Season 12

“We can’t just walk up in people’s neighborhoods and not come the right way—it’s not going to end well for you.” In this Detroit is Different conversation, Marlin Williams—Founder of Intentional Technology and the force behind Sisters Code—shows why tech decisions are really decisions about people, power, and legacy. …

“Detroit is different… it’s all because of the melanin that we’re getting from the sun.” In this Detroit is Different conversation, Brother Chungalia—an original member of the US Organization founded by Dr. Maulana Karenga, creator of Kwanzaa, and among the first to celebrate it—takes us from post-riot Los Angeles to the deep roots of Black Detroit. …

“Politics taught me and prepared me for a world that is more political than politics.” Wayne County Commissioner (District 2) and 13th Congressional District Democratic Party Chair Jonathan Kinloch joins Detroit is Different for a Detroit-rooted, world-spanning conversation that starts at Second & Myrtle—“you know you’re Detroit when you remember” it was…

There’s this interesting thing with time where the past collapses within the present.” Triniti Watson—Curator-in-Residence at the Boggs Center for Nurturing Community Leadership and visionary lead of The Critical Mix—pulls up with Detroit roots deep as the Great Migration and a mission to make “lost histories… more visible.” …

"We really have exactly 100 years in Detroit,” Arthur Chapman says, and that one line sets the whole episode on fire—because this isn’t just jewelry, it’s Legacy Black Detroit economics. Arthur walks us from Yazoo City, Mississippi to Black Bottom, where family relationships became the real infrastructure, and where his grandfather “Daddy E” (Eli Chapman…

“It’s for the community. It’s about the community. It is community centered”—and Bryce Huffman brings that energy from the first minute, taking us from deep family roots (“Granddad… from Alabama by way of The Bahamas”) to the neighborhoods that raised him—Conant Gardens, Anderson Memorial, Bagley/University District—where “thank God because this is my city…

“You don’t know that you live in a Black city until you leave.” Aaron Foley pulls up to Detroit Is Different with that truth and four generations of Detroit in his pocket—from Conant Gardens to the North End—unpacking how Legacy Black culture was built through homes, institutions, and the Black press. …

“My life will be better if everybody else’s life gets better”—that’s the heartbeat of this Detroit is Different conversation with musician and lifelong activist Bill Meyer, where jazz isn’t just sound, it’s a human-rights practice. Bill takes us from his family’s Depression-era move from Canada to Detroit, to learning piano out of pure little-brother…

“I wanted a red brick house in Detroit. That’s all I wanted.” In this Detroit is Different studio sit-down, Misha Stallworth West—Senior Program Officer at the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation—traces a five-generation arc from Selma to Detroit and family full of community organizers. …

“You don’t get a blueprint in Detroit—you just have to be good and consistent.” Spoken word artist, poet, experience creator, and filmmaker Natasha T. Miller joins Detroit is Different for a deeply grounded conversation on what artistry means when it’s rooted in family, responsibility, and legacy Black culture. …