Detroit is Different

  • Latest episode: “Tap Into It, Dr. Rose Moten on Healing, Detroit Roots, and Living in Full Bloom”
  • Latest episode: “I Knew That’s What I Wanted to Do, Gerald McBride on Radio, Detroit Love, and Legacy”
  • Latest episode: “Being in Community is Wellness, Dr. Demarra West’s Journey”

  • Latest episode: “Tap Into It, Dr. Rose Moten on Healing, Detroit Roots, and Living in Full Bloom”
  • Latest episode: “I Knew That’s What I Wanted to Do, Gerald McBride on Radio, Detroit Love, and Legacy”
  • Latest episode: “Being in Community is Wellness, Dr. Demarra West’s Journey”

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“Our job now is to help people unlearn the stuff that is not serving them, help them tap into the remembrance of the (inspirational) things that lie within our DNA.” Dr. Rose Moten’s story is one of bloom—of growing through responsibility, grief, faith, and purpose into a life devoted to healing others. In this powerful Detroit Is Different conversation, Dr. Rose—clinical psychologist, author, speaker, life-transformation specialist, and founder of Life in Full Bloom—reflects on the roots that shaped her, from her family’s deep foundation of love, education, and community to the life-changing experience of helping care for her father as a teenager after his health declined. What began as a daughter’s need to understand “what happened to my father’s brain” became a lifelong calling to explore the relationship between the mind, the brain, trauma, emotion, and wellness. She shares how those early experiences shaped not only her path into psychology, but her broader approach to healing—one that honors presence, emotional awareness, trauma release, and the possibility of transformation at every stage of life. This episode is a meditation on what it means to bloom through hardship, to turn pain into purpose, and to help others come back to themselves with compassion, clarity, and care.

“Once I saw that, I knew that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to be on radio.” That spark carries this rich Detroit is Different conversation with Gerald McBride author of the new book God and the DJ. Gerald McBride is a legendary radio DJ, voice-over master, and filmmaker, whose story stretches from the soul team reporter days of 1970s Detroit radio to becoming one of the city’s most recognizable voices. Gerald takes listeners inside a living archive of Black Detroit sound, sharing how watching Donnie Simpson work the board with a grease pencil and razor blade made radio feel like magic, and how hearing his own family name on air made the dream real. He reflects on a time when Detroit radio was deeply tied to community, when DJs had personality, creative freedom, and real relationships with listeners. From memories of Martha Jean “The Queen” and the power of WJLB to stories of being live with Roger Troutman of Zapp and building beloved R&B artists battles, this episode is joy, history, and cultural testimony. Gerald’s journey also points forward through film, including his work telling the story of Black teenagers playing hockey—proof that Black Detroit creativity keeps evolving, teaching, and inspiring future generations.

“My heart bleeds for Detroit” is how Dr. Demarra West opens this rich Detroit is Different conversation, and that one line sets the tone for an episode rooted in healing, belonging, and Black community care. Therapist, author, leadership expert, and founder of Be Well Beautiful People, Dr. West reflects on how spending more time in Detroit has deepened her connection to the culture, the people, and the lifestyle that speaks to her spirit. She shares why Detroit holds unique power as a place where “we can amplify wellbeing for Detroiters” and why being in community is not extra, but essential medicine. In this powerful exchange, she breaks down the difference between treatment and true wellness, reminding us that “the healthcare system is really about treating disease,” while real wellbeing calls us back to mind, body, spirit, joy, rest, and relationships. She also gives listeners a glimpse into the upcoming Hearth Summit, a gathering helping place Detroit on the map as a leader in culturally rooted wellness. This episode connects the ancestral wisdom of our past with the urgent healing work of our future.

“The right time is right now” sets the tone for this powerful Detroit is Different conversation with Portia Roberson, CEO of Focus: HOPE, as she breaks down leadership, legacy, and what it means to serve Detroit with purpose. From her years as a Detroit attorney learning to “really practice law” in Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, to working on Barack Obama’s historic 2008 campaign, to now guiding one of Detroit’s most iconic institutions, Portia shares a journey rooted in Black political possibility, organizational discipline, and community care. She reflects on Focus: HOPE’s origin after the 1967 rebellion, its role as an advocacy organization, and why she believes in returning to the core mission because “all money’s not good money.” This interview connects the past and future of Legacy Black Detroit through stories of partnership, food justice, early childhood education, workforce development, and multigenerational responsibility. Portia also offers deep insight into Black leadership, Detroit’s legal culture, the emotional meaning of Obama’s rise, and the ongoing work of building institutions that truly help families. This is a rich conversation about strategy, service, and sustaining community through change.

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