Stateside

From the start of the pandemic through March 2024, more than 44-thousand [ 44,728] Michiganders died after contracting COVID-19. These losses left many surviving family members drifting, as the rest of the world seemed to pick up and move on. We tap into our nation's long history with family and community collapse, and think about addressing grief head-on. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Five years ago, the COVID-19 Pandemic shut doors and changed lives faster than we could learn its name. And amid uncertainty, people looked for answers, even if their searching brought consequences as serious as the virus itself. On this episode of Revival, we delve into the uncertainty that fueled the formulation of conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the consequences of misinformation. GUESTS: Amy Simon, an associate professor of Holocaust studies and European Jewish history at Michigan State University Melissa May Borja, associate professor of American culture at the University of Michigan and founder of the Virulent Hate Project Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way. If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the landscape of business and work. In this episode of Revival, we explore how businesses adapted during these unprecedented times GUESTS: Robert Berkhofer, professor of medieval history at Western Michigan University Jermade Eddie, former owner of Malamiah Juice Bar Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way. If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everyone reacted to the isolation of the first years of COVID a little differently. But there's evidence to suggest that Americans are becoming more solitary. This type of reaction isn’t new. In fact, it can even be found across the world in 12th century Japan. On this episode of Revival, we bring you the story of a Japanese aristocrat who withdrew from the world in response to rampant disease and natural disasters. And then, we have a story of a group of neighbors in Grand Rapids who were inspired to draw toward each other during the pandemic. GUESTS: Erin Brightwell, associate professor at the University of Michigan Grand Rapids neighbors Rae Bunce, Dot and Cal Hekman, Karen Brown, Susan Buist, Sally Wackerly, Josh Brinks, Barb and Joe Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way. If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Revival" is a Stateside special podcast series, marking five years since our state went on lockdown over the COVID-19 virus. Today we look at how COVID changed our healthcare system, and we reflect on how pandemics have historically impacted medicine in other societies. GUESTS: Saeed Khan, associate professor, Wayne State Unviersity Christine Hansen, hospital nurse in Marquette See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two of Michigan's refugee resettlement agencies help us understand what's happening on the ground in the midst of federal funding cuts, and the suspension of refugee admissions to the U.S. GUESTS: Lukas Ziomkowski, Mira Sussman, Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way. If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wayne County is running a program to repay homeowners who lost their homes during the tax foreclosure crisis. The county had previously pocketed money collected at auction. But courts ruled the county must pay anything beyond what was owed in the tax foreclosure back to the original homeowners. But first the homeowners have to know to ask. GUEST: Koby Levin, reporter, Outlier Media See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As a curious and driven kid, Danielle Boyer worked hard to earn the money she needed to join her schools robotics team. But once she was able to join, she was met with bullying and harassment from male coaches and teammates. Now, the founder of an organization called The STEAM Connection, she's working to give students the STEM education her younger self wanted. Her latest invention GUEST: Danielle Boyer, inventor and educator; enrolled citizen of the Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way. If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this Stateside podcast, we hear from Michigan State University mathematician, Albert Cohen, on how we can use statistics to fill out our March Madness brackets. Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way. If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this Stateside podcast, Michigan Public's political director gets context and details about Michigan's new minimum wage and sick leave rules from Sean Egan. He oversees the State's Bureau of Employment Relations and the Wage and House Divisions, also know as LEO. Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way. If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mary Frances Phillips' "Black Panther Woman: The Political and Spiritual Life of Ericka Huggins” is a biography of the party's longest serving woman. GUEST: Mary Frances Phillips, author of Black Panther Woman and associate professor of African American Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way. If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Donald Trump nominated Dearborn Heights mayor Bill Bazzi as his ambassador to Tunisia. He’s also selected Hamtramck mayor Amer Ghalib as his ambassador to Kuwait. Both men have been at the center of contentious conversations about local policies and culture. A reporter who's been covering their careers joined us to provide some context. Find Niraj Warikoo's coverage here. GUEST: Niraj Warikoo, reporter for The Detroit Free Press Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way. If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With just a few weeks' worth of data available, it's hard to say how immigration enforcement under the current Trump administration compares to that of previous years. Michigan Public's data reporter helps us understand what we can determine from the available data, and what to be mindful of as we see other numbers cited on social media and in the news. Find Adam's FAQ page on immigration data below: Here’s what we know about immigrants, visas, DACA, ICE and more in Michigan GUEST: Adam Yahya Rayes, data reporter, Michigan Public Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way. If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michigan’s marijuana enthusiasts pay a small price – the lowest price per ounce of marijuana in the country. But Whitmer recently proposed a 32% tax hike on wholesale marijuana products as part of her “Mi Road Plan” to help fund roads. The 32% tax would be atop the current 10% excise tax and the 6% sales tax on marijuana products. This added cost would be passed to consumers, which would drive these record-low prices even lower, and Michigan marijuana businesses worry this will shut down already struggling doors. In the past year, adult-use marijuana costs have dropped nearly 30%, from a little over $90 to just around $65 per ounce of marijuana. Crain’s Reporter Dustin Walsh told Stateside that the tax hike would hurt the state’s marijuana growers. “The real issue is that these cultivators in these processes just aren't paying that wholesale tax now, and they're relying on the retail outlets to sell the product and return the money to them,” Walsh said. In her press release, Whitmer wrote that the tax hike would fund roads with an additional $470 million. In the 2024 fiscal year, the state received more than $331 million from the Michigan Marijuana Regulation Fund. Michael Ward, CEO of marijuana grower Harbor Farmz, said that the tax hike would take money away from both Michigan and its cannabis industry. “It's like a catch-22-tax-us-to-death, which is going to kill us. Well, if the taxes see death and we all die, they will not get the money that they're looking for from the tax revenue from the cannabis industry, which is also already contributing hundreds of millions of dollars to municipalities and the state.” Businesses also worry that the tax proposal could revive the black market. Low marijuana prices kept the product in the legal market because the black market couldn’t sell it at a cheaper rate. The tax hike could change that. Walsh said desperate marijuana businesses might have higher incentive to participate in the illicit market. “You're now going to create more desperate operators, more cultivators and processors that are desperate because now that money, they owe more money now in taxes,” Walsh said. “And if it drives them into more desperate situations, you're going to see them potentially loading trucks up with marijuana and shipping it to markets where it's more expensive or doing other illicit market products.” The adult-use marijuana market is still relatively new, meaning that everyone is dealing with the “growing pains,” according to Walsh. For now, he said the Michigan legislature seemed to have taken a step back from the proposal once reporting came out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A resolution in the state House is aimed at discouraging cities and universities from having policies that limit their interactions with federal immigration officials. We talked about what the new rule means, and how one city is thinking about the impact to its bottom line. GUESTS: Michelle Jokisch Polo, Stateside producer Milinda Ysasi, Grand Rapids city commissioner Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way. If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yumna Jawad, known across social media Feel Good Foodie, shared the Ramadan meals that make her excited about the holiday season. Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way. If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thousands of federal workers have been laid off in recent weeks. In Michigan that includes employees from the VA hospital, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Forest Service. These layoffs are a result of President Trump’s initiative to cut federal spending. Emily Davies, a reporter for the Washington Post has been covering the impact of the Department of Government Efficiency—commonly referred to as DOGE—on federal agencies. In her latest article, Davies tells the story of Riley Cooper, a Trump supporter from Baldwin, MI who was laid off from the U.S. Forest Service. In Cadillac, Marie Richards was laid off in mid-February from her job as a tribal relations specialist with the Huron-Manistee National Forests. Richards, a citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, worked as its historic preservation and repatriation specialist before taking the Forest Service job in December of 2023. She was one of thousands of probationary U.S. Forest Service workers laid off as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to cut costs and reduce the size of the federal government. That story came from Interlochen Public Radio climate reporter Izzy Ross. Background reading: She hoped Trump’s victory would change her life, but not like this U.S. Forest Service firings decimate already understaffed agency: ‘It’s catastrophic’ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 25% tariffs issued against all Mexican and Canadian imports are cause for major concern for the auto industry, according to Jamie Butters, executive editor of Automotive News. Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way. If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A very rare sighting in the thumb region of Michigan this winter: an orange snowy owl. But how did it get that way? GUEST: Sheri McWhirter, climate and environment reporter for MLive See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You've probably been hearing a lot of a particular term in the news and social media in the past few weeks: constitutional crisis. There are many people who believe the first few weeks of President Donald Trump's second-term administration have brought the United States dangerously close to one. We talked to Richard Primus, a constitutional law expert at the University of Michigan, about how to tell if you're in a constitutional crisis, and how the country has navigated them in years past. GUEST: Richard Primus, law professor at the University of Michigan Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way. If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.