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It's a special time for Michigan Theater Foundation executive director Russ Collins! This week, he celebrates 40 years as head of the Michigan Theater. He joined WEMU's David Fair to talk all about his four decades running the historic movie palace.

Homelessness and housing insecurity continues to be a problem in Washtenaw County. One of the ongoing, contributing factors is an overall lack of affordable housing. WEMU's David Fair is joined by Heather Thiefels from Avalon Housing in Ann Arbor to discuss the progress being made on that front and the support efforts to address other root causes that land people on the streets.

As the new session in Lansing gets underway, Democrats find themselves in control of both chambers of the Legislature for the first time in 40 years. Governor Gretchen Whitmer sees that as a path forward on a number of issues. The governor joins WEMU's David Fair and Michigan League of Conservation Voters executive director, Lisa Wozniak, to lay out her priorities for the next two years.

A state elections board has reluctantly moved ahead with a partial recount of ballots cast in some precincts in the 2022 elections. The recounts will cover two ballot proposals.We have more from Rick Pluta.

The winter rolls on and coming along with it is the world's biggest independent film festival. WEMU's David Fair met up with Michigan Theater programming manager Nick Alderink to chat about this year's Sundance Film Festival, as well as the newest flicks and special screenings hitting downtown Ann Arbor.

Despite the fact Democrats won control of the state Legislature for the first time in four decades in November, there are ongoing efforts at voter suppression. WEMU's David Fair is joined by first-term state representative Jason Morgan of Ann Arbor to discuss how best to legislatively combat those efforts in the new session.

The art scene in Ypsilanti’s downtown area is growing with galleries, performance venues, and artists exploring a variety of mediums. It is a growth that has captured the attention of many budding artists. WEMU’s Cathy Shafran will explore Ypsi’s growth in culture and the arts with Concentrate Media's Rylee Barnsdale, along with Liz Warren and Grey Grant from Ypsilanti's Riverside Arts Center.

Recycling plastics is difficult and expensive. Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County are well ahead of the curve, but there are significant hurdles to overcome in the next few decades. WEMU's David Fair joined by the CEO of Recycle Ann Arbor, Bryan Ukena, to explore what is being done locally to address plastics recycling now and in the future.

It is Black History Month, and not everyone is on board. There are some in the Black community that are upset that Black History is relegated to one month a year, noting that Black history is American History. How do you feel about it? We're going to look at that and the historical bias in education. WEMU's David Fair discussed it with activist, poet, and co-founder of "Black Men Read," Yodit Mesfin-Johnson

Housing and transportation account for 50% of all greenhouse gas emissions, so changing to electric vehicles won't help slow the climate crisis on its own. The manner in which we build and retrofit our residential and business communities is vital to environmental sustainability. The nation's lead expert on this is Reid Ewing, Distinguished Professor of City and Metropolitan Planning at the University of Utah and this week's guest on "Issues of the Environment" with WEMU's David Fair. Later this month, Dr. Ewing will be a featured panelist in Ann Arbor on the interplay between housing and transportation when it comes to reducing our carbon footprint.