1/11/07

Incentives for Filmmakers: Rebates for Shooting Here (mp3)

Description
This Week Governor Granholm signed into law a new incentive package to attract film companies to shoot feature films in Michigan. The incentives would offer rebates of up to 20 percent to film companies that spend anywhere from 200 thousand to ten million dollars in the state.
Chris O'Hara - First Assistant Director, Indiehorror.com
Janet Lockwood - Director of the Michigan Film Office.
Andrew Chamberlain - Economist, The Tax Foundation in Washington D.C

Interviews
Mike Artist - Detroit Disney Demolition
Christian - Artist Detroit Disney Demolition
Jacques - Artist Detroit Disney Demolition
Amru Meah - Director Building and Safety Engineering Department, City of Detroit

1/18/07

Hip Hop Diversity: Bridging Communities (mp3)

Description
Dearborn is home to the largest Arab American community in the country...and right next door is Detroit, a city largely made up of African Americans. Of the two, you'd probably think of Detroit when it comes to hip hop music. But this week, the hip hop spotlight is on Dearborn. Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra has more

Interviews
Will Youmans aka Iron Sheik - Hip Hop Artists
Vance Leavey aka Head Roc - Hip Hop Artist
Ray - 17year old Detroit resident.
Anan Ameri - President, Arab American National Museum in Dearborn

1/25/07

Gerald Ford Remembered: Archiving New Tributes (mp3)

Description
An official flag-lowering ceremony was the final activity in a series of events over the past month to commemorate President Ford. Since his death on December 26th, flags nationwide have been flown at half-staff as a remembrance. The flag at the museum will be taken down, folded, and kept forever in the museum's collection. It's just one of the items the Museum has taken in over the past month. Michigan Radio's Christina Shockley reports on the transition the Ford Museum is going through, now that its namesake is gone.

Interviews
Jim Kratsas - Deputy Director, Gerald Ford Museum
David Wallace - Professor of Archives and Records Management, School of Information, University of Michigan
Elaine Didier - Director, Ford Museum and Library
Kristen Mooney - Public Relations, Ford Museum

1/26/07

Africlassical (mp3)

Description
We tend to associate certain types of people with certain types of music: Brazillians with Samba or the British working class with Punk. So if the music of Leslie Adams or William Grant Still doesn't sound familiar, it might because we just don't expect to associate black composers with classical music. Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra reports:

Interviews
Bill Zick - Creator africlassical.com
Susan Taylor - Parent Ypsilanti
Afa Sadykhly - Music Director Sphinx Organization

2/3/07
NPR: 4/5/07

Polaroid Party Store: Lawndale (mp3)

Description
From the outside, Amad Samaan's party store looks like any other party store in Detroit. It's a non-descript, corner brick building lined with black metal bars...the kind of place to go for last minute liquor runs or late night munchies. But step inside the Lawndale Market, and you'll find more than bottles of beer and candy bars. You'll find every inch of the store plastered in Polaroid pictures. Over 10,000 of them ... each one inscribed with the person's name, date, and the words "God Loves Me."

Interviews
Amad Samaan - Owner, Lawndale Market,
Jimmy Blake - Customer, Lawndale Market

2/15/07

Fennville: A Farming Community's Renaissance (mp3)

Description
Tourists flock to Saugatuck for its arts scene, boutiques, and restaurants, but a town not far down the road is trying to get in on some of the action. Michigan Radio's Kaomi Goetz visited a declining farm community that is being reinvented as an artsy destination.
Dawn Soltysiak - Potter
Matt Millar - Co-owner and Chef Journeyman Café
Kristin Gebben - Owner Gebben/ Gray Gallery

Interviews
Mike Artist - Detroit Disney Demolition
Christian - Artist Detroit Disney Demolition
Jacques - Artist Detroit Disney Demolition
Amru Meah - Director Building and Safety Engineering Department, City of Detroit

2/21/07

Getting Serious About Video Games: Changing the World With Play (mp3)

Description
If you grew up in the '80s, you probably remember Oregon Trail - the computer game of choice for classrooms across the country. Fast forward twenty years, and educational games still look pretty much the same, with their multiple choice questions and crude graphics...which is to say they look nothing like the games kids are used to playing on their PCs and Playstations. But as Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra discovered, things are starting to change in the world of edutainment:

Interviews
Brian Winn - Professor of Telecommunications Michigan State University
Brian Magerko - Professor of Telecommunications Michigan State University
Suzanne Seggerman - President Games for Change
Kyle Orland - Video Game Critic, GameCritic.com

2/26/07

Celebrations Under Way: The Mighty Mac Turns 50 (mp3)

Description
The Mackinac Bridge turns 50-years-old later this year, but some are not waiting around to celebrate. Michigan Radio's Richie Duchon attended a recent early birthday party for the bridge.

Interviews
Forrest "Frosty" Wyrick - Mackinac Bridge Aficionado
Mike Gleason - Iron Worker, Mackinac Bridge
Dick Dimera - Iron Worker, Mackinac Bridge
Barbara Brown - nVice-Chair of the Mackinac Bridge Authority

3/2/07

The Journal Project (mp3)

Description
Alana Bartol is an artist who divides her time between Windsor - where she lives - and Wayne State University in Detroit - where she works. Over the years, she began to notice how much the two cities have in common. So she, along with Wayne State grad student Benjamin Good, started the "Detroit Windsor Journal Project" as a way to chronicle the lives of people in both communities. It's a seasonal project that happens four times a year. The first date was last October. The second date is today. Anyone can participate. All it takes is a pen or pencil or crayon...and some paper.

Interviews
Alana Bartol - Artist, Detroit Windsor Journal Project
Benjamin Good - Artist, Detroit Windsor Journal Project

3/16/07

Developing Cognitive Skills Through Art: VTS (mp3)

Description
In some schools around Michigan, teachers are using a program called "Visual Thinking Strategies" to help students develop their cognitive skills. Students are shown works of art and encouraged to talk about what they think the artist is trying to convey. In one Michigan community, administrators are so pleased with the success of the program at one school; they're expanding it to other schools in the district. Gretchen Millich has our story.

Interviews
Tammy Miller - Teacher Pleasant View Elementary School
Bill Charland - Professor of Art, Western Michigan University

3/29/07

Arthur Miller's Theater: It's In Ann Arbor (mp3)

Description
The playwright who brought us "Death of a Salesman" and "The Crucible" is being honored this week. On Friday, the University of Michigan will unveil the new Arthur Miller Theatre ... the only theatre in the world that bears his name. Miller was asked countless times to give his name to theatres on Broadway and in London's West End. But, as Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra discovered, it was only to a theatre in Michigan that he finally said "Yes".

Interviews
Christopher Bigsby - Professor of American Studies, University of East Anglia
Enoch Brater - Professor of Dramatic Literature, University of Michigan
Ben Brantley - Theatre Critic, New York Times

4/4/07

The State of Arts Funding: Money is On Hold (mp3)

Description
Arts advocates around the state are in a tizzy today because state funding for the arts is in jeopardy...yet again. As Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra notes, Governor Granholm has issued a temporary moratorium on all state-sponsored grants through the end of this fiscal year.

Interviews
Dan Gusten - Director, Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, Kalamazoo
Liz Boyd - Press Secretary Governor Granholm
Robert Lynch - President, Americans for the Arts
Needa Delaney - Director, ArtServe Michigan
Ken Fischer - President, University Musical Society

4/16/2007

Yankee Air Museum Rebirth: Rebirth After a Devastating Fire (mp3)

Description
In October 2004, the Yankee Air Museum in Ypsilanti burned to the ground. The museum lost photos and documents that told the area's aviation history. Michigan Radio's Richie Duchon reports this afternoon, a groundbreaking will mark the museum's rebirth.

Interviews
Larry Arnett - retired Mechanical Engineer for Ford
Dick Stewart - President of the air museum
Dennis Norton - President of the Michigan Aerospace Foundation

4/20/2007

Photo Sharing Possibilities: What It Could Mean for History Buffs (mp3)

Description
Used to be you'd take a picture, get it developed, and stick it in a shoe box or a photo album. Now - with the internet you can store your digital photos online and share them with others. Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra takes a look at what these online photos sharing websites could mean for people interested in history.

Interviews
CJ Peters - FLICKR user
Kristin Szylvian - professor of Public History at Western Michigan University
Joey Harrison - FLICKR user
Mark Vandermaas - FLICKR user
William Turkel - professor of history at the University of Western Ontario

5/5/07

Tango Catching On in Michigan: Argentine Tango in Detroit (mp3)

Description
From the brothels of 18th century Buenos Aires, Argentine Tango has made its way to South East Michigan.

Interviews
Susan - from Argentine Tango Detroit.
Doug - from Argentine Tango Detroit
Eric - Uof M Tango Club
Oliver - U of M Tango Club

5/8/07

Memories of Tulip Time: Tulip Time in Holland, Michigan (mp3)

Description
This week, hundreds of kids in Holland will participate in the Tulip Time kids' parade. Michigan Radio's Christina Shockley, a Holland native, recollects her Tulip Time memories.

Interviews
Jackie Hulls - Tulip Time Parade Dancer, student in Holland
Tracy VanOpstal - Former Tulip Time Parade Dancer
Carey Johnson - Former Tulip Time Dancer
Aaron Tuninga - Tulip Time Parade Dancer

5/19/07

Exploring the Ruins of Detroit (mp3)

Description
Detroit doesn't have mountains or forests to explore, but it does have ruins: Industrial ruins - all those abandoned warehouses and buildings scattered around the city. They're left over from Detroit's rust belt days...and they're a virtual playground for urban explorers.

Interviews
Vanessa Miller - Photographer and Urban Explorer

5/25/07

A Look At Michigan's Food Traditions: Where We've Come From (mp3)

Description
It's been said you are what you eat. And if you look at the food we eat in Michigan, it's true.
A variety of foods are popular in the state, and they tell us about our history, and about the ethnic groups that settled here - as an exhibit exploring Michigan food traditions begins in Chelsea.

Interviews
Susan Odom - Michigan food historian
Yvonne Lockwood - curator of folk-life at Michigan State University
Craig Common - Chef, Common Grill in Chelsea, Michigan

This is a Michigan Humanities Council-funded project.
Link here for more information.

5/30/07

A Career in the Arts: Is it Possible? (mp3)

Description
Earlier this month, Governor Granholm issued a freeze on all state-sponsored arts grants. On top of that, the Senate has proposed to cut three-point-six million dollars in arts funding for the next fiscal year. But, as Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra discovered, it's not just the various programs that will be hurt by the cuts...young leaders who are looking to build a career in the arts could feel the pinch, too.

Interviews
Aubrey Martinson - Managing Director Dance Gallery Foundation
Isaac Ellis - Actor
Nicole Manvel - Community Relations University Musical Society

6/22/07

Artist Spotlight: Detroit Unleaded (mp3)

Description
This weekend, the Allied Media Conference is going on in Detroit. Films from around the country will be screened, including one by a local filmmaker. It's about the tension between Arab-Americans and African-Americans in Detroit - a topic that gets a lot of attention from the media. Rola Nashef thinks the coverage is sensationalized AND stereotypical. So, as Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra reports, the Lebanese-born filmmaker set out to her make own short film about the two groups:

Interviews
Rola Nashef - Filmmaker

7/7/07

Artist Spotlight: The Hard Lessons (mp3)

Description
As part of our new, occasional series "Artist Spotlight" we'll be profiling a bunch of different artists from around the state. Some you may have heard of, others might be new to you.
Today, we're going to spend some time with Korin Louise Cox and Augie Visocchi. They're in a band called The Hard Lessons.

Interviews
Korin Louise Cox, Musician "The Hard Lessons"
Augie Visocchi, Musician "The Hard Lessons"

7/17/07

The July That Changed the Detroit Sound: Music After the Riots (mp3)

Description
In 1967, chaos broke out on the streets of Detroit. Just about everyone who lived in or near Detroit at the time of the riots has a story of how they were changed by that summer. Some of those people were musicians.

Interviews
David Carson - Author, "Grit, Noise and Revolution
Wayne Kramer - Guitarist, MC5
Drew Bardo - Lead Singer, The Questions

7/17/07

It Touched the UP, Too: The 67 Riot Remembered (mp3)

Description
The riot took place in Detroit, but its impacts have been felt by people all over our state. Doug Houseman is one of them. He was 10 years old at the time, living more than 400 miles from Detroit. Here's Doug's Story:

Interviews
Doug Houseman

7/17/07

A Simple Lesson: The 67 Riot Remembered (mp3)

Description
Ivory Williams was a teenager living in Detroit, when the looting spread to his neighborhood. He says he learned one very simple, but lasting lesson from those days.

Interviews
Ivory Williams

7/17/07

Searching For Neighborhood Lost: The 67 Riot Remembered (mp3)

Description
Donna Daines was in her early 20's when the riot touched her life. Afterward she went looking to re-create her childhood neighborhood.

Interviews
Donna Daines

8/3/07

Crafting is Cool Again: The DIY Craft Movement is Sweeping Across Michigan (mp3)

Description
There's a new kind of craft fair going on in Detroit this weekend. It's the second annual Detroit Urban Craft Fair. But don't expect to find crocheted tissue box covers and homemade jams. As Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra reports, this new craft movement has more than a little bit of irony sewn in.

Interviews
Stephanie Tardy - Co-Creator of The Detroit Urban Craft Fair
Lish Dorset - Co- Creator of The Detroit Urban Craft Fair
Carla Sinclair - Editor-in-Chief of Craft Magazine
Steven Pedigo - Lead researcher with Creative Class Group

8/16/07

Women and the Priesthood: One Woman's Struggle with Ordination in the Roman Catholic Church (mp3)

Description
The Vatican has made it very clear, in no uncertain terms, that women cannot be priests in the Roman Catholic Church. But that hasn't stopped a group of women from pursuing the priesthood. One of those women lives in Michigan.

Interviews
Mary Ellen Robertson - Ordained Roman Catholic women-priest
Aisha Taylor - President of the Womens Ordination Conference
Alan Schreck - Head of the Theology department at Franciscan University in Ohio

9/7/07

"The Life Before Her Eyes" Becomes a Film (mp3)

Description
A novel by University of Michigan professor Laura Kasischke has been made into a movie. The film stars Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Woods. It premieres Sept. 8 at the Toronto International Film Festival. Laura Kasischke is the author of seven books of poetry and five novels. Her writing has won many national awards including several Pushcart Prizes.

Interviews
Laura Kasischke - Author of,The Life Before Her Eyes
Antonya Nelson - fiction writer and professor at the University of Houston
Aimee Peyronnet - Producer, "The Life Before Her Eyes." (Film Version)

9/15/07

Artist Spotlight: Evan Chambers (mp3)

Description
Composer Evan Chambers knows death isn't one of the most uplifting topics to talk about. Let alone set to music. The Old Burying Ground makes its chamber premier on 17 Sept 2007 at the Kerrytown Concert House in Ann Arbor. The orchestral version will have its premiere on 10 Dec 2007 at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor.

Interviews
Evan Chambers - Composer, "The Old Burying Ground"

9/18/07

Remembering Shakey Jake (mp3)

Description
One of Ann Arbor's most famous residents died over the weekend. His name was Jake Woods. But if you ever spent any amount of time in Ann Arbor...you'd probably know him as Shakey Jake.

Interviews
Jake Woods - a.k.a. Shakey Jake
Carol Lopez - Friend and caretaker of Jake Woods

10/5/07

Recycling Art (mp3)

Description
Everyone has stuff. Probably too much stuff. Stuff you don't use anymore, stuff that's just gathering dust in a box somewhere. Sure, you could recycle it. Or, as Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra discovered, you could turn some of that stuff...into art!

Interviews
Britten Stringwell - Artist
Vivienne Armentrout - Recycler

10/8/07

Slatkin Names DSO Music Director (mp3)

Description
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has finally picked a new music director after a five year search. His name is Leonard Slakin and the DSO President can finally breath a sigh of relief.

Interviews
Anne Parsons - DSO President
Leonard Slatkin - New DSO Director
Tim Page - Music Critic, Washington Post

10/8/07

DiChiera To Premier first Opera (mp3)

Description
Some artists are prolific. Others take their time, waiting for the inspiration to create that piece of a lifetime. Such is the case of the Michigan Opera Theatre's General Director, David DiChiera. Michigan Radio's Richie Duchon has this profile.

Interviews
David DiChiera - Michigan Opera Theatre's General Director

10/22/07

A Family of Artists: A Grand Rapids Family Create Art in an Unconventional Lifestyle (mp3)

Description
Having one parent who works as an artist, or even both parents, may not be all that unusual, but what about the whole family? That's the case with the Beerhorst family of Grand Rapids, where the entire brood is encouraged to make art and sell it. They even call their lives an experiment in living.

Interviews
Rick and Brenda Beerhorst - Mother and Father, artists
Rose Beerhorst - Daughter, artist

10/30/07

Milford Undertaker Profiled on Frontline (mp3)

Description
One of Ann Arbor's most famous residents died over the weekend. Thomas Lynch is a writer, a poet, and an undertaker in Milford, Michigan. Tonight, public television audiences will have the chance to see how Lynch deals with death each day in the Frontline documentary "The Undertaking."

Interviews
Thomas Lynch - writer, a poet, and an undertaker in Milford, Michigan.
Karen 'OConner - Frontline producer

11/23/07

The DIA Gets a Makeover (mp3)

Description
There's a new kind of museum in town. It's The Detroit Institute of Arts. Over the past six and a half years, the DIA has been undergoing some massive renovations. $160 million later, the entire DIA has re-opened to the public. Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra takes us on an audio tour of the newly restored, renovated and re-imagined museum.

Interviews
Graham Beal - Director, Detroit Institute of Arts

12/24/07

Holiday Music: New Holiday Music From Local Artists (mp3)

Description
It’s the holidays. We’re in Michigan, so why not listen to holiday music MADE in Michigan? Michigan Radio’s Jennifer Guerra offers up some musical alternatives to the standard holiday classics with a look at the new Holiday Compilation album by local music collective, Suburban Sprawl.

Interviews
Zach Norton-musician with Suburban Sprawl
Adem Kempa-musician with Suburban Sprawl
Zach Curd-musician with Suburban Sprawl