Michigan: We Need to Talk

Oct. 15, 2026 | Michigan Decides: Political Ads

In the third episode of our Michigan Decides shows about the 2026 elections, Stephen and guests discuss political ads - how and why they're made, how they've ch

Oct. 8, 2026 | Michigan Decides: What Did the Senate Debate Reveal?

Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers faced off in a U.S. Senate debate with just weeks to go before Election Day. Immediately afterward, Stephen Henderson was joined by longtim

Oct. 1, 2026 | Michigan Decides: How Do You Know What’s True In the 2026 Midterms?

As Michigan: We Need to Talk launches its Michigan Decides series ahead of the 2026 election, Stephen Henderson asks how voters can sort fact from fiction in an increasin

Sept. 24, 2026 | Will AI Kill Us, Save Us, or Both?

In Episode 7 of "Michigan: We Need to Talk," Stephen goes to the source, first, for discussion about AI: He interviews an AI model, Claude, about its uses, its promise an

FULL INTERVIEW: Rep. Tom Barrett on AI Risk, Regulation and the Race with China

Michigan Congressman Tom Barrett joins Michigan: We Need to Talk for an extended conversation about the growing anxiety around artificial intelligence — including warning

Sept. 17, 2026 | What Makes a Place Worth Keeping?

In this episode of Michigan: We Need to Talk, Stephen Henderson and callers from across Michigan use the debate in Lake Orion as a way into a much bigger question: What i

Aug. 13, 2026 | Data Centers in Dowagiac, and around Michigan

Stephen Henderson and Jake Neher go to Dowagiac, in southwest Michigan, to talk to residents about the unbelievable noise made by a data center that sprung up in a neighb

Aug. 27, 2026 | Is Surveillance about Safety, or Privacy? Trust May be the Hardest Part.

Stephen Henderson and producer Jake Neher drove around Detroit with Kyle Zawacki, legislative director for the ACLU of Michigan, looking for Flock cameras — automated lic

Sept. 10, 2026 | The Great Lakes: The Water that Made Us

In this episode of Michigan: We Need to Talk, Stephen travels to St. Ignace in the Upper Peninsula to stand on the shore of Lake Huron and talk with former Lt. Gov. Brian

Sept. 3, 2026 | On the Front Lines of the Trade War with Canada

In this episode of Michigan: We Need to Talk, Stephen Henderson and callers from across Michigan take on the escalating trade fight between the United States and Canada a

Michigan Talks: Flock Cameras, Surveillance and Public Safety

In this live call-in portion of Michigan: We Need to Talk, Stephen Henderson continues the conversation on Flock cameras and automated license plate readers in Michigan.

Flock Cameras: Public Safety or Mass Surveillance? (Early Listen)

Stephen Henderson and producer Jake Neher drive around Detroit with Kyle Zawacki, legislative director for the ACLU of Michigan, looking for Flock cameras — automated lic

Aug. 20, 2026 | Michigan Talks: How Fear Shapes Our Politics in 2026

In this full episode of Michigan: We Need to Talk, Stephen Henderson and callers from across Michigan take on the politics of fear. Fear can help us recognize real dange

Politics of Fear Preview: Journalist Peter Beinart on Gaza, Grief and Democracy

Before each live episode of Michigan: We Need to Talk, we post a preview of the conversation here in the podcast feed, giving you time to hear the story, think about the

Michigan Talks: Data Centers, Noise, Tax Breaks and Local Control

On our first live episode of Michigan: We Need to Talk, Stephen Henderson continues the conversation on data centers in Michigan with callers from across the state and gu

Data Centers: A Day in Dowagiac

Before each live episode of Michigan: We Need to Talk, we’ll post the show’s opening reported segment here in the podcast feed, giving you time to hear the story, think a

Welcome to Michigan: We Need to Talk

Welcome to Michigan: We Need to Talk, a new weekly call-in show from Michigan Public hosted by Stephen Henderson. This show is built around a simple idea: Michigan needs