“Politics taught me and prepared me for a world that is more political than politics.” Wayne County Commissioner (District 2) and 13th Congressional District Democratic Party Chair Jonathan Kinloch joins Detroit is Different for a Detroit-rooted, world-spanning conversation that starts at Second & Myrtle—“you know you’re Detroit when you remember” it was once Myrtle, now MLK—and reaches back to South Carolina and New Jersey family migrations. Kinloch breaks down how elders like Erma Henderson wrapped their arms around a young volunteer, handing him the City Charter and saying, “I want you to read that and… explain it to me,” then sending him to police, planning, and historic commission meetings to learn how power really moves. From Northwestern’s Motown pipeline—meeting Esther Gordy Edwards—to giving artists civic honors, Kinloch reveals the thread between culture and governance: legacy is built when we protect the block, the schools, and the ballot. He names Reagan-era disinvestment, party infrastructure fights, and why “this bipartisan thing is… bull crap” when working families need results. This episode ties past and future Black Detroit: migration, mentorship, music, and the mandate to organize precinct by precinct so our people steer what’s next. Tap in for stories, strategy, and Detroit 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.

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“Detroit is different… it’s all because of the melanin that we’re getting from the sun.” In this Detroit is Different conversation, Brother Chungalia—an original member of the US Organization founded by Dr. Maulana Karenga, creator of Kwanzaa, and among the first to celebrate it—takes us from post-riot Los Angeles to the deep roots of Black Detroit. He calls his move here “inevitable,” recalling LA’s Congress building politics—“Jesse Jackson had an office there”—and the discipline of a movement that spoke Swahili daily. He stitches together Conant Gardens, Paradise Valley, and the Blue Bird Inn with a moment of Black memory so wild it feels like spirit work: “She remembered me… from 1959 and spotted me in 1974,” leading to “the only time I cried tears of joy.” From there, he flips elder testimony into future blueprint—“What’s the most important thing in your whole life?… breathing”—and warns that “technology is killing humanity,” pushing him to claim, “I’d rather be known… as a humanitarian,” even while rooted in Black nationalism. This episode is a bridge between the past that made Detroit’s African-centered movement possible and the future our children deserve—where the Nguza Saba isn’t nostalgia, it’s a survival manual for Legacy Black culture today.

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.

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“We can’t just walk up in people’s neighborhoods and not come the right way—it’s not going to end well for you.” In this Detroit is Different conversation, Marlin Williams—Founder of Intentional Technology and the force behind Sisters Code—shows why tech decisions are really decisions about people, power, and legacy. From Alabama roots to growing up on Commonwealth and Six Mile/Outer Drive, Marlin traces how Legacy Black Culture travels: migration, church, cousins, and the “nice to be nice” relationship code. She remembers entrepreneurship before the label—Amway, pots-and-pans parties my parents held—and says the real lesson was making folks feel “like they’re the only person in the room.” Then she takes us into Cass Tech, FAMU freedom, Wayne State, and Compuware’s 13-week programming gauntlet—“seven languages in 13 weeks”—that launched her into building systems behind banking and auto. Marlin reflects on helping move Compuware downtown with community-minded intent, and how Sisters Code was born onstage when she saw people “getting left out.” Today, her mission is simple: be intentional—“make sure your work gets all you need”—so our organizations save time, money, and protect our peace for the future. Detroit’s past built it; our choices build tomorrow.

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.

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Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“You can be aware without being exposed.” That’s the kind of Detroit-grown wisdom Andre Ebron drops in this powerful studio conversation—equal parts laughter, truth-telling, and strategy for building environments where Black people can breathe and become. Andre traces his roots from Marion, Alabama through the Great Migration, the Boblo childhood memories, and landing in Detroit in 2004—“June 2004… I was there” at the Pistons championship rally—before pouring 21 years into youth, schools, nonprofits, and equity work. He breaks down why “poverty provides infrastructure for disaster,” and why mentorship can’t be performative: “Children don’t need another failed relationship in their life.” You’ll hear stories from classrooms where he refused to be the “heavy,” choosing restoration instead—“before you challenge, express concern and care”—and a reminder that legacy is built in choices: “If you have a chance to exit, exit because your life is worth it.” This episode connects Detroit’s past—migration, blocks, schools, survival—to our future: liberation-minded leadership that protects our kids, honors our elders, and grows Legacy Black Culture into a more intentional tomorrow.

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.

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Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“‘We said pledges about remembering our ancestors… loving Black (at Aisha Shule)” In this episode, Dr. Tierra Bills—Assistant Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering & Public Policy at UCLA—returns home through memory, tracing her family’s East Side roots and the African-centered foundation of Aisha Shule, where “as the daughter of one of the Walimu… I had to set the tone.” She honors Mama Easter’s “big presence” and the rituals that taught students their history “did not start with slavery,” then shows how that cultural grounding carried her from FAMU to UC Berkeley and into transportation engineering. Bills breaks down “mobility as a system,” asking not just how we travel, but “how easy can I get to my desired destinations?” and what happens when data, scooters, robots, and roadwork reshape daily life. From 696 detours to the I-375/Black Bottom rebuild, she insists engineers must measure real community impacts: “80% of the businesses will be shut down,” “your travel time has ballooned,” and “those who are bearing the worst impacts are those who are also most vulnerable.” It’s a Detroit legacy lesson—culture as preparation, and policy as repair—and an invitation to show up at public meetings.

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.

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Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“Wake up people, we stay asleep”—and from that call, this Detroit is Different conversation with Kevin Tolbert, 12th Congressional District Democratic Party Chair, moves like a family reunion and a strategy session. Four generations deep—Kentucky, Tennessee, Black Bottom, then East Side to West Side—Tolbert maps how Legacy Black Detroit culture gets made through migration, work, and neighborhood bonds. He shares a laugh and love of how his parents and older siblings discovered his intellect at an early age, then turns serious about Bates Academy and Dr. Gibson’s lesson: “Excuses are tools of the incompetent.” From there the talk widens to labor power and city politics—how unions built an American & Detroit' Black middle class, why government contracts “make millionaires,” and why Coleman A. Young mattered because he changed the power dynamics. Tolbert connects the past to today’s fights over media narratives, water, data, and corporate greed, warning that when people stop learning history, they repeat it. It’s a Detroit story about family, discipline, and organizing—why our legacy is a toolkit, and why the future depends on whether we wake up. He honors the skill, talent, and brilliance of Black Detroit and insists, “we’re made of something different”— and at our best when faith and collective action are at our center.

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.

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Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

“Worthiness. We all want to feel worthy… but just who we are being validates us.” That’s the energy Lanasia Angelina brings to the Detroit is Different studio—fresh out of the church service, East-side rooted (48205, Black Bottom lineage, Gratiot-Gunston memories), and ready to shake the room with her new book 'Stop Playing Small: How to Go From Stuck to Unstoppable.' From sleeping under pews at Perfecting CHurch as a child during choir rehearsal to blue-collar lessons (“my dad worked for Chrysler… my mom was a phlebotomist”), Lanasia breaks down how Detroit survival can harden us—and how healing can free us. She talks sisterhood, moving schools, and the kind of grit where you learn quick, then flips it into compassion and perspective about what we all carry as children carry. Her Pretty Girl Campaign years (serving 2,000+ girls) taught integrity: “I wanted to really hold that integrity so that I was really walking what I was talking.” In a city shaped by displacement, faith, and hustle, she names the trap of chasing titles and things—“they’re looking for something outside of themselves when it’s all within”—and offers a blueprint for Legacy: disrupt what shrinks you, rebuild your inner authority, and pass that power forward.

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

“Government power is derived from the consent of the governed—and can you consent if you’re not informed?” BridgeDetroit’s Malachi Barrett joins Detroit is Different for a candid, funny, and urgent conversation about the broken information environment shaping American politics. A military kid who was “always the new kid,” Malachi maps his route from Battle Creek to Lansing’s “blue blood” Capitol pipelines to Detroit in 2022, choosing to cover City Council so residents don’t have to sit through (at times) “eight hours” of government jargon to understand what’s really being decided. He warns we’ve “slipped into this collective psychosis,” where outrage beats reporting, “news influencers” outrun qualifications, and AI threatens any shared set of facts. Yet he calls the work “patriotic,” pushing back on the idea that journalists are “enemies of the people,” because accountability is how a city protects itself—especially in a battleground state where local choices echo nationally. From canvassing neighborhoods Malachi and Khary land on a simple ethic: “with great power comes great responsibility.” Detroit is Different, he says: the stakes are personal—and that’s the point. In a city remaking itself, that clarity links Detroit’s past, present fights, and future votes.

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