On today's episode, we sat down with Mara Cecelia Ostfeld, an associate research scientist and the research director at the University of Michigan's Center for Racial Justice at the Ford School of Public Policy.

Mara helped us better recognize the attitudes of Michiganders across the Detroit Metro area relative to immigration. Ostfeld and other researchers focused their survey on Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, and Ypsilanti. Across those populations, residents were asked, "Do you think it should be easier or harder for foreigners to immigrate to the U.S. legally?"

Then, Michigan Public's own Steve Carmody, in part inspired by Mara Cecelia Ostfeld's study, spoke to residents from other cities and counties including Van Buren County Sheriff Daniel Abbott. Abbott desires a President who will reduce the flow of immigrants moving in from the Southern border.

In other areas, like sections of Detroit and Pontiac, some Black Republicans, like Pastor Lorenzo Sewell, maintain that "Young Black men are saying right now that they feel that people who are illegally coming into this country are getting treated better than they are.”

Altogether, the topic of immigration looks to be a key factor in attracting voters in the upcoming election. Former President Trump and Vice President Harris each have a plan for solving what many identify as a problem with immigration. Those solutions tend toward mass deportation on the one hand and the creation of earned citizenship pathways on the other.

GUESTS ON THIS EPISODE:

• Mara Cecelia Ostfeld, associate research scientist and research director at the Center for Racial Justice at the Ford School of Public Policy at UM

• Steve Carmody, reporter for Michigan Public

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Meredith Kennedy- Fisher is the executive director of Miigwech, Inc., an organization that aims to increase voting among tribal citizens this election year.

She talked with host April Baer about what tribal voters care about in the upcoming election, some barriers for members who really want to vote, and a guide for every tribal ID that exists in Michigan.

Kennedy-Fischer says people don't realize that there are 12 federally recognized tribes that exist in Michigan.

"Now, a lot of that has to do with the fact that there is a lack of education within Michigan curriculum about Native people," said Kennedy-Fischer. "We're always in the past. We're never in the present or the future."

Listen to the full conversation on today's podcast.

GUEST:

Meredith Kennedy- Fisher, executive director of Miigwech, Inc.

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The practice of Anishinaabe contemporary artist Kelly Church marries traditional craft with stunning visuals in her Black Ash basketry. In this conversation you'll hear how she learned the craft, how it's done, and the impact of the invasive Emerald Ash Borer on the tradition. You can see Kelly's work at the UM Stamps School in Ann Arbor now.

GUEST:

• Kelly Church, Anishinaabe artist

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Hadassah GreenSky is an artist, activist, and musician. She is also the organizer of the Vibes with the Tribes, an annual Native American and cultural festival held in Detroit since 2020.

You may know her from a viral photo of her and a few fellow dancers in front of the former Christopher Columbus statue in Detroit.

Another one of her projects is a documentary, referred to as The Red Ghetto, which documents the lives of Native American families living in the Cass Corridor. According to GreenSky, those who lived in Detroit all had stories of relatives living in the Cass Corridor.

"I think I heard an auntie once say there was over 120 different nations once represented in the city of Detroit, and there's still remnants of that," said GreenSky. "But, there's no, like, historical documents that talk about this. It's all just stories that all of us have."

GreenSky has also been vocal about water rights. This year, they are organizing a Prayer Walk for the Water on Indigenous Peoples Day, Oct. 14 from 1-5 pm on Belle Isle in Detroit. The event is in commemoration of Grandma Josephine Mandamin, who, as an elder, walked around all of the Great Lakes, several times.

GUEST:

Hadassah GreenSky, artist, community organizer, curator, cultural worker, indigenous futurist working as a visual and music artist, dancer, bead artist, seamstress, graphic designer, photographer, videographer and model

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People have been immigrating to Michigan from Arab countries for more than 100 years. And they've been involved in politics and community building just as long. So, how does that history inform this present moment in American politics as news of recent Israeli strikes in Lebanon reach an Arab and Muslim American electorate already mobilized for Gaza?

We talked to Hani Bawardi, associate professor of history at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He told us about how Arab Americans' political identity has shifted over the years, and what it looks like in this moment.

GUEST: 

Hani Bawardi, associate professor of history at the University of Michigan-Dearborn

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.

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When you’re planning to vote, it's easy to focus on the top of the ticket. But what about all those other important contests farther down the ballot?

This year, Michigan votes on two races for the Michigan Supreme Court. The state’s highest court has decided some pretty big issues in the past five years. Need voters sift through thousands of pages of written opinions to be informed? And what about candidates aspiring to this court, who may or may not have judicial records?

On this episode, a look at how Michigan’s highest court gets elected, and how you might vet the candidates before you vote.

GUEST:

Nicholas Bagley, Professor of Law at the University of Michigan, and a former chief legal counsel to Governor Gretchen Whitmer, for two periods in 2020 and 2022.

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When it comes to this year's election coverage, team Stateside is passing the mic. Our new limited-run podcast series What the Vote? is reported by Gen Z, for Gen Z. It’s all about what matters to young people in politics–and why they matter in this election. We kick off the series with an episode reported and written by Stateside production assistant Adan Quan all about what it means for young people to have a seat at the political table. 

New episodes of What the Vote? drop every Tuesday and Thursday through October 24. Subscribe to the Michigan Public Presents podcast feed wherever you listen to make sure you don't miss an episode. 

GUEST:

Adán Quan, Stateside production assistant 

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.

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A program to provide cash assistance to new moms and babies in the state is expanding. The state has become a sort of proving ground for basic income assistance.

GUEST:

• Kate Wells, health reporter, Michigan Public

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How Women Made Music: A Revolutionary History from NPR Music draws on over 50 years of the networks conversation with and about women musicians that have shaped the industry. The book was largely inspired by Turning the Tables, a series co-founded by music critic Ann Powers.

She and Alison Fensterstock, editor of the new book, joined Stateside to chat about some of the Michigan musicians that have made their mark. Fensterstock's book tour will make a stop at Source Booksellers in Detroit on Wednesday, Oct. 16.

GUEST ON THIS EPISODE:

• Ann Powers, music critic and correspondent for NPR, co-founder of NPR's Turning the Tables

• Alison Fensterstock, contributor to NPR's Turning the Tables; editor of How Women Made Music: A Revolutionary History from NPR Music

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.

It's Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish holiday marking the New Year. And this year, it falls at a time when Israel has just invaded Lebanon, and is approaching the one-year mark of Hamas' attack on Israel. Events of the past year have left many Jews, here in Michigan, in the US – and certainly in Israel - as uncertain of the future as they’ve been in this young century. 

GUEST:

• Shimri Zameret is an Israeli citizen, and a Lecturer and Researcher at the UM in the Program of International & Comparative Studies. 

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Michigan has a sizable Lebanese-American population, many of whom have friends and family living in Lebanon. The community is reeling as tensions with Israel have spilled into an escalation of violence and civilian deaths. Documentarian Razi Jafri talks about reactions from the community in Michigan, and the political organizing coalescing among Arab Americans here.

GUEST:

• Razi Jafri, journalist and documentarian  

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