Detroit is Different

“Detroit is a very special place… the Mecca for Pan-African thought and action.” Baba Mike Anderson, citizen of the Republic of New Afrika, joins Detroit is Different for a powerful episode recorded on Malcolm X Day rooted in Black liberation, memory, and movement. Baba Mike carries us from his North End childhood on John R, where “you didn’t have to leave the neighborhood,” ...

“The Freedom Fighter is in my blood,” Jenell Mansfield says, tracing her roots from Macon, Georgia, to Dexter-Davidson, the Jeffries Projects, Central High School, and Haiti’s revolutionary legacy. In this Detroit is Different conversation, Mansfield, a teacher and social worker running for Wayne County Commissioner in the 5th District, opens up about the generations that sha...

“You don’t tell us who we are, we tell you who we are.” That spirit drives this Detroit is Different conversation with Mallory McMorrow, who is running for a Michigan seat in the United States Senate. This interview opens with roots: how a Jersey-born industrial designer who lived across five states found home in Michigan through road rallies, Detroit archite...

“You don’t just leave things sitting at the city council meeting”—Nicole Small brings that truth home in this powerful Detroit is Different conversation about civic education, community accountability, and the future of Detroit politics. A former Detroit Charter Commission member, devoted organizer, and activist, Nicole reflects on why the city charter matters as Detroit’s “c...

“It’s not one lane… it’s multi-lane, like 75 or something.” Dre Clemons brings that Detroit truth into this episode of Detroit is Different, sharing a life shaped by Joy Road, hip-hop, design, education, and community responsibility. Known through worlds connected to Detroit’s Most Wanted, Whodini, music, product design, transportation design, and architecture, Dre explains h...