Detroit

4min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

Detroit has three different public transit systems not working in really anything as they could. The city's dependence on the automobile forced upon the city because the automotive industry was the biggest employers. In New York, you have all of these systems working together in the way that the systems and metrics Detroit don't.

Why an episode on Detroit?! It’s got a great story. Standalone, this episode is a fascinating look at a metropolis that swelled and thrived during the auto boom, then declined, and is navigating a rocky rebirth of sorts. Aaron Foley was Detroit’s first official City Storyteller and wrote the book “How to Live In Detroit Without Being a Jackass.” I’ve wanted to have him on Ologies for five years, and we finally sat down to talk about MoTown, car culture, square pizza, $1000 houses, gentrification, urban infrastructure, underground salt mines, amusement park slides, Diana Ross, emerging rappers, and the city’s abandonment issues. Stay tuned for the March 21 Domicology episode on how buildings and neighborhoods decay, and what people – and science – can to do about it. Also, if you’re looking for a book to read, I’m loving Aaron’s debut novel, “Boys Come First,” which he describes as “very Black, very gay, and very Detroit.”

Visit Aaron Foley’s website and follow him on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok

Buy Aaron’s debut novel: Boys Come First

Buy Aaron’s non-fiction books: The Detroit Neighborhood Guidebook and How to Live in Detroit Without Being a Jackass

A donation went to the Detroit Justice Center