“Trump is not the disease of our politics—he’s just the worst symptom,” Abdul El-Sayed tells Detroit is Different, and from that line he builds a whole Michigan-rooted case for why progressives can’t just run against villains—they’ve got to run for people. In this deep, story-rich conversation, Abdul traces his Detroit foundation from an Egyptian father who “literally studied into existence the life I got to live” to a multiracial Michigan family that forced him to “explain myself to people my whole life,” and he connects that lived truth to organizing: the courage to face the bully, because “once you let them take your lunch money once you’re never going to eat lunch.” He breaks down public health as moral politics—“15 hours or 15 minutes” can mean a ten-year life expectancy gap—and calls out a system where CEOs get rich “while denying healthcare to people who they know need it.” From rebuilding Detroit’s health department (glasses vans outside schools) to refusing corporate money, Abdul lays out a liberal, progressive, activist spirit that echoes Michigan’s long tradition of labor, civil rights, and community-led power: “It’s not enough to say what you’re against—you got to say what you’re for.”

Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different.

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“The one thing I would tell the younger generation is to never stop learning.” In this special Detroit is Different x I Am a Genius collaboration, host Candace Cox-Wimberly (She’s a Genius / I Am a Genius) sits with Brandon Young, CEO and co-founder of Safety Ops Specialists, for a conversation that feels like Detroit porch wisdom with a business plan attached. From “Linwood… the stumping grounds” to “east side, also downtown,” Brandon maps how Legacy Black Detroit raises builders—wearing “suits since I was two years old,” shaped by the Nation of Islam, Aisha Shule, and the discipline of being “unapologetically me.” He breaks down entrepreneurship as “getting your time back,” but keeps it real: “It doesn’t start off the gate… you need to… build… a well-oiled machine.” The interview hits deep when Brandon shares how grief became fuel after losing his brother to COVID: “That pain pushed you forward,” leading him to create “between 50 and 60 jobs” and watch people go from “sleeping in their car” to “now I got a house.” He ties mentorship to survival—“closed mouth don’t get fed”—and ends with Detroit prophecy: “our work ethic is second to none.” This episode connects our past discipline to a future of entrepreneurship, wellness, and community-owned opportunity.

Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different.

Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher.

Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing [email protected]

Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

“Lord, please don’t let ’em take my smile.” Actor Lou Beatty Jr. steps into Detroit is Different with a life that reads like a Detroit map and a history syllabus—North End porches, Oakland Avenue storefronts, and the labor that rebuilt churches and neighborhoods after white flight. He traces his family’s Great Migration from Union, South Carolina—“the automobile industry… afforded these people… a way to make the dollar”—to a Detroit where Black artisans raised steel, laid brick, and even helped build C.L. Franklin’s church: “We hung the steel girders, created altars.” Lou remembers a city alive with sound—“I used to see Smokey walking down the street”—and a worldview sharpened at St. Emma Military Academy and in radio ad sales where he learned, “In business, you want all the money coming at you.” Then Hollywood: “He signed me on Thursday… I was on national TV two weeks later,” but Lou keeps it grounded: “All jobs are honorable… I got to take care of my family.” This episode ties past to future—craft, community, and cultural memory—showing how Legacy Black Detroit survives by turning skill into sovereignty and story into a blueprint. And he reminds us: “Learn it from the bottom up—don’t skip steps.”

Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different.

Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher.

Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing [email protected]

Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co