Playwright August Wilson is often referred to as “theatre’s poet of Black America.” He’s known for his series of ten plays called the Century Cycle, where each play takes place in a decade during the 20th Century. 

Over the last few years, The Detroit Repertory Theatre has been producing Wilson’s plays in chronological order. Now through March 15th the group is performing “The Piano Lesson” which occurs in the 1930s. In this story family ties are tested when a pair of siblings disagree on what to do with a piano that holds significant value to their family.

Actors T. Pharoah Muhammad and Delanti Hall and Artistic Director Leah Smith join the program to discuss the play’s main themes and their artistic approach to the work.

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Halfway through the 2025-2026 NBA season, the Pistons look like a strong contender in the Eastern Conference. The team has only 10 losses through 42 games, which is the second best record in the league.

This sort of performance rivals the championship days of the early 2000s.

Omari Sankofa II, the Pistons beat writer for the Detroit Free Press and co-host of the Pistons Pulse podcast, joined the show to explain what’s fueling the team’s success and outline the keys to sustaining it through the rest of the season. 

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Artist Andre Barker is a Detroit born and bred painter. Since graduating from Wayne State University and Columbia College Chicago, he spends his time schooling the next generation of artists as a professor.

In Barker’s latest exhibition, he responds to the social and political pressures that make daily life difficult for Black Americans. He illustrates simple acts like existing and rest as mechanisms to find peace and power amid those struggles through his portraits of Black life in Detroit.

Barker’s exhibition entitled “Rest Is” is currently on display at M Contemporary Art gallery in Ferndale through Feb. 14.

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The Civil Rights Movement is largely remembered for its actions in the South, but segregation was a nationwide issue. Dr. King experienced this first hand.

Jeanne Theoharis is professor of political science at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. In her new book “King of the North: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life of Struggle Outside the South” she writes about King’s time in Pennsylvania and Boston as a student and his return to the Midwest, East, and Western regions of the U.S. at the height of the Civil Rights Movement.

She joined the show to discuss the book and what it teaches us about social movements in America today.

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Immigration enforcement over the last year has become a lot more visible. Late last year, four Detroit students and their families were detained by ICE. The incident sparked outrage among community members who voiced their concerns.

Teachers, students, and parents requested the Detroit Public Schools Community District institute stronger protections for immigrant students, and over the weekend, protestors urged the city council to make Detroit a sanctuary city.

A new project spearheaded by two Detroiters aims to give people whose loved ones were detained or separated by immigration enforcement a place to heal.

The Altars for Collective Grief Project is an effort by Theresa Beckley-Amaya and Julianna Sanroman to construct altars around Southwest Detroit. They will be made of photos of loved ones who have been detained. Beckley-Amaya and Sanroman joined the show to discuss the project and why they organized around grief.

Submit your photos to the project here.

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In January, it’s customary to establish resolutions or set goals for the year.  But behavioral economists believe we could do more to change our spending habits.  

So many services nowadays—from streaming to software downloads to gym memberships—use a subscription model, which forces us to constantly pay monthly or annually for the things we want.

Michael Luca is a professor of economics at Johns Hopkins University. He has studied these behaviors and has a proposal to adopt a new trend at the top of the year. 

He suggests we take time in January to double-check all the accounts that automatically withdraw our money  and get rid of the service we no longer use. 

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The Lions entered the 2025 NFL season with the highest expectations possible: win the Superbowl. They unfortunately fell short of those goals, missing the playoffs completely.

For now, the player’s work is over, but work for the team’s front office and coaches is just beginning. Changes to the staff and roster are imminent and some of those adjustments have already begun. 

Jeremy Reisman is the Editor in Chief of the Pride of Detroit publication. He joined The Metro to explain how we got here and what needs to be addressed . 

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Michigan has been the setting for thousands of films. At one point, the state encouraged movie makers through incentives to produce their films here.

Those programs were cancelled a decade ago. Since then, productions have largely gone elsewhere to shoot.

As for the films set in Detroit, which ones really capture the city, its essence and the people who live here?

Steven Shaviro is a former film critic and professor at Wayne State University. He joins The Metro to discuss and critique movies that were made in or about metro Detroit.

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After decades of decay, Detroit’s historic Packard Plant could be on the road to redevelopment.

The city announced a letter of intent with a developer to give 28-acres of the site new life. The plant as a whole has been a significant structure throughout Detroit’s history. It has seen the heights of the automotive boom and the consequences of disinvestment and neglect. 

When auto manufacturing operations at the plant came to an end in the mid-20th century, another generation reimagined the space. So which moments deserve to be preserved in its next chapter? 

Dave Marchioni, the industrial and automotive curator at the Detroit Historical Society, and John Lauter, Packard Plant historian, revisit key moments throughout it’s history. 

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As we draw closer to the Christmas season holiday cheer is right around the corner. What better way to bring in the Christmas vibes than a holiday concert extravaganza?

This Thursday, Holiday Detroit will put on a one night only showcase of music and dance featuring artists both near and far. Professional dancers, singers and musicians team up with students from Voyageur College Preparatory High School to put on this holiday performance. 

Lisa McCall is a renowned choreographer and a producer of the show. She joined the program with one of the showcases’ featured artist: The Temptations lead singer, Tony Grant.  

Tickets are available at holidaydetroit.com

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The Eastern Market just got a guardian to watch over the site.  The Robocop statue commemorating the 80s sci-fi film was finally installed after over a decade of planning. 

The sculpture was crafted by Venus Bronze Works and artist George Gikas after a crowd sourcing campaign sparked the idea in 2011.

The movie that inspired it centers Alex Murphy, a Detroit police officer who was killed on the job by criminal. A corporation tasked with reducing the city’s crime rate then uses his body to create a crime fighting cyborg.

The movie explores humanity, corporate greed and makes clever critiques of American politics and culture. The concept spawned multiple sequels, comics, an animated series, action figures and more. 

But what about the movie resonated so deeply with fans in Detroit that they were willing to help fund a sculpture to honor it?

Curtis Sullivan is the owner of the Vault of Midnight comic book stores and a member of the Robocop fanbase. He joined the program to discuss the significance of the film, its relevance to Detroit, and the new sculpture

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What policies do Black residents in Michigan want to see?

The Center for Community Uplift at the Brookings Institute measured the quality of life for Black residents across the state of Michigan. They found that Black residents own less homes, have a lower life expectancy and make less money than the state average. But they also discovered Black communities in Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids and some Detroit suburbs bucking that trend.

The team lead by Senior fellow Andre Perry surveyed residents in those areas and others across the state asking which policies and programs were working. After 150 Black residents responded, the team compiled that feedback and published a list of 29 policy recommendations in October.

Perry joined the program and broke down some of the findings from the report. 

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After a family trip to Syria at the tender age of ten, Michael Ibrahim’s parents handed him an oud. The lute or guitar-like instrument is prominent in Arab music, and it became a gateway that connected Ibrahim to his heritage.

Ibrahim insists that he, like any other kid, fell in love with playing music that reminds him of family and of home. Unlike many other kids, he grew older and constructed an entire orchestra to honor it. In 2009, he founded The National Arab Orchestra, and in the years since, the group has performed across the country and established itself as a national leader in Arab music.

Locally, the orchestra partners with public schools  to teach students about Arab culture and it performs regularly at the Detroit Music Hall. Michael Ibrahim joined the program to share his musical origins, how the orchestra came to be, and why he believes music can bring communities together.

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Trust in major news organizations is at an all time low.

According to a 2024 Gallup poll that has tracked trust in media for over 50 years, 30% of people said they do not trust mass media. Only 6% said they lack trust in the media when the survey was first taken in the 70s. 

When Danielle Brown, a professor of journalism at Michigan State University, asked Black communities in states like Michigan if they trusted the media, she discovered that they have trusted messengers for news. She joined the show to discuss her findings. 

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A legendary Detroit band has been recognized with one of music industry’s highest honors. 

The White Stripes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this month. With that distinction, the band is now alongside some of Detroit’s greats, like Stevie Wonder, Bob Seger, and Aretha Franklin.

The duo exploded onto the national scene in the early 2000s and  released six studio albums across ten years. Songs like “Blue Orchid,” “Icky Thump,” and the iconic stadium banger “Seven Nation Army” are examples of the raw textures and driving beats that characterize their approach to garage-punk. 

Meg and Jack eventually split after 2011 but their contributions to music in Detroit and America will be forever recognized.  Mike Latulippe, host of The Detroit Move on WDET, played with Jack White back in the day. He joined the program to discuss the band’s legacy.

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The relationship between sports and gambling is getting complicated. 

In the years since the Supreme Court legalized sports betting across the nation, professional athletes have been in a lot of trouble.

Last month, NBA player Terry Rozier, assistant coach Damon Jones and Pistons legend Chauncey Billups were arrested in a wide-ranging federal investigation into illegal sports betting and rigged poker game schemes.   

Billups is accused of playing a role in a gambling scheme, not sports betting. But his potential role in a plot with ties to the Mafia raised many eyebrows, including those of longtime sports journalist Jemele Hill.

Hill is a Detroit native and someone who has been covering professional sports for years. She’s a contributing writer for The Atlantic and the host of Spolitics on iHeart. Hill joins the show to share her thoughts on how betting is changing sports and how the allegations against Billups impact his legacy.

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Controversy among local leaders in Oakland County is brewing.

A Detroit Free Press investigation uncovered gaps in the county’s laws that allowed multiple officials to engaged in conduct that experts say is a conflict of interest. Commissioners in Oakland County voted on contracts for organizations where they were also employed.

Detroit Free Press Investigative Reporter Dave Boucher joined the show to explain why those gaps exist and how to close them.  

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