Podcast Episodes Interviews, Show Notes, and Transcripts

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. Professor Clark draws on oral interviews with retired UAW members and archives of regional newspapers. Professor Clark's methods of research prove the mythology surrounding autoworkers during the postwar years was far remov...

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 at its facility and throughout Southeast Michigan with an emphasis in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) education. They provide a community space for creating, and operate a public store that sells recycled mate...

n May 1927, one of the deadliest acts of mass violence in American history unfolded in the quiet village of Bath, Michigan. Over the course of several weeks, Andrew Kehoe, the treasurer of the local school board, secretly wired the Bath Consolidated School—and his own farm—with hundreds of pounds of dynamite. On the morning of May 18, just one day before graduation, a series of explosions tore through the school building, killing 45 people and injuring dozens more, most of them children. Kehoe...

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 family. David shares a great story about Johnny Cash and the Carter Family performing at the IMA Auditorium in Flint during his final career tour. During the performance an irate fan jumped on stage and attempted to fig...

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 Kramer has written a memoir, The Hard Stuff: Dope, Crime, the Mc5, and My Life of Impossibilities. The MC5 recorded and performed the song "Kick Out the Jams, which became an anthem for the protest movement of the...

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 cultural icon. He has a special place in the hearts and memories of Tiger fans. We invited Flint area fans to recount their favorite memories of Ernie. Included on our guest list are" Sue Meisner-Kelly a retired Fli...

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 discusses the pursuit of her career in entertainment and public speaking. Kate's message to young people of America is inspiring and convincing. More importantly she speaks to values based lessons that are not just good medicin...

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 well as an NIT college post-season tournament. Marty was an NBA 3rd-round draft pick of the Utah Jazz and went on to play 13 seasons of professional basketball. Notably, Marty has published 13 books. His works includ...

Gregory Fournier, author of The Purple Gang: Detroit’s Kosher Nostra, joins the podcast to explore the rise and fall of one of America’s most notorious Prohibition-era crime syndicates. During the 1920s and 1930s, Detroit’s Purple Gang—led by the Bernstein brothers—sat atop Michigan’s criminal underworld, controlling bootlegging, rackets, and labor intimidation while doing business with figures like Al Capone. Though later eclipsed by the Mafia in Detroit, the Purple Gang left an outsized mark ...

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. More is learned each year about the extent of the damage. The Buick City site appears to be a crime scene. Remember there have already been millions and millions of EPA Super Fund dollars spent to clean the site up. ...

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 the song, The Flint River Blues. Colton is a singer-songwriter who wrote this song to help keep the poisoned children of Flint from being forgotten. Watch a YouTube video interview with Colton Ort with Radio Free Fl...

A true crime story about fratricide. The killing involves fraternal twins. One twin, David Melfi along with a friend helped kill the other twin by stabbing him 45 times. It is a shocking crime. The Prosecutor in the case, Arthur A. Busch narrates the case from his vantage point. This is a riveting story. It remained in the local news for nearly two years from the time of the crime in 1995 until the sentencing in 1997. ----- Read the news article about the resentencing of David Melfi: Flint ma...