New Podcast: Detroit Blues Society

Join Digging Detroit host Pete Kalinski from Royal Oak’s Boo’s Music Bistro inside Mr. B’s Restaurant as he welcomes two of the city’s foremost fans and promoters of Detroit’s legendary blues legacy–President of the Detroit Blues Society, Steve Soviak and Vice President Tom McNab. It’s first meeting in 1985 began a multi-decade of transformations to increase public interest in […]

New Episode! Dearborn’s Arab American National Museum

Some Arab Americans in metro Detroit trace their family back five generations, to the 1880s–while some have only just arrived.  To honor metro-Detroit’s extensive role in offering haven and opportunity to one of the most influential waves of immigrants to the United States, Dearborn was selected as the site for the ten-year old Arab American National Museum. […]

New! Episode 17: Birthplace of the Model T – The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant

In 1904, Henry Ford purchased three acres beside a railroad line off Woodward and moved his new car company from Mack to Piquette Avenue. Join Digging Detroit with special guest Tom Genova and come explore the historic Ford Piquette Avenue Plant, rescued from demolition and transformed into an amazing collection of priceless cars and fascinating […]

New Episode 16: Slavery in Detroit

Detroit has historically been seen as the last station on the Underground Railroad yet some of its most noted residents including merchants, priests and illustrious names like Brush and Macomb belonged to slaveowners.  Digging Detroit meets Prof. Tiya Miles of the University of Michigan and her team of  students uncover a history of the colonial city that few remember […]

WGPR-TV 40th Anniversary: Dr. Banks’ Vision to Transform Detroit’s Media, Message and Messengers

**Updated on January 18, 2016 to include video highlight of Michigan Historical Marker dedication with Detroit Mayor Michael Duggan.** 40 years ago, on September 29th, the nation’s first African American-owned television station was launched in Detroit by Dr. William V. Banks.  Host Pete Kalinski is joined in WGPR TV’s original studio by former host/producer and current executive […]

New Podcast: Archivists Roundtable at Historic Abick’s Bar in Detroit

What to keep, what to throw away? The eternal question for the archivist. Some of Michigan’s top historical archivists join us for a roundtable discussion at historic Abick’s Bar on their unusual world–sometimes spent in dusty shelves and digging through dark basements and mysterious attics–but often waiting for you at the reference desk. They’ll share some familiar […]

Episode 6: The Navin Field Grounds Crew

Professional baseball was played at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull for nearly a century.  The Detroit Tigers played their final game in 1999 and it took 10 years for the city to complete its demolition.  In just 5 years, the weeds and trash had grown so thick that few signs remained of the once manicured lawn […]

New Podcast: Dodge, Detroit & Women in Industry

Digging Detroit’s Tom Reed and Pete Kalinski discuss the early days of Detroit’s automotive history with experts Bailey Sisoy Isgro and Madelyn Rzadkowolski. Topics include: Advertising’s current portrayal of the Dodge Brothers Dodge’s famous dependability—and fix-it-yourself car kits General Patton and the Dodge military contract Women and Detroit’s cigar industry as a vehicle for entry into the […]