The Stateside team hosted conversations every day with interesting Michiganders about important issues. Here's a look at some of the best content of the year chosen by the Stateside team itself!
Stateside Podcast: The voice behind the Lions' fight anthem
There’s a particular song that offers solace to Lions fans across the country, even in the most nail-biting moments: "Gridiron Heroes.”
The song, which plays after every home game touchdown, was written by former Lions entertainment director Graham T. Overgard in the 1930s. But for the past 20 years, Detroit-based singer Theo Spight has been the voice of the anthem. He landed the job, he said, after winning Local 4’s singing competition.
By this point, Spight is accustomed to people stopping him on the street to take photos. He’s also used to song requests to sing “Gridiron Heroes” at non-football events, like weddings. The fans, he said, are what make the gig so great.
Stateside Podcast: No poetry, no culture
Therapy can come in many forms. For psychotherapist Tariq Elsaid, poetry and translation are two primary forms through which he practices psychotherapy. A graduate of the University of Michigan’s School of Social Work, Elsaid uses translation exercises with Muslim young adults who do not speak Arabic fluently in his poetic psychotherapy workshops. He came on Stateside to discuss these workshops and his other work.
Elsaid said he decided on pursuing psychology after a vehicle accident, a catalyst that shifted his priorities from pursuing a lucrative career to a fulfilling one. Drawn to Islamic psychology, a practice that combines Islamic spiritual practices and psychotherapy, Elsaid connected with the Khalil Center in Chicago. It was here that his career in psychotherapy was set in motion.
While Elsaid was pursuing his master’s in social work, he was also working toward a graduate certificate in Critical Translation Studies.
Stateside Podcast: Tiff Massey on the Art of Adornment
Artist Tiff Massey is the first Black woman to graduate from Cranbrook’s metalsmithing department. The multimedia artist is perhaps best known today for her jewelry.
While some of Massey's rings and chains are wearable, others are as large as furniture pieces, evoking the place these things have in Black culture.
Stateside host April Baer visited Massey's studio last spring, in advance of the opening of her installation at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The exhibition, titled 7 Mile + Livernois, is open through May 11, 2025.
Stateside Podcast: A modern "Sense and Sensibility"
Jane Austen wrote stories for the ages. Her novels are the playbook for a certain genre of self-empowered women characters.
Writer A.H. Kim (who discovered her love of Austin through the BBC movie adaptations) is a latecomer to the club. Her newest book "Relative Strangers" loosely follows the story of "Sense and Sensibility," telling the tale of two sisters in transition.
Kim joined the Stateside podcast for a conversation about writing for entertainment, looking in from the outside, and life after cancer.
Stateside Podcast: Titus Kaphar on the meaning of the missing
Kalamazoo-born artist Titus Kaphar's work is on display at some of the premier art museums, like MoMA, The Whitney, and The Met. But these days you can also find his work in a different kind of institution. One of the pieces featured in his series "From a Tropical Place" is currently displayed at Grosse Pointe North High School.
The painting features a Black woman standing in a bedroom, holding two infants. The children are cut out of the image, leaving behind the empty space of their silhouettes. Some within the Grosse Pointe North High School community find it inspiring, while others are more dismayed by its meaning. On this episode of the Stateside podcast we spoke with Titus Kaphar about this particular piece, his process, and some new projects he has in the pipeline.
Stateside Podcast: Titus Kaphar on "Exhibiting Forgiveness"
Artist Titus Kaphar, born in Kalamazoo, is one of the most accomplished living artists in the Michigan diaspora. You might have seen his paintings in the National Portrait Gallery, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, or the Detroit Institute of Arts.
This year, Kaphar made the leap into narrative filmmaking, with a semi-autobiographical film he wrote and produced titled Exhibiting Forgiveness. The Detroit Institute of Arts will screen the film December 11-15.
The film follows painter Terrell, played by André Holland, as he wrestles with generational trauma and navigates his relationship with his estranged father, played by John Earl Jelks, who has reappeared in his life unexpectedly.
Stateside Podcast: Anishinaabe artist's basketry fuses tradition and art
"If you walk into our exhibition, you'll be welcomed by us. A welcome mat that I made and it has a little message on the floor that reflects with some light and it says, You are our native land."
Last month, the University of Michigan’s Stamps School of Art and Design released a new exhibition featuring art by mother and daughter duo, Kelly Church and Cherish Parrish. The exhibition titled In Our Words, An Intergenerational Dialogue examines how two contemporary Indigenous artists have continued to bring awareness to the traditional Anishinaabe practice of black ash basket making, while also showing the importance of community.
In addition to being an Ottawa/Pottawatomi black ash basket maker, Kelly Church is also a fiber artist, educator, activist, and cultural helper. Additionally, she is a member of the Gun Lake Band in Michigan and is a Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Ojibwe descendent.
Stateside Podcast: Rewa Zeinati leans into "Difficult"
Award-winning poet and writer, Rewa Zeinati, recently released her second chapbook of poetry, Difficult. Zeinati explores the question of inherited trauma, and how individuals are able to liberate themselves from the choices made on their behalf. Difficult takes a deep dive into the topics of marriage, the female body, and the countries she leaves and returns to.
As a naturalized U.S. citizen with Lebanese and Palestinian roots, Zeinati uses poetry to create a space where an individual is able to question and answer themselves. Poetry provides the ability to try and understand the experiences that we’re having without the restrictions of having all the answers.
