WDET in the news

News outlet logo for favicons/wdet.org.png

Wayne State University astrophysicist on why NASA’s Mars rover fascinates us

After traveling nearly 300 million miles for the last 6 months, NASA’s rover ‘Perseverance’ has landed safely on Mars. Shortly after its arrival on the Red Planet last month, it sent back its first images of the Martian atmosphere and landing site, setting off imaginations all over the country. So what does this mission mean in terms of exploring and learning about our solar system? Wayne State astrophysicist Edward Cackett explained that the arrival of the rover on the surface of Mars is reason to celebrate in itself. “There’s a small launch window of about one month every 24 months,” explains Cackett, who says that this means that NASA scientists had to prepare everything during the pandemic summer of 2020. As far as what the hope is for what the rover will uncover, Cackett says there are “a whole of firsts” in the goals of this mission. Some of the goals of the Perseverance mission include sending out a helicopter (that was sent with the rover) to test whether it’s possible for an aircraft to fly in the Martian atmosphere, collecting rock samples and sealing them in test tubes tubes that a future mission will be able to pick up and bring back to earth and an experiment that will test whether it’s possible to produce oxygen from Mars’ atmosphere, which is mostly CO2. On the topic of how far we are from sending a person to Mars, Cackett points to the Artemis program, which is to get humans back on the moon in preparation for eventually getting humans to Mars. Cackett says that the Artemis program is planning to have humans on the moon for a continued amount of time to develop a site to test advancements that would allow humans to get to Mars. Cackett says this initiative is one of the very few things that was supported by former President Donald Trump and continues to receive support under the Biden administration. 
News outlet logo for favicons/wdet.org.png

‘What’s new is the attention:’ Black women celebrated as ‘Backbone Of Democracy’ after 2020 election

During and after the 2020 election Black women were heralded as the, “backbone of democracy” by many Democrats. Their organizing efforts and the support they galvanized were crucial to President Joe Biden’s victory and Democrats regaining power in the U.S. Senate. Their efforts in Georgia gained national attention, but Black women also played an essential role leading up to and following Michigan’s 2020 election. Early on, the Biden Harris campaign zeroed in on the city of Detroit. Many believed President Trump’s narrowest nationwide margin of victory in 2016, was partially attributable to a depressed turnout in Wayne County—the state’s most populous and bluest county. Ronald Brown is an  Associate Professor of political science at Wayne State University and a member of Citizen Detroit, a voter education group based in Detroit. He says the role of Black women in Detroit politics blooms out of places like Black churches and other centers of religious and civiclife where women often outnumber men.  “They are the foundation in terms of mobilizing the vote and they’re the ones also…who turn out the meetings that we attend. This is a not random sample, but the meeting that I attend, it’s the same thing is like 66% women, 44% men,” said Brown. 
News outlet logo for favicons/wdet.org.png

DTE Energy Foundation donates over $300,000 to Wayne State’s Center for Latino and Latin-American Studies

The DTE Energy Foundation, through its partnership with the non-profit Michigan Hispanic Collaborative (MiHC), has donated $330,000 to Wayne State University’s Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies (LAS). The money will fund scholarships for underrepresented students who are a part of MiHC and students pursuing Latino Studies at Wayne State. “We’re excited because this fund will be able to continue to help students in perpetuity,  said Melissa Miranda Morse, LAS assistant director. “Last year was the first year that it was awarded last fall to students who received the award,” said Miranda Morse. “We help provide access for a student in Detroit and beyond of mostly first-generation and then help them with things like navigating the complex university environment and ultimately succeeding in college and beyond,”
News outlet logo for favicons/wdet.org.png

New podcast “Seizing Freedom” brings Black Americans’ Civil War stories to life

In recent months, the issue of social justice and its connection to systemic racism and oppression have led to significant shifts in our collective thinking about the ways white supremacy persists in so many aspects of American life. These important conversations have been long in the making. In addition to having frank discussions about biased policies and uprooting unconscious racism, this moment is also bringing to light the importance of narrative equity and having the kind of balance in storytelling that make audiences feel more connected to the media they consume. One new offering that is tied to this shifting media paradigm is the new podcast, “Seizing Freedom.” It takes listeners back to the lessons about the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation and into the work that Black Americans did to battle for and secure their own freedom. Kidada Williams is a Wayne State University professor, author and historian who studies what happened to African American survivors of racist violence. She’s also the host of the new podcast, “Seizing Freedom.” Williams says children are often not told about the role of African Americans in securing their own freedom. “If it’s not erased altogether, it’s distorted,” says Williams. “Coming up through school, we didn’t learn about Black people during the Civil War, we didn’t learn about Black people during Reconstruction,” she continues. “What was made clear to me when I raised questions was this was a White man’s war and a White man’s history of it.” She also shines light on the fact that the struggle for freedom didn’t come easy. ”Freedom isn’t something that’s given to African Americans. They had to seize it during the Civil War. And once they gained legal freedom, they had to work to make it real.”
News outlet logo for favicons/wdet.org.png

What it’s like to get the COVID-19 vaccine

Mustapha Al-shorbaji is a nursing student at Wayne State University. He sits in the lobby of the Campus Health Center with a black mask on, waiting to get a COVID-19 vaccine. “As soon as I was presented the opportunity, I took the first appointment I could get to come here,” says Al-shorbaji. Wayne State University began offering the vaccine to medical students and faculty with clinical rotations on January 7. That’s how Al-shorbaji found himself among the first people in the country to be given the chance to be inoculated against the coronavirus. In addition to frontline health care workers, vaccinations throughout Michigan have been given to some people in long-term care facilities, police officers, bus drivers, K-12 teachers, postal workers, people over the age of 65 and others. Eligibility varies depending on where people live, work, or go to the doctor. As of January 19, according to data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, about 75,800 people in Michigan have received at least the first dose of the vaccine. In a state that’s estimated to have roughly 8 million people age 16 and up (according to the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey), that means less than 1% of the population has been vaccinated.
News outlet logo for favicons/wdet.org.png

The lessons other Democracies can teach our own

On this Inauguration Day, all Americans are faced with some grave questions about the past four years and where we’re headed as a nation deeply divided. So many of us are learning just how fragile democracy can be. But clearly, we’re not the first country to learn these lessons. Former Wayne State University President Irvin D. Reid has been exploring democracies in Africa, what sustains them, and what threatens them. He’s the producer and narrator of the upcoming documentary, “African Democracy: Hopes and Challenges.” He’ll be talking about his work on this subject Thursday at 6 p.m. as part of a Wayne State University virtual Knowledge on Tap event, which will be moderated by Wayne State University Irvin D. Reid Honors College Dean John Corvino. Reid says the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol represents a grave challenge for democracy here in America. But he says other countries have demonstrated ways we can work toward addressing the issues that led to the riot. “We need to have a commission after what happened two weeks ago,” he says. “Somebody has to do some sort of reconciliation, some sort of truth-telling about how did that come about.” Corvino will moderate Thursday’s event. He says it’s a timely discussion as Americans realize that a functioning democracy is not guaranteed. “We think we’re so advanced,” says Corvino. “Democracy is a fragile thing, and I think we’re realizing that now.”
News outlet logo for favicons/wdet.org.png

Vaccinations begin at Wayne State University

Wayne State University has begun issuing COVID-19 vaccines to medical students and faculty who work on the frontlines. The plan is to inoculate 120 people per day with Moderna and Pfizer vaccines which are being supplied by the Detroit Health Department. “Right now we have people who have been categorized as essential. Those are individuals who are actually touching patients in the hospital,” says Dr. Toni Grant, the Chief Nursing Officer at the Wayne State University Campus Health Center, where the vaccinations are taking place. Grant says these essential workers were emailed a survey to see if they were interested in receiving the vaccination. Those who said they wanted the shot and are eligible for it are being emailed specific instructions on how to schedule an appointment. These emails are coming out in batches, so some may not be able to make their appointment for a couple of weeks. Bill Fulson is a clinical nursing instructor with Wayne State who came into the Health Center to get the vaccine. He says he doesn’t feel any anxiety about receiving the vaccine. “I have no reason to feel not confident,” says Fulson. “I’ve been nursing for 40-something years. So you know when to do things and when not to do things. And this is a must-do for a medical professional.” Grant says the vaccinations are a great opportunity for the Wayne State community. “We’re in the midst of a pandemic but this is also something that none of us have ever gone through before,” she says. ”And to actually see what research and science can do in order to get us through to this particular point, it’s exciting because it’s students, faculty and staff together and able to experience it firsthand.”
News outlet logo for favicons/wdet.org.png

Wayne State Word Warriors present list of long-lost words to revive in 2021

What would you call someone who gives you their opinion on something about which they know… nothing? While a few expletives may come to mind, you can say this about them: They are being ultracrepidarian. That adjective — it’s also a noun — is one of ten words compiled by Wayne State University’s Word Warriors, whose mission is to revive English words that have fallen out of usage over time. Chris Williams is the assistant director for editorial services for WSU’s Office of Marketing and Communications. He’s also the chief Word Warrior. He says his team regularly sifts through words submitted by people around the world. “People who follow us on Facebook or just know of the website can submit a word,” Williams says. “We look at that word and see if it meets our criteria.” And what are the criteria? “They need to be words that have fallen out of use,” he says. “If we see that trend has gone down in the last 50 to 100 years, that’s a nice note that this a word worth recognizing.” Williams says they prefer not to highlight slang words, and they must be English. When they find one that meets the criteria, he says it’s a good feeling. “There’s almost like a little tingle,” he says. “Like, that’s a good word, I haven’t heard it before or heard it in a long time.”
News outlet logo for favicons/wdet.org.png

The do’s and don’ts to celebrating Thanksgiving safely in 2020

COVID-19 cases are skyrocketing across the country, including here in Michigan. The healthcare system is once again overwhelmed, with some hospitals nearing capacity. This fact is complicated by the impending holiday season. Families are assessing the safety of their typical celebratory gatherings and discussing how to adapt. Public health officials say these small gatherings are dangerous at this stage in the pandemic. Dr. Paul Kilgore is an associate professor and director of research at Wayne State University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. He is also the principal investigator at Henry Ford Health System’s novel coronavirus vaccine trial. Kilgore spoke with Stephen Henderson on Detroit Today about how to keep safe during the holidays. “With more extended family gatherings, there’s always a risk of transmission…there is a chance that there could be someone there who is asymptomatic who could spread (COVID-19).” Do keep in mind that the virus travels differently indoors and in cooler air. “We know as people come indoors and as the proximity of individuals becomes closer, it’s much easier for the droplets… to move from one person to another,” says Kilgore. He adds, “In the wintertime with the lower humidity… the respiratory droplets can travel farther than they would in the warmer summer months when there is higher humidity.”
News outlet logo for favicons/wdet.org.png

Trials underway in Detroit for potential Covid antibody treatment

With the recent uptick in cases of COVID-19 in Michigan and throughout much of the country, Detroit Today’s coverage about this moment of the pandemic is a top priority. There’s reason to be at least cautiously hopeful about the recent news of potential vaccines for the virus, but there’s still a real need for continued research for alternative treatments. One such effort involves the use of convalescent blood plasma through trials being led locally by Wayne State University and Johns Hopkins researchers. Dr. James Paxton is the leader of the Detroit branch of the trial. He’s also the Director of Clinical Research for Detroit Receiving Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine, and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine. He explains that convalescent blood plasma therapy is really just using antibodies found in the blood of people who have previously had COVID-19. ”Antibodies are essential to fighting any infection… and your body retains the antibodies so that it can remember how it defeated [the virus] before in case it needs to defeat it again in the future.” Paxton says that his work at the Detroit trial site involves matching processed plasma with those who need to receive it. “We think it will work,” he says of the plasma transfusion pointing to the history of this kind of medical intervention.
News outlet logo for favicons/wdet.org.png

Pfizer coronavirus vaccine is promising, but experts urge patience

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced this week that their vaccine trial is more than 90% effective at preventing COVID-19, based on early data. That’s far above the standard set by the Food and Drug Administration, which set the bar at 50% effectiveness for emergency use. This is the first vaccine for the novel coronavirus to exceed the mark, raising hopes that a return to relative normality could be on the horizon. Experts, while optimistic about the development, urge caution as COVID-19 cases surge across the county, and widespread distribution of any vaccine is still months away. Dr. Teena Chopra, professor of internal medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Wayne State University School of Medicine says the new development in the quest for a vaccine is very encouraging. “It’s a testament to how quickly research is moving,” says Chopra of Pfizer’s vaccine trial. Manufacturing a potential vaccine will be another hurdle, something Chopra says Pfizer is already tackling. “Pfizer applied for an emergency use authorization… and claims they have started manufacturing millions of doses.” After manufacturing comes the widespread distribution of a vaccine, another challenge for pharmaceutical companies. This particular vaccine needs to be refrigerated and stored at a very cold temperature, complicating the task. According to Chopra, distribution will rely on collaboration. “We don’t just need one kind of vaccine… that’s not enough to be distributed globally. We need tons, we will look at all the vaccines… there should be heavy emphasis on the data.”
News outlet logo for favicons/wdet.org.png

A look at the most contentious presidential elections in history

It’s Election Day 2020 and after a long and contentious campaign, tensions are running high. It feels like the country is the most divided it has been since the Civil War. Some are worried that the current climate of political instability could jeopardize the country’s democratic process. Though this election cycle is certainly unprecedented, it isn’t the first contentious election in America’s history. What can we learn from previous fraught elections and how the country endured after them? Marc Kruman, founding director of the Center for the Study of Citizenship and professor of history, says that the current election feels very different and is different from those in recent history. “This is the most contentious presidential election of my lifetime,” says Kruman. He adds that the erosion of trust evidenced throughout this election cycle makes it a uniquely anxious event. “I think that if we are going to compare it, it would probably be to the election of 1876,” says Kruman, adding the caveat that the 1876 election was far tenser than the lead up to 2020. The current climate of division, though anxiety-inducing, may actually be necessary according to Kruman. “Contentiousness actually has led to greater voter participation and greater enthusiasm and that speaks to the health of our democracy,” says Kruman.
News outlet logo for favicons/wdet.org.png

Cybersecurity Experts Cautiously Optimistic About Michigan Election Security

Michigan election officials are working hard to prevent a cyber attack ahead of Tuesday’s election. The concern over potential cyber attacks on our election system has been building for years. Hackers and disinformation campaigns have gotten more and more sophisticated, and technology is more advanced than ever. Then in March, the world was hit with the coronavirus pandemic. In the United States, that has resulted in uncharted waters in terms of the ways people are voting, which creates a lot of uncertainty. As a swing state, Michigan could be a very attractive target for cyber threats during the election. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said Michigan has done a lot to prepare for this. That includes working closely with federal agencies to coordinate efforts to combat attacks. There isn’t a high likelihood of voter infrastructure being attacked, said Andrew Dold, lead security analyst for Wayne State University and member of the Michigan Cyber Civilian Corps (MiC3). But one area the does have cybersecurity experts concerned is voter misinformation. As we saw in the 2016 election, social media is riddled with falsehoods, bots and organizations trying to influence American voters and their votes. Websites spread misinformation that could incite people,” Dold said. “People kind of believe what they want to believe. All they need is a close reason nowadays, right? So, that’s the kind of thing that worries me more. The erosion of public trust with the government or the results. But I think as far as tabulating votes, I think we’re in really good shape.”
News outlet logo for favicons/wdet.org.png

The combustible mix of white rage, racial injustice and the election

The partisan divide has grown wider over the past four years and the threat of political unrest continues to grow. A rise in anger and awareness over the police killings of Black men combined with an upsurge in the participation of militia groups have already led to confrontations and violence. Frustration, injustice, and politics make for unstable chemistry. “The best-case scenario is to see civil disorder as part of the democratic process and that there are boundaries and that we do not want to stop people from engaging in civil disobedience and in civil dissent. The only time we should arrest people is if they threaten the security of the state. And Black Lives Matters groups are not threatening the security of the state – they’re asking for reform,” says Ron Brown, an associate professor of political science at Wayne State University. Protests by racial justice groups have drawn counter-protests from right-wing militia and white nationalist groups and that can present a problem for authorities. “You will probably see the police put both groups in jail. However, I think that that the vast majority of those must be again those on the right because they are the ones who are disruptive. They are the ones that are largely a threat to democratic norms,” Brown says.
News outlet logo for favicons/wdet.org.png

These 1960’s Black activist groups fought for economic opportunity in Detroit

A new collection at the Walter P. Reuther Library Archives at Wayne State University showcases documents and materials from Black activist groups in Detroit in the 1960’s. In the second half of the 20th century, the Great Migration of African Americans began moving from the south to the north in search of economic opportunity. They joined a burgeoning worker and union rights movement, forming several activist groups across Southeast Michigan to demand better working conditions and access to unionized work. Several industries from the medical field to the auto industries had workers protesting for equality. The Detroit Revolutionary Movement or (DRUM) left a trove of files and materials are available online through the Walter P. Reuther Library Archives at Wayne State University. “We believe during this moment in history, there’s gonna be an increased interest in organizations like this,” said Louis Jones, a field archivist with the library of labor and urban affairs.
News outlet logo for favicons/wdet.org.png

Wayne State researcher predicts a COVID-19 spike as winter nears

It has been more than seven months since the novel coronavirus was first detected in Michigan. During that time, what we know about the virus has changed dramatically and our understanding continues to change rapidly. We’re also now hearing more and more about the race to develop a vaccine. Wayne State University medical researcher Dr. Paul Kilgore joins Stephen Henderson on WDET Detroit Today regularly to give the audience the most reliable and trustworthy information on these subjects. Kilgore is associate professor & director of research at Wayne State University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. He says other viral infections tend to peak with colder weather, and researchers expect the same to be true of the novel coronavirus. He says it’s less a matter of if we’ll see another spike in cases in the coming months, and more a matter of how big that spike will be. “Caution is the key word right now,” says Kilgore. But he says one piece of good news is that medical professionals are getting better at treating COVID-19. “We have a better understanding of the pathology of the virus, which means we’re getting better at understanding how to treat it.”
News outlet logo for favicons/wdet.org.png

Tense political culture reveals Black literature’s role in white America

In this installment, Wayne State University assistant professor of African American Studies Valerie Sweeney Prince, author of “Burnin’ Down the House: Home in African American Literature,” discusses the role of African American literature from Ralph Ellison’s time to the present, and questions whether Black literature exists in a pure form considering the white lens of the publishing industry. On the recent killings in Kenosha, Wis., Prince says the white lens impacts so many aspects of Black life, not just in literature. “When someone is tweeting ‘law and order,’ that is very clearly a frame of reference that allows a 17-year-old white kid with an assault weapon to not be seen as a murderer,” she says. When it comes to Black literature, Prince says the question is about who ultimately gets to determine what audiences read and internalize about Black life in America. “Blackness exists because it’s a culture. We have music, we have food, we have dance, we have all these things, a way of speaking, a way of just being and seeing and living in the world. But what does not exist are the mechanisms by which these things get codified and communicated outside our culture.”
News outlet logo for favicons/wdet.org.png

In times of crisis, get free mental health sessions from Wayne State

The novel coronavirus pandemic – and subsequent stay-at-home orders — have taught Michiganders how to interact in different ways. For many, the recent protests have only added to anxiety and increased social isolation. To help residents improve their mental health, Wayne State University is offering free online counseling sessions with psychology and counseling students. Lauren Mangus, professor of psychology, oversees the program. She says the world has changed and it can be difficult to adapt to a new way of living. “Life as it once was, it’s completely changed for so many of us. Not to mention the emotional psychological bandwidth that’s being taxed for many of us right now.” On dealing with grief when gatherings were limited: “Grief is really complex. It’s really difficult because it’s a very personalized, individualized process. But it is never completely finalized. But at the same time when we have different ways to celebrate life, and celebrate loved ones, and to get that support can really help us through the grieving process. So that is really complicated.
News outlet logo for favicons/wdet.org.png

Unemployment processing issues frustrate Michiganders

Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson has been hosting hour-long specials on 101.9 WDET where local experts answer listener questions on COVID-19. For this special, Marick Masters interim chair of the Department of Finance at Wayne State’s Mike Ilitch School of Business, joined other experts to answer questions from tweets, email and call-ins. Economists say Michigan is now at depression-level unemployment. One million people are now jobless. To help residents, Congress passed a stimulus package and expanded unemployment benefits to self-employed and gig economy workers, among others. That has meant an unprecedented surge of jobless claims and applications, which has challenged the state’s unemployment agency’s ability to handle that volume of claims. When eligibility opened up for workers who were previously denied unemployment benefits, the state’s unemployment website malfunctioned under the weight of all of the people hoping to take advantage of the expanded benefits. As of April 17, Michigan has paid out $823 million to 765,000 Michiganders, with about 300,000 more residents expected to receive benefits for the first time next week. 
News outlet logo for favicons/wdet.org.png

How the Wall Street roller coaster affects your finances

It’s been a wild roller coaster ride on Wall Street this past week. Last week saw one of the biggest drops in the Dow’s history. Yesterday, the market saw its biggest single-day jump in history. Matthew Roling is the Interim Chair for the Department of Accounting at Wayne State University Mike Ilitch School of Business. Roling told Detroit Today host Stephen Henderson that “the market rewards patience, diversification and low fees.” He says the large drop last week in stocks was undeniably a reflection of the interconnection between the U.S. and Chinese economies, adding that the consensus cause of the dip by economists was the coronavirus outbreak in China. “It was a realization by the market that what’s going on with this virus might seriously wreak havoc on our economy.”