Why an eviction defense program creating trust in Detroit's legal system may not exist next year

Why almost nobody follows Detroit rental law

Windows nailed shut. No heat on the second floor. Sewage backing up into the basement — in a home the city never cleared to be a rental in the first place. For 40 years, Detroit has had a law meant to prevent exactly that: landlords must register a rental and prove it's safe before anyone moves in. Almost nobody follows it. Only about 1 in 7 Detroit rentals meets the bar, and rewrites of the law in 2017 and 2024 have barely moved the needle. Outlier Media senior reporter Aaron Mondry [https://outliermedia.org/author/aaron-mondry/] joins host Robyn Vincent to explain why — and who pays for it. Part of the answer is enforcement; part is math: a Center for Community Progress [https://communityprogress.org/] study found that fixing an old house can cost more than the rent will ever bring back, so landlords ignore the law. It's a bind in any city built on old, cheap housing. Mondry lays out what it costs tenants, why a landlord without a certificate of compliance isn't even allowed to collect rent, and what it would take to change.

Iron Chef Detroit fundraiser returns for a third year

Iron Chef Detroit is an annual fundraiser that supports Cass Community Social Services. It returns for a third year at Eastern Market in Shed 5 on June 5.  There will be a contest where two Detroit chefs, Chef John Vermiglio [https://www.starchefs.com/profiles/john-vermiglio] and Chef Andy Hollyday, [http://www.seldenstandard.com/about-us/] race against time for their dish to win the favor of the follow judges: - Mamba Hamissi (Baobab Fare Chef) [https://www.mambahamissi.com/about]  - Anthony Lombardo (SheWolf and Medusa Chef) [https://shewolfdetroit.com/about] - Jessica Care Moore (Detroit Poet Laureate, Author, Director, and Activist) [https://www.jessicacaremoore.org/about]  Carlos Parisi [https://carlosparisi.com/] is the owner of Aunt Nee’s, an editorial contributor to Hour Detroit, as well as a TV and podcast host. He will be hosting the event beside Jon Kung, [https://www.kungfood.kitchen/about] a Chinese American chef, podcast host, content creator, and author of "Kung Food: Chinese American Recipes from a Third Culture Kitchen." They joined The Metro to talk about their love of food and the importance of connecting through food with people from all walks of life.

Why an eviction defense program creating trust in Detroit's legal system may not exist next year

For about three years, Detroit's Right to Counsel program has given free legal representation to low-income tenants facing eviction. The share of tenants who walk in with a lawyer has gone from almost none to nearly all. But the program is running low on money, and its future depends on the state, the federal government, or philanthropy to step in. What happens to tenants — and to the court itself — if it disappears? William McConico is the Chief Judge of Detroit's 36th District Court. He spoke about why he's hoping to keep the program with The Metro's Robyn Vincent.

Sounds like Detroit celebrates local artists. You curate the lineup

Over 150 Michigan performers entered NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert this year. Only 10 of them will be eligible to appear in Sounds Like Detroit [https://wdet.org/tiny-desk-detroit-2026/]. It's a local musical showcase that’ll take place at Batch Brewing Company on August 13. Before the concert starts, Detroiters have the chance to select the top five musicians who go on to headline the show based on their entry videos.  This year's top 10 includes: - IIAJIDE - Michelle Held - Aisha Ellis - KTCHN - Jubilee Jackson - Checker - Vaughn Black - Rose St. Germaine - Mild Pulp - Laurie Love Jeff Milo is the host of MI Local on WDET. He also is the coordinator and main host of Sounds Like Detroit. He joined The Metro to talk more about the chosen finalists and how they are shaping the local sound. For more information, go to WDET.org/TinyDesk [http://wdet.org/TinyDesk] and cast a ballot before June 19.

Naomi Oreskes on the coal bailout and the myth of the free market

Coal is dying. Gas, wind, and solar got cheaper, and the market moved on. So why is the federal government spending about $700 million, and reaching for a 1950 wartime law, to keep coal plants open and even build new ones?  Harvard historian Naomi Oreskes — author of "The Big Myth" — joins host Robyn Vincent to unpack the contradiction at the heart of America's coal revival: the same movement that insists government should stay out of the way is now using government power to overrule the market. Then they turn to a very different plan — the World Inequality Lab's new Global Justice Report, which maps how to lift the world's poorest and hold warming under two degrees by taxing the very richest. Why does one get called "pragmatic" and the other "impossible"? It's a conversation about coal, capitalism, and who gets to decide what's realistic. Mentioned in this episode * The Global Justice Report (World Inequality Lab): Global Justice Project - World Inequality Lab [https://inequalitylab.world/en/global-justice-project/]