Melody Baetens talks fall restaurant experiences

The calendar has officially turned to fall. The leaves will soon turn colors and with that people are starting to think about their favorite autumn activities. There are no shortage of food and drink experiences in around Detroit to wear your favorite cozy sweater to. Melody Baetens is a dining and entertainment reporter for The Detroit News. She stopped by The Metro to bring us up to date on what’s happening in the dining scene.

Chaos. That’s the trendline in the auto sector of our economy. A war in Iran has raised gas prices. A Trump administration antagonistic to electric vehicles has reshaped the auto industry, causing Stellantis, General Motors and Ford to lose a combined $52 billion as they’ve shifted away from their electric investments. And through it all, the Trump administration has enacted tariffs. In August, America enacted new tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel. Canada responded with tariffs on many U.S. goods, including those aforementioned products. Meanwhile, the price of cars — especially used cars — are increasing. What do these trends mean for auto companies and auto workers? How are customers affected? Paul Eisenstein is the editor of headlight.news. He’s also the publisher and editor of “The Car Collective” Substack. He spoke with The Metro's Sam Corey.  

Michigan buries more trash per person than any state in the country. What happens to it is mostly invisible. A landfill is sealed, and the waste inside keeps breaking down for decades — making methane, liquid and heat. Even on an ordinary day, it releases benzene and other chemicals into the air nearby, and when the waste heats up, those emissions climb with it. One landfill west of Northville has been running hot since 2019. A well there hit 177 degrees last year, and the state approved running it hotter. Now the company wants to expand. Katherine Blauvelt of Full Circle Future joins host Robyn Vincent on what's underneath, what gets out, and who's supposed to be watching. Michigan's environmental agency, EGLE, told The Metro the landfill is being properly managed. GFL Environmental said it couldn't answer our questions by deadline. Have thoughts? Email the show at [email protected]

In a city that's nearly 80% Black, Detroit had almost no Black-owned grocery stores. So for more than a decade, a group of Detroiters worked to build one they would own themselves. The Detroit People's Food Co-op opened on Woodward in 2024. Two years later, it's asking for help — 500 new owners, and $10 more from every shopper, every trip. Lanay Gilbert-Williams, the co-op's board president, joins host Robyn Vincent to talk about prices, who's shopping, and whether a community can afford to own its own food. Have thoughts? Email the show at [email protected]

The anything-goes show called “The Coney” gathers many of Detroit’s A-listers, with proceeds benefitting local youth art programs. Marc Evan Jackson is an actor, comedian, and entertainer. His work includes roles in TV shows "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and "The Good Place." Jackson is also founder of the Detroit Creativity Project and a former member of Second City Detroit, a comedy troupe that closed two decades ago. Andrew Stein is the CEO of The Michigan Children’s Foundation, whose mission to serve the young people from the state aligns with the improv program. They stopped by The Metro to discuss the event.

Detroit's Renaissance Center inspires different feelings for different people. Some view it as ugly and detached from the city. Others see its tallest towers as an emblem of the city—and some of those same people argue that pouring public money into its redevelopment will detract from other priorities. This question — whether a large public-private project is worth it for the public — has come into sharper focus. That’s because GM and Bedrock are now asking for just under $550 million to subsidize the redevelopment of the RenCen. Jared Fleisher is the CEO of Bedrock. He spoke about the plan with The Metro's Robyn Vincent. Later, Anne Goulet joined the conversation. She is the principal of two firms, Argitct and Anne R Goulet Architecture and Design.

Detroit’s Chinatown used to be a bustling neighborhood that often marked the first stop in the states for so many immigrants.  According to the 2025 census, 1.7 percent of Detroit’s population identify as Asian American. An effort is underway to restore Detroit's Chinatown. In partnership with the International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit (IIMD), Concert of Colors Neighborhood Programs will host a celebration in old neighborhood. We Tell These Truths: Music is a Universal Language (A Pan-Asian Cultural Celebration) is Saturday, Sept. 26, 2-4:30 p.m. It's happening at Detroit Shipping Company in Detroit's Cass Corridor. Roland Hwang is a lecturer of Asian, Pacific Islander History at the University of Michigan. Hwang is an attorney and a former state assistant attorney general. He is a supporter of Concert of Colors and MC for the event. The concert will feature virtuoso erhuist Xiao Dong Wei, and her alter-ego, Madame XD. Wei's musical journey began in China at the tender age of 5. Her work has taken her across the globe and landed her in the Detroit area.  She blends traditional Chinese music with contemporary genres. From jazz, rock, and orchestral performance, Xiao plays over 20 instruments.  Additional performers include virtuoso pipaist, Min Xiao-Fen. As well the Great Lakes Taiko Ensemble, and Thomas Xu “Steady Flight Circle” as the DJ for the afternoon. Wei and Hwang joined The Metro to talk more about the concert and Detroit’s Chinatown. 

Will Lawrence helped start the Sunrise Movement, the climate group famous for pressuring Democrats from the outside. He's never held office before, but in August he beat a former ambassador and a former Navy SEAL for the Democratic nomination in Michigan's 7th District. He's running on a platform of Medicare for All, higher taxes on the very rich, and a pause on new data centers and the most advanced AI — in a Lansing-area seat Republican Tom Barrett won by under four points. Lawrence joins host Robyn Vincent to make his case. Barrett joins The Metro next week. Have thoughts? Email the show at [email protected]

Tomorrow marks 25 years since the twin towers came down. What came next reshaped this country. The Patriot Act. Two wars. Here at home, a registration program fingerprinted, photographed and questioned more than 80,000 men and boys largely from Muslim-majority countries. It didn't produce a single terrorism conviction. Almost none of that machinery was ever dismantled. So, we're wondering: How has American politics changed — and how hasn't it — since September of 2001. Ali Harb is a freelance journalist based in Washington D.C. He covers American politics, U.S. foreign policy, and politics in the Middle East. He spoke with The Metro's Robyn Vincent.

More than 450,000 DTE customers lost power in last week's storms. Michigan requires a $42 daily credit — but in the biggest outages, it doesn't start until day four. Rep. Rashida Tlaib joins host Robyn Vincent to discuss the rule, the regulators who wrote it, and her bill to raise pollution fines on utilities that keep raising rates. Have thoughts? Email the show at [email protected]