Metro Detroit boasts the largest local concentration of Arabs in North America, many of whom settled in Dearborn. We trace that migration back more than a century. We follow how Ford’s $5 day brought many immigrants here, to how chaos in the Middle East drove many families out of their country and to southeast Michigan….

In this episode of The Detroit History Podcast, we unravel the election and downfall of Detroit Mayor Jerome Cavanagh and how he was one of the first mayors to engage Detroit’s African-American community. We also discuss how the 1967 Detroit civil disturbance and an ill-advised run for the U.S. Senate put a damper on his…

It was one of the city’s darkest moments and the panic would shortly spread across the country. Michigan Governor William Comstock closed Detroit’s banks on Valentine’s Day, 1933. Henry Ford was asked to bail out the banks, Ford said he thought the crash would have to come: “the general effect would be that everyone would…

It was one of the city’s darkest moments and the panic would shortly spread across the country. Michigan Governor William Comstock closed Detroit’s banks on Valentine’s Day, 1933. Henry Ford was asked to bail out the banks, Ford said he thought the crash would have to come: “the general effect would be that everyone would…

This job no longer exists: the television horror movie host. They were local celebrities, and pillars of local pop culture. Here in Detroit, we had Sir Graves Ghastly and Morgus, among others. In this episode, The Detroit History Podcast interviews Ron Sweed (The Ghoul), who explains how The Ghoul came to be. And, why the firecrackers?…

This edition of the Detroit History Podcast tells the story of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s amazing leap in the 1920s, from B-list band to Carnegie Hall in 10 years. Conductor Ossip Gabrilowitsch directed the effort..The players in this drama include Mark Twain, Horace Dodge, Pope Pius XII. And, oh, Orchestra Hall went up in less than…

In this episode of The Detroit History Podcast, we hear a rare recording of a confrontation between Coleman A. Young and a congressional committee in 1952. Many people pleaded their Fifth Amendment rights when the House of Un-American Activities Committee came to town looking for Reds. But a young labor organizer, Coleman Young, gave better…

The Beatles appeared twice in Detroit, once in 1964 and again in 1966, both times at Olympia Stadium. We’ll listen to the screams when the Fab Four took the stage. We’ll hear Detroit’s intense reaction to the group. And what was up with the jelly beans raining down on stage?