The Metro

This month, the Michigan Department of Corrections hit a milestone. Since 2020, they've distributed 30,000 government-issued IDs to incarcerated people. That matters because without an ID, you can't get a job, sign a lease, open a bank account — you can't even prove you’re you.

One in five people who leave Michigan prisons end up going back. The state says that's the lowest it's ever been. But what does a second chance actually look like when you walk out the door with so little?

Rick Speck knows this firsthand. He came home in 2014 after 15 years in prison. He didn't have an ID. Now, he's deputy director of Nation Outside — a Michigan reentry nonprofit run by formerly incarcerated people. He spoke with Robyn Vincent about his experiences, and what our state and culture would look like if we believed more deeply in second chances.

When someone is in distress, who should respond to the call for help? Police officers or social workers? The question of who should take the lead on distress calls has become all the more pressing. It was thrust into public discourse again last month when Ypsilanti residents witnessed a SWAT team have a 30-hour standoff with someone who they say was experiencing a mental health crisis.

Hillary Nusbaum is a co-responder supervisor for the Oakland Community Health Network. Producer Sam Corey spoke with her about what a co-responder does and when they should be called to take action on a 911 call.

A major new study from the University of Michigan, Harvard, and Duke draws a direct line between the engineering of ultra-processed foods and the engineering of cigarettes — both designed to hijack the brain's reward system, maximize craving and make it nearly impossible to stop. The study comes as San Francisco sues 10 of the nation's biggest food manufacturers, RFK Jr. calls these products "poison," and researchers warn that ultra-processed foods now account for over half of the American diet.

The issue feels especially dire In Detroit, where 69% of households face food insecurity and unhealthy options outnumber healthy ones. Ashley Gearhardt, a clinical psychologist and addiction scientist at the University of Michigan and creator of the Yale Food Addiction Scale, is the lead author of the study. She joins Robyn Vincent on The Metro.

Michigan just banned smartphones in the classroom — a law that takes effect this fall. The lawmaker who wrote the bill, Republican State Representative Mark Tisdel of Rochester Hills, joins host Robyn Vincent to discuss what it takes to protect kids from platforms built to hook them.

We reflect on the 2026 winter Olympics while we look toward Woman’s History Month and highlight the hard work and dedication the women of Team USA displayed in Italy. Ketra Armstrong, a professor of sport management at the University of Michigan, joined the show to reflect on their accomplishments.

In 2022, food prices increased by almost 10% — the largest increase since 1979. And while they haven’t increased as much since then, fruits and vegetables are still becoming pricier. Lettuce, for example, is up over 7% since last year. Why? And how much have prices changed because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and immigration policies?

Bill Loupée is the COO of Ben B. Schwartz & Sons wholesaler, which operates out of Detroit. He spoke with The Metro's Robyn Vincent.

Natosha Tallman of the Northend Christian Community Development Corporation says the answer isn't more charity. It is infrastructure: commercial kitchens, cold storage, distribution, and ownership. She joined host Robyn Vincent to discuss the system her team is building, where Detroiters grow food, process it, sell it, and keep the money.

"As I Die and Wheeze" is showing at Planet Ant theater in Hamtramck through the end of the month. It is written by Katie McGraw and Maggie O’Reilly and directed by Bryan Lark. 

Maggie and Bryan joined us on The Metro to talk more about the play and the importance of theater and laughter right now. 

Suzanne Coffey is CEO of the Great Lakes Water Authority or GLWA. She spoke with The Metro's Robyn Vincent.

It was a remarkable week for Michigan utilities. A federal judge fined DTE Energy $100 million for Clean Air Act violations at its Zug Island facility — then state regulators approved another $242.4 million rate hike for DTE, which posted over $1.5 billion in operating earnings.

So today we ask: who's in charge of utility costs and safety in Michigan — and when things go wrong, who's accountable? To get some answers, Nick Schroeck, Dean of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and a former special assistant prosecutor during the Flint Water Crisis, joins Robyn Vincent on The Metro.

Ahead of the Board of Police Commissioners' vote on the officers' misconduct, Robyn Vincent spoke with Noah Kincade from Outlier Media's Documenters program, which trains community members to attend public meetings and hold city leaders accountable. Their documentation helped reveal the problem goes beyond two officers.

Cornetta Lane-Smith is a Detroit-based filmmaker, writer and producer. She is the founder of Studio 8278. She wrote and executive produced the docu-series "Recipes of Resistance." The series explores how food and conversation help unpack human complexity. 

They both joined The Metro’s Tia Graham to talk more about the film and docu-series. 

The Detroit police chief is not allowing his officers to work with ICE. Last week, Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor spoke with The Metro about his criticisms of the institution. Now, in Southfield, federal and state lawmakers are trying to stop ICE from opening an administrative office.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, who is running to be Michigan’s Attorney General, has expressed concerns about ICE enforcement, and the presence of ICE agents in her jurisdiction. She spoke with The Metro's Robyn Vincent about that and more.

The Metro reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They did not get back to us with a comment in time for this conversation.

This past weekend, the Iranian diaspora and others — amounting to hundreds of thousands of people around the world — protested the Iranian government. The demonstrations occurred in Germany and Los Angeles and Toronto and across the river, in Windsor.

One of the people participating the ongoing protests is Mahshid Soleimani. She’s a PhD student at the University of Windsor and leads an Iranian student group on campus. She spoke about her perspective as part of the Iranian diaspora with The Metro's Robyn Vincent.

The effort to uplift people with bigger bodies in the 2010s could to be slowing with the growing popularity of weight loss medications. The percentage of U.S. adults who use drugs like GLP-1s doubled from 2024 to 2025. At the same time, obesity rates in the U.S have been declining since 2022. 

Could this be the end of the body positivity movement? What does embracing weight loss drugs say about the shifting standards of beauty in the U.S?

Randy Seeley is the director of the Michigan Nutrition Obesity Research Center at the University of Michigan. He is also a paid consultant to pharmaceutical companies Lilly and Novo which manufacture drugs like Zepbound, Mounjaro and Ozempic. He joined the program to explain how GLP-1s are being used for both health and vanity.

Kendrin Sonneville, an associate professor and Chair of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Michigan joined to talk about how GLP-1 medications are changing the way we view bigger bodies. 

Last week, the Trump administration revoked the EPA's ability to regulate pollution. What does that decision mean for Michigan? What does it mean for DTE and Consumers Energy, which are both tasked with transitioning to clean energy sources instead of relying on things like natural gas?

Liesl Clark is the director of climate action engagement for the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability. She also used to run the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. The Metro's Sam Corey spoke with her about the president’s actions and what the state should do now.

Fat Tuesday or Paczki day has become a staple celebration in metro Detroit since Polish immigrants first migrated here in the 1910s. Michigan is home to over 740,000 Polish Americans. Only New York and Illinois have more. Originally, most lived in the city of Hamtramck, but they moved to suburban cities like Warren and Sterling Heights after the Dodge Main factory closed.

George Kurzatkowski is a board member of the American Polish Cultural Center in Troy. He joined the program to discuss Polish culture and history, and the meaning behind Paczki Day. 

Sacred Spaces is more than a tour,  it’s a celebration of cultural stewardship, collaboration, and the powerful role Black creatives play in shaping the city’s identity.

Throughout the month, nearly twenty Black-owned galleries, cultural institutions, and creative spaces have their doors open and are cross-promoting one another, inviting residents and visitors alike to experience the depth, diversity, and resilience of Detroit’s art ecosystem.

Misha McGowan is the gallery director and co-founder of Irwin House Detroit on West Grand Blvd. She also is the creator of Sacred Spaces. We begin the conversation learning more about its origins and what’s happening right now to keep Detroit’s arts ecosystem connected. 

The aggressive, scrappy, base-stealing style of play was an attraction for fans of all backgrounds. The league's founder, Rube Foster, was largely responsible for introducing that mentality and bringing the league to its early success. After Foster passed in 1930, the league continued to innovate for nearly two decades. During that time, the league pioneered night games, fielded some of sports greatest players and broke the color barrier. 

Bob Kendrick, the President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, joined the show and details the Negro league’s lasting legacy in baseball, in sports and in American culture.

There are bright spots: inflation is down, unemployment is low, and the stock market is strong. But there are also concerns: Prices are still high in many areas, there's been a hiring freeze across a number of industries, and most of the investments energy is are concentrated in artificial intelligence — not spread across a diverse range of sectors. 

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is traditionally pro-free market, pro-business, and conservative leaning — and that's also true for their partner organizations around the country.

Faye Nemer is the CEO of the Middle East North Africa American Chamber of Commerce, which operates out of Dearborn. She told producer Sam Corey that she generally likes how the Trump administration is managing the economy. She thinks the tariffs are strategic. And while Nemer realizes small businesses are hurting, she thinks that's likely to change as national policies will trickle down to everyone else.

Kathryn Seigfried-Spellar is a professor in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University. She's a renowned expert in the psychosocial and technological factors associated with cybercriminal behavior, with a focus on the criminological characteristics and grooming strategies of online child sex offenders.