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. Detroit is the Mecca for Pan-African Thought and Action: Baba Mike Anderson on New Afrika

    3 days ago

    Detroit is the Mecca for Pan-African Thought and Action: Baba Mike Anderson on New Afrika

    “Detroit is a very special place… the Mecca for Pan-African thought and action.” Baba Mike Anderson, citizen of the Republic of New Afrika, joins Detroit is Different for a powerful episode recorded on Malcolm X Day rooted in Black liberation, memory, and movement. Baba Mike carries us from his North End childhood on John R, where “you didn’t have to leave the neighborhood,” into the political fire of post-Rebellion Detroit, where Black Power, African identity, labor struggle, and self-defense shaped his path. He shares how reading J.A. Rogers, reading the Nation of Islam through the Pittsburgh Courier, meeting General Baker, and being introduced to the Republic of New Afrika awakened his consciousness. “It wasn’t long after that that I took the pledge,” he recalls, becoming a citizen of New Afrika and member of the Black Legionaires, the Republic's military arm. From New Bethel Baptist Church to African Liberation Day, Baba Mike connects Detroit’s role in Malcolm X, Pan-Africanism, reparations, and revolutionary organizing. This episode is not nostalgia; it is a blueprint. Baba Mike reminds us, “It’s really not about you. It’s about what you leave behind.” 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
  2. Freedom Fighter is in My Blood: Jenell Mansfield

    3 days ago

    Freedom Fighter is in My Blood: Jenell Mansfield

    “The Freedom Fighter is in my blood,” Jenell Mansfield says, tracing her roots from Macon, Georgia, to Dexter-Davidson, the Jeffries Projects, Central High School, and Haiti’s revolutionary legacy. In this Detroit is Different conversation, Mansfield, a teacher and social worker running for Wayne County Commissioner in the 5th District, opens up about the generations that shaped her politics, purpose, and love for Black people. Her family story begins with Great Migration dreams, a veteran great-grandfather seeking something better, grandparents who came of age in Motown-era Detroit, and a Haitian father whose history taught her that freedom is never given. Mansfield connects personal memory to public policy, breaking down how housing, poverty, education, water shutoffs, and “hyper ghetto” conditions impact what Detroiters can imagine for their futures. She reminds us, “You can’t be what you can’t see,” while challenging listeners to think about what happens when Black communities are separated from resources, elders, and examples of possibility. This interview matters because it ties Detroit’s past to the political choices ahead, showing how lived experience, social work, teaching, and community love can become a blueprint for leadership rooted in the people. 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 18min
  3. From Road Rallies to Public Service: Mallory McMorrow’s Michigan Story

    3 days ago

    From Road Rallies to Public Service: Mallory McMorrow’s Michigan Story

    “You don’t tell us who we are, we tell you who we are.” That spirit drives this Detroit is Different conversation with Mallory McMorrow, who is running for a Michigan seat in the United States Senate. This interview opens with roots: how a Jersey-born industrial designer who lived across five states found home in Michigan through road rallies, Detroit architecture, car culture, and the creative question, “What can we build together?” McMorrow shares how her love of cars, Route 66 road trips, and design shaped her belief that even something as basic as “four wheels to get you from point A to point B” can become art, memory, and identity. From building a concept car live at an auto show to graduating into the 2008 economic crash, her story connects Michigan’s industrial past to its political future. Khary brings the Detroit lens—Flint, Roger & Me, blue-collar culture, and the pride of communities outsiders misunderstand. This is a conversation about belonging, reinvention, and why Michigan’s future must be built with the same creativity, grit, and community truth that shaped its past. 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

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

    21 May

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

    21 May

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

    21 May

    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
  7. 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
  8. 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
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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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