Should We Get A Tank? (Plus 3 Stories Around Town)
Daily Detroit
On your Daily Detroit, we learned that owning a tank is apparently legal in Michigan. Should we get one? Plus, Detroit's the City of the Year, Michigan Central has a new thing, and we open the floor to your ideas for attracting more career-aged and younger people to choose Michigan. 03:45 - Should we get a tank? 07:00 - Detroit is the City of the Year 09:56 - New Thing at Michigan Central 12:08 - How do we get more career-aged people to choose or stay in Michigan? Feedback as always - dailydetroit -at- gmail -dot- com or leave a voicemail 313-789-3211. Follow Daily Detroit on Apple Podcasts: ...
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Rebuilding Michigan's Economy from the Neighborhood Up w/ Justin Onwenu
Daily Detroit
Justin Onwenu is a Detroit-born organizer, environmental justice advocate, and attorney who is now running for State Senate in Michigan’s newly redrawn District 1, which stretches from neighborhoods on Detroit’s west side through downtown and into a number of downriver Metro communities. He’s worked in environmental justice, in labor and minimum wage campaigns, and in economic development at the city level, giving him a rare view that connects workers, small businesses, and neighborhood health. In our conversation, we get into why he chose to jump into this insane time in politics,...
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Detroit’s Last Stop to Freedom, First Step to What’s Next: Second Baptist Church in Greektown
Daily Detroit
Today, we’re taking you inside the Second Baptist Church of Detroit — the oldest historically Black church in Michigan, a former last stop on the Underground Railroad, and now a hub for human trafficking awareness and free STEAM education for Detroit kids. I’m joined by Pastor Lawrence Rodgers to talk about nearly 190 years of history, how Greektown is transforming, and what it means to build a beloved community in Detroit right now. At the start of Black History Month and in a moment when it’s tempting to gloss over or sanitize our past (or even preferred, by many) it feels especially...
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Lunch Spots; Wayne County Transit; Downtown Tax? (Live from the Detroit Policy Conference)
Daily Detroit
Devon, Norris, and Jer tackle three topics live at the Detroit Policy Conference. First, we get into lunch spots we like and are disappointed by recently. Then, there's a proposal to provide transit to all of the cities in Wayne County, as currently a number of communities have no connecting service. We talk about hwo this is the base layer to the cake of transit. Then, there's some ideas around overhauling the city of Detroit's tax structure, including a possible excise tax in greater downtown to provide more money for the neighborhoods. Today's show was recorded live at the Detroit Policy...
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Michigan Grows; Amazon Fresh Fizzles; MOCAD Reopening Soon
Daily Detroit
The rundown: 02:07 - Michigan's population is growing, we discuss 05:13 - Amazon Fresh fizzles out in Metro Detroit, leaving a number of empty potential storefronts 09:11 - MOCAD is reopening in April after renovation Feedback as always, dailydetroit - at - gmail - dot - com or leave a voicemail, 313-789-3211. Follow Daily Detroit on Apple Podcasts: Or sign up for our newsletter:
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Detroit News To Be Bought By Freep Owner; and Let's Talk About Minneapolis
Daily Detroit
Today's conversation is in two parts. First, we dig into USA Today (formerly Gannett) buying the Detroit News - just a month after a joint operating agreement ended between the two papers and bringing the Detroit Free Press and news under the same ownership umbrella. They say they'll continue as separate publications, but based on the track record of those involved, we have our personal skepticism. We also get into the precarious state of local news in America. Then, a personal conversation on the events over the weekend in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We get into the aftermath, the Orwellian...
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Remembering 2016 Detroit
Daily Detroit
What was Detroit like 10 years ago? On today’s Daily Detroit, inspired by the trend on social media, we’re taking a warm walk through a very specific era: Detroit in 2016 and how it stacks up to 2026. Jer, Norris, and Devon remember a city that still felt like a secret to everyone else. When it felt like the creative class was driving the narrative, loft parties were happening in half-abandoned buildings, and you could still find a decent apartment for under $1000. We talk about how that energy shifted as big development showed up faster than expected, squeezing some creatives...
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Your People Mover Dreams! Plus, China & Canada Car Industry Concerns (and more)
Daily Detroit
On today's show: 00:28 - Dittrich Furs ran out, but found more furs: Is fur a cultural garb of Detroit? 03:20 -China is about to break into the Canadian car market, that hurts Detroit 11:02 - Michigan canabis market shrinking 14:34 - MAILBAG: Expand People Mover to Grand Boulevard? Feedback as always - dailydetroit -at- gmail -dot- com or leave a voicemail 313-789-3211. Follow Daily Detroit on Apple Podcasts: Or sign up for our newsletter:
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A Last Lunch At The RenCen, Medusa Review, And Detroit Food News
Daily Detroit
Coming to you from the studio at TechTown after a long weekend, today’s show is all about what’s happening in Detroit’s food and drink world — the good, the bad, and the “wait, that closed already?” I’m joined by our engineer of both audio and alcohol, Randy Walker, to dig into some big changes at longtime favorites, why some promising spots didn’t make it, and where you should actually spend your money right now. We’ll talk rum bars, laptop bans at coffee shops, the future of the Ren Cen, and Randy’s first impressions of Medusa in Midtown. The topics: Hygrade Deli in...
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People Mover Expansion Paths, The Fake CEO, and Where's Whitmer on Hot Issues?
Daily Detroit
Today's show is a trifecta where we get Norris, Devon, and Jer all in the studio at once talking local stuff. Here's the rundown: 01:43 - Shout out to Northern Lights 02:35 - There are some maybe possible Detroit People Mover expansion routes shared with the public. Where would you want to see it go? 11:17 - A fake CEO fools some in the media 19:00 - Responding to listener questions: Where is Gov. Whitmer on hot issues? She seems oddly silent lately. Feedback as always: dailydetroit - at - gmail - dot - com or 313-789-3211. Saturday coffee and conversation event: Support the show...
info_outlineJer and Norris talk Detroit nightlife nostalgia and a viral TGI Fridays “club” promo, a wild DDOT discipline case, where auto trends are really heading in 2026, and Jer’s feature in Hour Detroit on Michigan politics and social media.
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The last TGI Fridays in Michigan in Southfield turning into “the club” with paid booth service on a Wednesday; memories of Fridays, Club Blue, and early‑2000s happy hour culture.
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“The club is dead” argument; bottle‑service pricing, booths vs dancing, and how nightlife has shifted.
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Case for bringing back happy hour instead: coffee hangs at the studio, listener suggestions for meetups, and shout‑outs to Zuzu, Ema’s Izakaya happy hour, Bastille bar, and Marrow in Eastern Market (including Jer’s steak eview).
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DDOT discipline story: Office of Inspector General report on a supervisor and driver whose on‑the‑clock romantic hookup caused a 115‑minute service delay and further issues after abandoning a running bus.
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Transit talk for “bus nerds”: SMART’s FAST Woodward and Gratiot routes moving to 20‑minute headways between Detroit and the suburbs, plus 30‑minute headways on Nine Mile and why that actually makes the bus useful for commutes and events.
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Auto talk: GM becoming the number‑two EV seller in the U.S.; Cadillac Lyriq and new EV SUVs, Ford Maverick’s popularity and pricing, Lightning discontinuation, and why hybrids are quietly winning.
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Are EVs “failing”? Pushback on the narrative that “people don’t want EVs,” with Norris talking about living with an EV and never wanting to go back to gas.
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Jer in Hour Detroit/Hour Magazine: being featured alongside other Detroit voices on 2026 political outlooks, including concerns about Michigan’s governor’s race, U.S. Senate race, and Democrats’ name ID.
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Why medium‑form, edited work (magazines, newsletters, podcasts) matters more than hot‑take social media for political and civic coverage.
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Rethinking social media in 2026: Daily Detroit shifting emphasis to newsletter, podcast, and live streams; gaining followers even while posting less; frustration with junky, “engagement first” content.
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Norris talks about the viral fake DoorDash “backend engineer” post as an AI‑generated hoax; term “enshittification,” and why platforms stay quiet even when misinformation blows up.
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Community over algorithms: We're using in‑person events to build local connection instead of chasing feeds. Mark your calendars for Saturday morning the 17th of January.
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