Dan Austin on Detroit’s Past, the Austin Fund, and Fighting for the Future
Release Date: 03/23/2026
Your 2026 Ferndale Pride Guide ft. Julia Music
Daily Detroit
Ferndale Pride executive director Julia Music joins us to preview this year’s mile-long joyous celebration on West Nine Mile – from a new creamsicle Pride beer to drag, street waffles, stages, and a sensory-friendly zone. Find out where all the fun and connections are for this free festival on 5/30/26. And be sure to say hey at our Pride arch and get a special edition sticker! More:
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She Never Left Detroit
Daily Detroit
Lifelong Detroiter Jerrylyn Cope Howard joins us to share what it’s really been like to grow up, raise a family, and stay rooted in the city for decades. From Hudson’s and Kresge’s ice cream waffle sandwiches to the 1967 uprising, STRESS and the Big Four, legendary nightclubs, Gantos at Northland Mall, and today’s rooftop bars, she traces how Detroit has changed — and why she still loves it. We get stories about Brightmoor, parenting a kid with a big vocabulary (our own Norris Howard), and what it means to move beyond Motown nostalgia and look to the future... while still holding on...
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Pittsburgh Travelogue, Godfrey Rooftop, and Detroit’s New Convention Hotel
Daily Detroit
Jer and Devon are back at the table, kicking things off with Devon’s recent trip to Pittsburgh and what Detroit can learn from its dense, walkable core, lively riverfront, and reuse of historic buildings. Then they swing back home as Jer heads up to the rooftop at The Godfrey to check in on the views, vibes, and espresso martini trees lighting up the night crowd. Devon pushes back on the idea that Dearborn is losing people, arguing the city is quietly adding residents, building housing, and skewing younger than most of Michigan — and he previews the upcoming Dearborn Night of Innovation...
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Abdul El‑Sayed on Medicare for All, Detroit, and Michigan’s Economy
Daily Detroit
Today on Daily Detroit, we're back into our series of candidate discussions as Dr. Abdul El‑Sayed, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate from Michigan joins me. We get into why he’s getting back into the political arena, his case for Medicare for All (and his case to people who worry they'll lose their current benefits), and what he thinks a U.S. Senator can really do on healthcare with a Republican in the White House. We also talk about Michigan’s sputtering economic numbers, how to keep and grow good‑paying jobs here at home, and his ideas for reining in Wall Street...
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New, New, New: Pro Women's Hockey, A 1926 Beauty, and a Hi-Fi Listening Bar
Daily Detroit
Detroit is having a week full of newness — and we've got all of it. PWHL Detroit is officially happening: the city's new Professional Women's Hockey League franchise will play at Little Caesar's Arena starting in the 2026–2027 season, in black, silver, and a hint of Red Wings red. The PWHL Awards and entry draft are coming to Detroit on June 16th and 17th, and roster building kicks off May 28th. Norris Howard weighs in on the collapse of Spirit Airlines — plus, the case for trains over short-haul flights. Downtown development: The historic 1908 Ford Building on Griswold — a Daniel...
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Arab Film Festival: Come for the Films, Stay for the Afterparty
Daily Detroit
Filmmaker Hannah Fahoome of Now Listen Here Young Lady LLC joins Jer Staes and Norris Howard to talk about Arab Film Fest After Dark — an interactive afterparty she's been building around the Arab Film Festival for over three years. The Arab Film Festival runs Tuesday, May 5th through Sunday, May 10th at the Arab American National Museum in East Dearborn. It's been going for over 20 years and features films from across the Arab world and Arab America. On Saturday, May 9th, Hannah is also hosting a screenwriting workshop at 10 a.m. in the museum library — open to anyone who has a story...
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Why Gas Is So High — and The End of Spirit Airlines w/ Patrick De Haan
Daily Detroit
Gas is suddenly a lot more expensive in Michigan — and Spirit Airlines just shut down for good. Jer talks with GasBuddy head of petroleum analysis Patrick De Haan about Great Lakes refinery outages, record diesel and jet fuel prices, how a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz is pushing costs higher, and why that fuel shock helped finish off Metro Detroit–founded Spirit Airlines. After, Jer digs into some details about Spirit's demise and we're looking for your Spirit experiences. Feedback as always — dailydetroit - at - gmail - dot - com or leave a voicemail, 313-789-3211.
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Michigan 2026 Primary Poll Deep Dive: Senate Race Wide Open
Daily Detroit
We break down fresh polling data from the With 36% of Democratic voters still undecided in the Senate race, this election is anyone's game. Plus, we get into the Republican and Democratic primary landscapes, examining Donald Trump's 85.9% favorability among GOP voters, Jocelyn Benson's commanding 58-point lead in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, and the tight three-way Senate race between Abdul El-Sayed, Haley Stevens, and Mallory McMorrow with a huge universe of undecided voters. The conversation also explores Gretchen Whitmer's potential role in the 2028 presidential race, as she's...
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Why Ferndale is Growing While Other Suburbs Are Shrinking
Daily Detroit
Ferndale is bucking the trend. While most of Detroit’s inner-ring suburbs are losing people, Ferndale has grown 1.3% since 2020 — outpacing every municipality that touches Detroit's city limits. We dig into new population data highlighted by the Detroit Free Press and ask what makes Ferndale different: walkable neighborhoods, a real downtown at Woodward and Nine Mile, a strong LGBTQ community, and a place where people say they feel safe because neighbors have their back. Here's a link to the piece we discussed: We contrast Ferndale’s urbanist-friendly density and sense of...
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Ice Cream Taste Test + How Noise Pollution Hurts City Birds
Daily Detroit
In this two-parter, we start with Detroit’s birds and end with Detroiters eating dessert. Science and snacks, basically. First up, we talk with University of Michigan alum and Defenders of Wildlife science and policy analyst Natalie Madden about a new meta-analysis on how urban noise affects birds. They get into what a “study of studies” actually is, why everyday city sounds can mess with bird communication, nesting, growth and reproduction, and what planners and policymakers can do to turn down the volume so common species like robins and sparrows can actually thrive in...
info_outlineToday I sit down with HistoricDetroit.org founder Dan Austin for a candid conversation about Detroit’s lost landmarks, from the Statler and Madison-Lennox hotels to the Lafayette Building and beyond.
We talk about how preservation battles have shifted over the last 20 years, why the Austin Past and Future Fund aims to both safeguard Detroit’s stories and support Detroit students, and what it means to plant seeds for a future you may never see.
Dan also opens up about his terminal colon cancer diagnosis, the urgent need for earlier screenings, and how listeners can help by supporting the fund and taking care of their own health.
Support the fund: https://austinpastfuturefund.org/