Today on Stateside, General Motors is set to keep receiving tax breaks from the state of Michigan until 2029. That's in spite of the company's recent decision to cut thousands of jobs and shut down production at two plants in the state. Plus, a co-author of this year's National Climate Assessment shares how climate change is projected to impact Michigan and the Midwest in coming decades.
Listen to the full show above or find individual segments below.
GM’s job cuts won’t stop it from cashing in on secret state tax incentives
- General Motors is preparing to cut thousands of jobs and possibly close two plants in Southeast Michigan. But that won't prevent the company from cashing in on tax credits from the state for another 10 years. Chad Livengood covers public affairs for Crain’s Detroit. He joined Stateside to talk about the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) tax credits, why auto companies receive these credits, and whether General Motors has held up its end of the deal.
Bacon: Wolverines, Spartans, Broncos, and Eagles, oh my! Who gets a bowl game and why.
- John U. Bacon is Michigan Radio’s sports commentator. He weighs in on Ohio State University’s weekend victory in the Big Ten Championship against Northwestern, Michigan’s road to playing against Florida in the Peach Bowl, and the Lions’ recent loss to former teammate Ndamukong Suh and the rest of the Los Angeles Rams.
Pop history: New book covers 100 years of Faygo soda company in Detroit
- Joe Grimm is a Michigan State University journalism professor and author of The Faygo Book, a history of one of Detroit’s most iconic companies. He talks about what inspired him to write the book, how Faygo founders Perry and Ben Feigenson developed their first flavors, and what the long-term outlook is for the company in the modern beverage industry.
Climate change will be costly, especially for at-risk communities
- On Black Friday, the federal government released a National Climate Assessment that spells out the damage we’re already seeing as a result of climate change and warns of what’s to come. Maria Carmen Lemos, associate dean of the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability, co-authored the Midwest chapter of the report. She discusses how climate change is expected to affect the Great Lakes region, what some communities in Michigan are doing now to prepare for those changes, and what anyone can do to play a role in mitigating the damage caused by climate change.
New redistricting commission will face early test when Michigan loses a Congressional seat
- Michigan is going to lose a seat in the House of Representatives when new Congressional maps are drawn in several years. Kurt Metzger is a demographer, founder of Data Driven Detroit, and now serves as mayor of Pleasant Ridge. He tells us why Michigan is losing a Congressional seat, what the practical effects of this loss will be, and how he thinks the newly-adopted public process of redrawing district lines can better serve the state.
A year after Nassar sentencing, two survivors reflect on accountability, media coverage of sexual assault
- Morgan McCaul is a University of Michigan student and sexual assault activist, and Grace French is the founder of the nonprofit group The Army of Survivors. Both were sexually abused when they sought treatment from former sports doctor Larry Nassar for dance injuries. They joined Stateside to share their thoughts on recent charges filed against two key figures from Michigan State University, whether these legal proceedings are a move toward accountability, and how they view media coverage of survivors’ experiences.
Click above to hear Episode 7 of Believed
- On this week’s episode of Believed, hosts Kate Wells and Lindsey Smith talk to a survivor of disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse about the long, winding road she took to realizing that Nassar was not the person she’d thought he was, and that she too had been a victim of his abuse.
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