, or like, engagement with nature and sort of like being in awe of it.”
The workshops usually consist of professional speakers engaging people about mental health related topics in third spaces by “informing people, translating mental health research, and sharing it with college students in a way that’s relatable, applicable to them,” he says.
“We found that that’s very effective in getting students to engage with this sort of work and into the field as well education,” says Pervez.
Pervez says he works with college students to help them become aware of resources and even potentially go into psychology as a field. He says Gen Z is a lot more open to talk about mental health.
“I think it’s overall, it’s really nice that they’re they’re more casual about it, and that they want to do something about it,” he says.
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Can science and religion co-exist? Might they be able to do even more than that — can the two belief systems play off one another?
Brother Guy Consolmagno believes so. The man known as the Pope’s Astronomer works at the Vatican as both a scientist and a practicing Catholic. He makes it his mission to talk with people around the world about the ways that science and religion compliment each other.
Brother Guy grew up in Birmingham and went to University of Detroit Jesuit High School in Detroit, and he’s coming to Kensington Park in Milford on September 26th and 27th to give a talk on astronomy.
Producer Sam Corey spoke with Brother Guy about what he does for the church, and why his faith empowers his science.
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A couple strolls the beach near the main swimming area at Ludington State Park.
