Ep. 1: Michigan & the Climate Crisis, Kalamazoo Elections, News About Kalamazoo‘s [Un]elected Power Structure, and More

In today's pilot episode of our podcast compendium we gather the best stories from early November.

 

We look at the climate crisis, what local activists are doing about it, and a new book that highlights Michigan as a destination location as the crisis wears on. We talk about the unique implications of Kalamazoo being squarely in the 'goldilocks' zone and how the tensions between the haves and have-nots will become heightened (to say the least).

 

We take a deep dive into the results of the November 2nd election for Kalamazoo City Commission, the implications of the data, and how Kalamazoo citizens may simultaneously hunger for change while keeping it "same as it ever was."

 

We then pivot towards some discussions about Kalamazoo's un-elected power structure, including a look at SWMI First's new pick for chair Jonas Peterson- an economic development fella from Las Vegas who checks off a lot of boxes on the neoliberal checklist. We then talk about the recent TIME Magazine article that highlights some of the concerns about the Foundation For Excellence and the big questions about democracy a couple of Bill-ionaires having direct financial leverage over a city bring about.

 

We close with a discussion from late October about the Kelloggs Strike, and how local media are giving too much of a platform to the views (and propaganda) of the cereal magnate as opposed to the workers.

Intro (0:00- 4:30)
Pt. 1: Kalamazoo, MI & the Climate Crisis- Being in the Goldilocks Zone (0:00- 26:42)
Pt. 2: Local Election Post- Mortem (26:42- 40:40)
Pt. 3: SWMI Chooses a New Chair (40:40- 50:30)
Pt. 4: TIME Magazine and the Implications of the Foundation For Excellence (50:30-1:06:15)
Pt. 5: The Kelloggs Strike and Local Media Coverage That Skews Against the Strikers (1:06:15- 1:32:28)