Stateside Staff

Though some COVID-19 restrictions are loosening, Michigan’s movie theaters are still closed. One alternative? Catching a film at a drive-in, a pastime that might just be making a comeback—and providing artists with a new way to connect with audiences.

Today on Stateside, how the state parks system is coping with the tidal wave of people desperate to get out of the house. Plus, restaurants and bars all around Michigan can restart dine-in service next week. We check in with a small business owner in Grand Rapids about reopening during COVID and protests over police brutality.

(Subscribe to Stateside on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or with this RSS link)

Listen to the full show above or find individual segments below.

Thursday the Michigan State Senate unanimously passed reforms for police training. While the bill in question, proposed by Ann Arbor-area Senator Jeff Irwin, pre-dated the death of George Floyd, the debate was undoubtedly informed by protests against police use of force in several Michigan cities. 

Today on Stateside, one sheriff shares what his department has learned about its own biases and discusses if proposed reforms for police departments are enough. Plus, what's on teachers' minds as they look at plans to reopen schools this fall. 

Protesters have marched in all 50 states to demand action against police brutality and mourn the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Stateside talked to two peaceful protest organizers in Grand Rapids and Detroit about what it was like demonstrating in their cities.

Today on Stateside, healthcare workers emerging from months of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic find themselves in need of mental health support. Two reporters discuss what they’ve heard from the medical frontlines. Also, a check-in on the status of Michigan’s summer camps. Plus, a conversation with a lawyer helping arrested protestors, and an essay about protesting by the poet laureate of Grand Rapids.

Marcel “Fable” Price is poet laureate of Grand Rapids. He’s also the executive director of The Diatribe, a youth-focused performing arts nonprofit in Grand Rapids. He recently put out a statement about the protests against excessive police force happening here in Michigan and beyond. It read to us more like an essay, or dare we say, poetry. Listen below to hear Marcel share his thoughts on this moment in America. 

Some parents and guardians staring down the prospect of a long summer with young kids cooped up at home are breathing a sigh of relief. When Governor Gretchen Whitmer lifted the COVID-19 stay home order, she loosened the restrictions on many businesses and programs. That includes children’s day camps, which will be allowed to reopen starting June 8.

Today on Stateside, we spoke with activists who organized some of this week's protests in Detroit and Grand Rapids. Plus, Governor Whitmer rolled back some significant restrictions on business and gatherings yesterday which was a huge relief for some, but left many with huge gray areas about how commerce and social life will go forward.

(Subscribe to Stateside on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or with this RSS link)

Listen to the full show above or find individual segments below.

Wayne State University announced the creation of a National De-escalation Training Center. The headquarters will be on its campus. The Wayne State police department says its officers are already being trained in de-escalation methods. 

Tony Holt is the chief of police for Wayne State University. He says the de-escalation training is different from a one-size-fits-all approach to de-escalation training.

Today on Stateside, what the Wayne State University police chief says needs to happen to regain public trust as the nation erupts in protest over the killing of George Floyd. Plus, a theater director speaks about the role of art in articulating black pain amid civil unrest. 

Protests continue in the state and nation following explosive uses of police force against African Americans. Recent documented incidents took place in Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed after a police officer pushed his knee into Floyd’s neck for several minutes, and in Southeast Michigan, where a Washtenaw County deputy repeatedly punched Sha’Teina Grady El in the head.

Today on Stateside, thoughts from a sociologist and a law professor about the marches in Detroit and Ann Arbor that drew attention to police officers’ use of force against African Americans. We’ll also find out how one charter school operator is preparing for the fall. 

High school seniors have all of the concerns that younger kids have right now. They're missing their friends, their schools, and their normal schedules. On top of that, they are uncertain about what their next steps will look like or how the deep economic ripples caused by the pandemic will affect them. It's anything but a fun summer. Stateside talked to three high school seniors about what it's like when a major milestone gets overshadowed by a global public health pandemic. 

Today on Stateside, we touched base with agriculture workers, and what some farmers are doing to keep their seasonal employees safe. Plus, writer Donavan Hohn talks about the inner coast explored in his new essay collection.

(Subscribe to Stateside on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or with this RSS link)

Listen to the full show above or find individual segments below.

The further we get into growing season, the more complex life becomes for Michigan's farmers and farmworkers. They're trying to plant and harvest at a time when the world is moving in slow-motion, if at all. 

Today on Stateside, as Northern Michigan and the UP reopened restaurants this past weekend, other businesses stayed closed. We speak with a hair stylist who wants to find a safe way to reopen. Plus, the difficulty of tracking the number of COVID-19 cases in elder care facilities.

After being shut down for nearly two months, restaurants in the Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan were given the go-ahead for sit-in dining at limited capacity just in time for Memorial Day weekend. It's possible that the opening of the service industry up north has some things to show us about the future of dining out all over Michigan.

Today on Stateside, restaurants in the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula were allowed to open for sit down dining. We spoke with two restaurateurs; one who opened and one who stuck to take-out orders. Plus, how one high school senior is preparing for his future amid uncertainty.

After being shut down for nearly two months, restaurants in the Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan received permission from the governor to allow sit-down dining at limited capacity just in time for Memorial Day. Some welcomed the flood of tourists for the busy holiday weekend, but others erred on the side of caution and are sticking to takeout-only service for a while longer.

Today on Stateside, University of Michigan president Mark Schlissel talks about plans to restart on-campus instruction in the fall. Plus, an epidemiologist's advice for navigating reopened public spaces.

(Subscribe to Stateside on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or with this RSS link)

Listen to the full show above or find individual segments below.

Today on Stateside, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announces loosened restrictions on some Michigan businesses and small gatherings just in time for the holiday weekend. Plus, we'll hear about the environmental threats posed by massive flooding in Midland County this week. 

Detroit native and Cass Technical High School alum Michael R. Jackson was awarded the Pulitzer Prize this year for his off-Broadway musical A Strange Loop. Jackson's show is a kind of meta-musical whose central character is writing a musical himself. It’s an effervescent mix of traditional Broadway songs with gospel, R&B, and a heavy dose of Liz Phair. It is also the first musical to win the Pulitzer without making it to Broadway.

Today on Stateside, thousands have evacuated Midland County after dam failures led to an emergency. We check in with a hydrologist about what causes dam failure. Also, the superintendent of the West Bloomfield Public School District discusses why waiting for state guidance about this fall is not an option. Plus, a Michigan business’s quick pivot from hotel to front-line food provider during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today on Stateside, we introduce you to a doctor with a very personal story about COVID-19. Plus, funeral director Thomas Lynch talks about what grieving means when you can’t come together.

(Subscribe to Stateside on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or with this RSS link)

Listen to the full show above or find individual segments below.

When schools closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the way students were taught had to shift on a dime. Online platforms like Zoom became the new classrooms. These sudden changes have also highlighted the shortcomings and inequities of our current school system. That has some educators thinking about whether this crisis could be an opportunity to reinvent what school looks like this fall and beyond.

Today on Stateside, what will the impending re-opening of Michigan’s economy mean for public health. Plus, how the pandemic could allow districts to reshape learning in the fall.

"Bored, exhausted, and restless" probably describes how a lot of Michigan’s kids are feeling these days. They have been stuck at home for nearly two months now, ever since the COVID-19 outbreak shut down schools and hangouts. This week, we spoke with two of the million and a half young people who are adjusting to this new normal.