Podcast Episodes Interviews, Show Notes, and Transcripts

Send us a text Jermaine Reese, spent eighteen years as a Flint Police Officer. He shares his policing career, its highs and lows. He patrolled the Flint, Michigan neighborhood where he was raised. What is life like in a City of Flint patrol car? What will it take for Flint's crime statistics to imp…

Send us a text Grand Blanc, MI attorney and businessman Michael Jablonski is an entrepreneurial success. Jablonski shares stories from his business career in the food and entertainment business in Mid-Michigan. Few people in Michigan have made an impact on the Flint area community's entertainment a…

Send us a text Joel Bye and his band the Blue Hawaiians are legendary amongst Michigan music fans. Joel shares the colorful history of the band as well as his prior band The Nick Garvey Band. In a hilarious and surprisingly reflective interview Joel Bye shares how he got started playing the drums w…

Send us a text William S. Ballenger III of Flint, Michigan is a descendant of one of the founders of Buick, Chevrolet Motor Car Company, General Motors. Bill is a member of the family that philanthropically endowed the Flint area. Bill shares his family's history, accomplishments, and philanthropic…

Send us a text Pete "Fat Cat" Flanders is perhaps one of the best remembered radio personalities in the Mid-Michigan media market. He is the owner of Musical Memories, a Flint record shop that specializes in vinyl record sales. Pete recounts his 40 year history in Flint area radio sharing stories f…

Send us a text Norman Bryant is a former President of Flint Board of Education. At 85 years of age, he shares the history of the Flint Community Schools and high school athletics. Norm is the founder of the Flint African American Sports Hall of Fame. Norm provides a wonderful oral history of Africa…

Send us a text Local news anchor Joel Feick stepped down from local television news after 35 years. He left familiar seat as "The People's News Anchor". Joel shares stories about his life as a reporter. In this podcast, Joel shares his memories of the characters whom he covered as a journalist. He …

Send us a text At 90 years old Arlene Crane-Curns, who has lived almost a century, authored a book! In Homemade Noodles and Cars, Arlene tells the story of her family-from World War I and how it affected them. Her parents struggled to provide a home for their five children during the Great Depressi…

Send us a text The KKK has been very active in Flint, Michigan since at least the 1920's. Michigan has been a hotbed for white nationalist and KKK activity for 100 years. This is a Radio Free Flint podcast essay on the history of the KKK, White Nationalists and other hate groups in Flint, Michigan.…

Send us a text This Black History Month podcast is in honor of and dedicated to Evelyn Thomas Butts and her attorney Robert Segar of Flint, Michigan. Evelyn Thomas Butts, an African American civil rights activist and politician in Virginia. She is best known for challenging the poll tax and took he…

Send us a text Ryan Lo'Ree, is the former leader of the Rollingwood Skins a white nationalist gang. He participated in this interview. Flint has its share of radical white nationalist groups. Ryan Lo'Ree is a man with a life story made for a television drama production. He has emerged from the roug…

Send us a text Daniel Clark, Professor of Business at Oakland University, establishes in his book; Disruption in Detroit: Autoworkers and the Elusive Postwar Boom, that autoworkers and the auto industry experienced anything but stable prosperity during the so-called Golden Age of the 1950s. Profess…

Send us a text Ang Adamzcik is executive director of Detroit, MI non-profit Arts & Scraps, whose mission is to use recycled industrial scraps to help people of all ages and abilities think, create and learn. Arts & Scraps provides hands-on learning and creative experiences through programs …

Send us a text Author John Smolens is an award winning novelist whose historical fiction Day of Days tells the story of the tragic and shocking bombing of the Bath, Michigan Schoolhouse in 1927. There were 45 people killed in that bombing and countless children and adults injured. In the spring 192…

Send us a text broadcaster David O. Norris shares memories of a career in public and country radio broadcasting. Norris shares how Flint came to proclaim itself as the "Country Music Capitol of the North". He shares highlights of his decades long association with Maybelle Carter and the Carter fami…

Send us a text Wayne Kramer is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, author, producer, and film and television composer. He was co-founder of the Detroit rock group MC5, and Rolling Stone named him one of the top 100 guitarists of all time. Wayne was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. Wayne…

Send us a text Jack Lessenberry and Flint area Detroit Tiger fans share their special memories of Ernie Harwell in this tribute podcast. Award- winning journalist Jack Lessenberry, formerly of Michigan Public Radio, was a personal friend of Detroit Tiger broadcaster, Ernie Harwell was a Michigan cu…

Send us a text Two amazing award winning singer-songwriters Antje Duvekot of Boston, MA and Barb Barton of Lansing, MI use their voices and platforms to help keep us from forgetting the poisoned children of Flint, Michigan. The Flint Water Crisis has captured the attention of songwriters across Ame…

Send us a text Kate Garns is a national motivational & leadership speaker, Disney Performer and author. Kate works with student government leaders across the nation about self talk and leadership using motivational themes. Garns has Flint roots as her family is from the Flint area. She discusse…

Send us a text Marty Embry is a legendary basketball player, whose teams at Flint Central High School won two Class A Michigan High School basketball titles. Marty Embry played at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. His teams played in three NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments, as we…

Send us a text Gregory Fournier is the author of The Purple Gang: Detroit's Kosher Nostra is a concise history of one of America's most notorious Prohibition-era gangs. Fournier shares fascinating stories during this interview about one of America's most notorious gangs. American popular culture ha…

Send us a text Hip Hop recording artist Joe Ryan III a Flint, Michigan native, was profoundly moved to action by the Flint Water Crisis. He called back home to his 90-year-old grandmother, Odessa Houston, who began to sing a song on the telephone. Joe recorded her singing over the phone line, then …

Send us a text Flint, Michigan's Buick City brownfield site does not have just a little bit of toxic chemicals left behind by GM, there appears to be a massive amount of environmental damage. As the Flint water crisis, the real story is not out there just yet about the Buick City brownfield site. M…

Send us a text The Flint River Blues is one of many songs written about the Flint Water Crisis. Colton Ort, a singer-songwriter documents for history the lead-tainted water of Flint. He discussed his song and the message he is trying to send. lead-tainted Special Thanks to Colton Ort who provided t…