What's the Hardest Thing About Detroit?

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Coney on the surface, it looks like a chili dog, right? Except that Albanian immigrants were using the cheapest parts of the cow. And they would sell them to auto workers on their breaks. So in maintaining those recipes over the years and keeping it cheap is how we have the Coney Dog.

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