Detroit is Different

Detroit is Different

The Detroit is Different podcast is about exposing artistry, business, ideas, and dynamic people, places, and things that make Detroit a mecca. Tune in weekly and subscribe to get the true stories from the people shaping the culture of an American classic city.

  1. You Have to Be Involved: Nicole Small on Detroit Power, Politics, and People

    11 HRS AGO

    You Have to Be Involved: Nicole Small on Detroit Power, Politics, and People

    “You don’t just leave things sitting at the city council meeting”—Nicole Small brings that truth home in this powerful Detroit is Different conversation about civic education, community accountability, and the future of Detroit politics. A former Detroit Charter Commission member, devoted organizer, and activist, Nicole reflects on why the city charter matters as Detroit’s “constitution,” how residents learned power through block clubs, labor families, precinct workers, and neighborhood elders, and why today’s lack of engagement should alarm us. From her family’s Arkansas-to-North End roots to growing up in Bagley, attending King High School, and witnessing the organizing culture of labor marches, Nicole connects personal memory to political responsibility. She names the difference between simply attending meetings and actually bringing the work back home: “In order to really be successful and change and to be a change agent, you have to be involved.” This episode matters because Detroit’s past civic muscle—block clubs, elders, labor, local civics, and resident voice—still holds lessons for the city’s future. Nicole reminds listeners that community power is built through knowledge, honesty, accountability, and people willing to fight for where they live. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

    1hr 39min
  2. Detroit’s Most Wanted & Design Classrooms: Dre Clemons Connects the Past to the Future

    11 HRS AGO

    Detroit’s Most Wanted & Design Classrooms: Dre Clemons Connects the Past to the Future

    “It’s not one lane… it’s multi-lane, like 75 or something.” Dre Clemons brings that Detroit truth into this episode of Detroit is Different, sharing a life shaped by Joy Road, hip-hop, design, education, and community responsibility. Known through worlds connected to Detroit’s Most Wanted, Whodini, music, product design, transportation design, and architecture, Dre explains how growing up near Wyoming, Livernois, Rouge Steel, arcades, Dairy Queen, McKenzie, and Cass Tech built his imagination. He remembers Joy Road as “both a joy and a treacherous place to be,” where industry, danger, family, music, and style all moved together. Dre’s story opens a deeper understanding of Black Detroit creativity: the same hands that touched hip-hop culture also studied computer-aided drafting, designed products, taught at College for Creative Studies and the University of Michigan, and poured into young people. This conversation matters because it connects Detroit’s past to its future—showing how neighborhood lessons become art, engineering, entrepreneurship, and education. Dre Clemons reminds us that Detroit brilliance has always lived in the streets, schools, plants, bands, and families that shaped the culture. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

    1hr 43min
  3. From School Board to County Commission: Angelique Mayberry-Peterson’s Community Journey

    14 HRS AGO

    From School Board to County Commission: Angelique Mayberry-Peterson’s Community Journey

    “You’ve got to do the work first and continue the work.” Return guest Angelique Mayberry-Peterson comes back to Detroit is Different, now serving as Wayne County Commissioner for District 5, opening up about stepping into the seat once held by the late Irma Clark-Coleman, who she lovingly calls “Mama Irma.” Angelique reflects on the humility of receiving a unanimous vote from the commission, the weight of not trying to “fill the shoes” of a woman who served community for 50 years, and the responsibility of honoring that legacy by doing homework, asking questions, and showing up. She shares how her time as Detroit Public School Board President, her UAW experience, and years of relationship-building across schools, labor, faith, and neighborhoods prepared her for this role. From Northwestern’s community programs to King High School bus rides, from elders still organizing at 93 and 99 to students needing fertile ground to grow, this conversation is about Detroit’s past speaking directly into its future. Angelique reminds us, “If you said you’re going to do something, then do it. If you can’t do it, then say it”—a lesson in honest leadership, community trust, and public service rooted in love. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

    1hr 33min
  4. Built for the Ride: Tiffany Gunter’s Detroit Transit Story

    14 MAY

    Built for the Ride: Tiffany Gunter’s Detroit Transit Story

    “I truly believe I was built for what I do.” Tiffany Gunter, General Manager of Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART), joins Detroit is Different for a conversation rooted in family legacy, Detroit grit, and the future of regional transit. From her great-great-great grandfather coming north from Columbia, South Carolina for automotive opportunity, to her father’s 30-year career in the airport industry, Tiffany’s life connects “planes, buses and automobiles” through generations. A proud Northwest Detroiter from Seven Mile and Outer Drive, she reflects on walking through the neighborhood and learning entrepreneurship early selling Kool-Aid cups and cookies during backyard basketball tournaments. Her mother’s lesson—“you can’t make me your supplier and then don’t cut me in on a deal." She shares how working in a church office at 13 taught her compassion, listening, and patience with people facing real life issues. Now leading SMART, Tiffany sees beauty in 3 a.m. bus pullouts and the scale of service that moves workers, families, and communities. This interview connects Detroit’s past mobility struggles to a future built through understanding, service, and regional cooperation. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

    1hr 9min
  5. Global Swagger of the Motor City, Drake Phifer talks Detroit Diaspora 2026

    14 MAY

    Global Swagger of the Motor City, Drake Phifer talks Detroit Diaspora 2026

    “We got the goods for you here.” Drake Phifer returns to Detroit is Different to share the heart behind Detroit Diaspora, a cultural festival built around the music, movement, art, food, vendors, and unmistakable style Detroit has carried across the world. In conversation with Khary Frazier, Drake frames the event as a homecoming for Detroiters and descendants of Detroiters whose families, creativity, and influence now live across the globe. Detroit Diaspora honors the DJs, dancers, visual artists, makers, and community builders who keep the city’s spirit alive wherever they land. More than a festival, it is an immersive celebration of Black Detroit’s cultural reach—connecting Paris, Berlin, Washington, D.C., Thailand, and beyond back to the city that shaped the sound. 8th Annual Detroit Diaspora Day Fest is a 12-hour celebration of global Black culture where the family reunion, art opening, house party, marketplace, cipher, and block party meet.This year’s musical experience brings together selectors, artists, and cultural storytellers, including: DJs will move the crowd, artists will showcase visual stories, vendors will share fashion, food, jewelry, wellness, and cultural goods, while canopy lounges create space to connect. Experience cultural storytellers from Detroit, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, D.C., St. Louis, Cleveland, and beyond. Explore the Detroit Diaspora Pop-Up Art Show curated by Kirsten Jordan, Jonathan Kimble, and Drake Phifer, featuring Dwele, Asia Hamilton, Anita Sewell, Anthea Calhoun, Alecia Robinson, Audrey Johnson, Brian Nickson, Corey Chavis Jr., and more. Explore the Detroit Diaspora Pop-Up Art Show featuring Dwele and more. Detroit is Different will be live onsite capturing features. Come ready to dance, shop, view art, connect, remember, and celebrate. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

    19 min
  6. The Black Church is Still the Healing Balm for our Community, Dr. Charles Williams

    14 MAY

    The Black Church is Still the Healing Balm for our Community, Dr. Charles Williams

    “The Black church has the ability to do so much—and it can do so much more.” Dr. Charles Williams, pastor of historic King Solomon Baptist Church, joins Detroit is Different for a powerful conversation on faith, family, organizing, and the sacred responsibility of serving Black Detroit. Dr. Williams opens up about how Dr. Charles Simmons of the Hush House, a member of King Solomon, connected him to the legendary church over a decades ago—a house of worship where Malcolm X delivered “Message to the Grassroots,” Dr. King spoke, Joe Louis gave, and generations organized for freedom. Now Michigan Chair of the National Action Network, Dr. Williams reflects on his Detroit roots, his family’s migration story, and the wisdom he gained as a young reverend from Rev. Horace Sheffield II and Rev. Jim Holley. He shares how King Solomon continues to be more than a church: “a social center,” a place of advocacy, community action, and healing. With his wife’s work in health and well-being shaping their ministry, and his doctorate from the University of Michigan grounding the Black Church’s role in the Black family, this interview bridges Detroit’s past and future. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

    1hr 48min
  7. Queen Mother Helen Moore’s Fight for Detroit Children for Over 50 Years

    7 MAY

    Queen Mother Helen Moore’s Fight for Detroit Children for Over 50 Years

    “A lifetime over 50 years”—Queen Mother Helen Moore returns to Detroit is Different inside the very building that now carries her name, the Helen Moore Recreation Center, formerly Dexter-Elmhurst Recreation Center. In this triumphant conversation, Moore sits with Khary Frazier and reflects on decades of revolutionary organizing, education advocacy, and community protection rooted in love for Detroit children. She remembers how the center became “a way to show people what people could do,” and why she made it her mission to “keep this center and never leave it,” even when many said the building should be torn down. Moore shares how she and neighbors built bonds across generations, welcoming young people, elders, athletes, families, and even those facing street conflicts with a firm standard: “Look, don’t bring none of that in here.” This episode uplifts the power of Legacy Detroit organizing—how respect, persistence, and collective care can save public space and shape the future. From Wayne State to Detroit College of Law to the frontlines of education justice, Queen Mother Helen Moore’s story is a lesson in community ownership, revolutionary patience, and what it means to fight for our children. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

    51 min
  8. There’s No Place on the Planet that Loves Joe Louis like Detroit, Joyce Barrow-Henderson, Daughter of Joe Louis

    7 MAY

    There’s No Place on the Planet that Loves Joe Louis like Detroit, Joyce Barrow-Henderson, Daughter of Joe Louis

    “There’s no place on the planet, and I mean that, that loves my dad the way that Detroit does.” Joyce Barrow-Henderson, daughter of boxing legend and Detroit champion Joe Louis, brings warmth, history, and family truth to Detroit is Different as she prepares for the Joe Louis Greenway Partnership birthday celebration honoring her father on Saturday, July 23, 2026, at 10am at the Warren Trailhead, 7241 McDonald, Detroit, MI 48210. In this powerful conversation, Joyce shares why Detroit’s love for Joe Louis still feels personal, saying here he is not distant history—he is “Uncle Joe.” She opens up about the Joe Louis Foundation’s mission, rooted in his “kindness,” “generosity,” education, and community connection. The interview moves beyond the boxing ring into Joe Louis’ impact on Black Detroit business, culture, sports, and pride—from Brewster Recreation Center to Black Bottom, Flame Show Bar, golf, horses, family, and the doors he opened for others. Joyce reminds us, “If you think he was a great boxer, he was an even greater daddy.” This episode connects Detroit’s past and future through legacy, land, love, and community memory. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co

    1hr 3min
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The Detroit is Different podcast is about exposing artistry, business, ideas, and dynamic people, places, and things that make Detroit a mecca. Tune in weekly and subscribe to get the true stories from the people shaping the culture of an American classic city.

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