Detroit

The former co-anchor of ESPN's SportsCenter faced criticism in 2017 for calling the president a white supremacist. In her memoir, Uphill, she talks about her career and her life growing up in Detroit.

Vance played attorney Johnnie Cochran in The People v. O.J. Simpson. Now he takes to the pulpit as Aretha Franklin's father, Rev. C.L Franklin, in Genius: Aretha. Originally broadcast April 21, 2021.

The Lady and the Dale is a new HBO documentary miniseries co-directed by Nick Cammilleri and Zackary Drucker. It's about a female automobile executive who took on the Detroit automakers and tried to market a gas-efficient car in the 1970s, at the height of the oil crisis.

Jack Goldsmith's new memoir centers on his investigation into his stepfather's involvement in the 1975 disappearance of the mob-connected labor leader Jimmy Hoffa.

Growing up, Bridgett M. Davis' mother booked and banked bets from their home in Detroit. She writes about her experience — and the role of "the numbers" in the black community — in her memoir.

Even as Detroit files for bankruptcy protection, Bruce Katz says many American cities are showing promising signs of renewal. In The Metropolitan Revolution, he writes that, together, cities and suburbs have the power to take on the challenges Washington won't.

To some, Detroit may be a symbol of urban decay; but to journalist Charlie LeDuff, it's home. In Detroit: An American Autopsy, he says the city's heart beats on. "We're still here trying to reconstruct the great thing we once had," he tells Fresh Air's Dave Davies.

Colette Burson and Dmitry Lipkin are the writers behind HBO's series Hung, about a hapless schoolteacher — with one substantial asset — who finds an unorthodox way to make ends meet.

Rock historian Ed Ward remembers the Detroit label Westbound Records, which recorded early funk, disco and gospel in the 1970s.

Paul Eisenstein reports from the Detroit Auto Show on the state of the auto industry. Eisenstein has covered cars for over 30 years; he currently reports for the independent news service The Detroit Bureau.

Music critic Milo Miles reviews A-Square (Of Course), a new collection featuring artists from Hugh 'Jeep' Holland's rock label.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age by Kevin Boyle.

William Adler is author of, Land of Opportunity: One Family's Quest For The American Dream In The Age of Crack. It tells the story of the Chambers brothers, who moved to Detroit from Mississippi in the mid-80's in search of economic freedom. They found it by setting up the biggest drug business in the city -- complete with quality control, discounts, employee bonuses and a dress code.

Film critic John Powers reviews the new movie about interracial friendships and relationships. He says the film's message is remarkably different from Spike Lee's recent "Jungle Fever," which explores similar themes.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews "Motor City" by Bill Morris. It's his first book, and deals with the auto industry and a whole host of cultural figures from the 1950s.

Estleman's gritty, Detroit-based mysteries feature the detective Amos Walker. Estleman was a crime reporter before he became a fiction writer. He joins Fresh Air to talk about his hardboiled influences, inside jokes in his books, and getting knocked unconscious.

Book critic John Leonard reviews Downriver by Loren D. Estleman, the new mystery novel, the eighth in a series, featuring Amos Walker.

Rock historian Ed Ward profiles The Stooges, A Detroit group that was pioneered punk, even before the famed British punk bands.

Rock historian Ed Ward remembers the black Detroit musicians who made their mark with the city's smaller record labels.

Film critic Stephen Schiff says that director Paul Verhoeven's first American film, about a murdered police officer who is turned into a cybernetic law enforcement officer, might be the best action flick since The Terminator.