The Mitten Channel™ Law, justice and labor in the public interest
A Michigan‑based podcast about workers’ rights, prosecutorial power, and community history in working‑class America, with stories from Flint, Detroit, and the wider Rust Belt.
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Our most interesting stories of labor, law, true crime & justice in Michigan communities:
Nov. 1, 2022
George Winters and his Red Piano
Send us a text Musician George Winters has performed for audiences for over 50 years across America. The Michigan native is well-known in music venues in southeastern Michigan for his fabulous keyboard skills, especially on a Hammond organ. George plays the keyboard, guitar, and harmonica and also …
Aug. 9, 2020
Super Lawyer Tom Pabst on Whistleblowers, Police Misconduct and Civil…
Send us a text Tom R. Pabst has dedicated his legal career to obtaining justice for the underdog, the weak, the powerless and those without a voice. He is recognized by his peers as one of the best trial attorneys in Michigan. He has obtained over a dozen million dollar jury awards for his clients …
Jan. 10, 2021
The Bath Schoolhouse Bombing, with author John Smolens
Send us a text Author John Smolens is an award winning novelist whose historical fiction Day of Days tells the story of the tragic and shocking bombing of the Bath, Michigan Schoolhouse in 1927. There were 45 people killed in that bombing and countless children and adults injured. In the spring 192…
April 18, 2021
The Poisoned City: Flint’s Water Crisis (ft. Anna Clark)
Send us a text Anna Clark is an accomplished author and journalist. In The Poisoned City: Flint's Water and the American Urban Tragedy, Anna examines what happened to poison the water in Flint, Michigan. She digs into the public policies that need reform and drinking water policy decisions by the F…
Nov. 19, 2020
The Purple Gang's Legendary History (ft Gregory Fournier)
Send us a text Gregory Fournier is the author of The Purple Gang: Detroit's Kosher Nostra is a concise history of one of America's most notorious Prohibition-era gangs. Fournier shares fascinating stories during this interview about one of America's most notorious gangs. American popular culture ha…
Nov. 14, 2025
The Michigan Murderer: John Norman Collins and the Ypsilanti Terror
He looked like an all-American college student, but John Norman Collins was “The Michigan Murderer.” In the 1960s, his crimes terrorized Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. Author Gregory Fournier joins Radio Free Flint to discuss Terror in Ypsilanti and the dark story behind one of Michigan’s most infamous s…
Dec. 12, 2025
She Dodged Bullets for the UAW — and Her Legacy Still Haunts the Auto…
In 1937, a 23-year-old Flint woman stood between General Motors security, Flint police gunfire, and the workers fighting for their lives inside Fisher Body. Her name was Genora Johnson Dollinger — and she did more than rally ...
Dec. 15, 2025
The Age of Anxiety: Political Media, Dementia, and the Boomer Fear
The Age of Anxiety: Political Media, Dementia, and the Boomer Fear In Michigan living rooms—from Flint to Saginaw to small towns up north—older Americans watch political news that feels less like reporting and more like a public trial of aging itself. Every stumble, verbal slip, or moment of confus…
Dec. 26, 2025
John D. Voelker and Anatomy of a Murder: Law, Doubt, and Justice in M…
A deep dive into Anatomy of a Murder, the real Michigan homicide case behind the novel, and the remarkable legal career of John D. Voelker—lawyer, writer, and Michigan Supreme Court justice.
Recent Episodes
Society and Culture: Radio Free Flint
Justice and True Crime: Flint Justice
Labor and Work – Work in the Mitten
Society and Culture: Biography and Personal Stories
Jan. 29, 2026
Flint on the Brink: Who Governs After Collapse—Broken Systems, Billion-Dollar Philanthropy, and Flint-First Leadership
Flint on the Brink is a clear-eyed examination of an American rust-belt city struggling to decide who controls its future. In this episode, former Michigan prosecutor and legal educator Arthur Busch reads and expands on his e...
Jan. 25, 2026
Bad Water, Kids, Big Money, and Lawyers
When water systems fail, the damage is not the same for everyone. In Flint, the deepest harm lives in children’s brains. In other cities, the damage is buried in pipes, mains, and hydrants. In this episode, Arthur Busch exami...
Jan. 23, 2026
Cold Case Rape Murder: When Forensic Science Solves What Time Couldn’t
In November 1986, a well-known university provost in Flint, Michigan, was found raped and murdered in her bed inside a locked gatehouse on the grounds of one of the city’s most secure estates. There were no signs of forced entry, immediately suggesting the offender was not a stranger but someone wi…
Jan. 21, 2026
Leaving Flint to See America on a Schwinn Bicycle
I Left My Blue-Collar Hometown On A Schwinn And Learned How The "Other Half" Actually Lives Have you ever felt that crushing pressure to leave home just to "figure out your future"? 🤔 In this episode, I’m looking back at 1970...
Dec. 26, 2025
Inside Anatomy of a Murder
This is a short excerpt from an upcoming episode of Flint Justice.
In this preview, Arthur Busch explores the real Michigan homicide case that inspired Anatomy of a Murder and the lawyer behind it, John D. Voelker—prosecutor, defense attorney, Supreme Court justice, and writer.
The full episode…
Dec. 26, 2025
John D. Voelker and Anatomy of a Murder: Law, Doubt, and Justice in Michigan
In 1952, a saloon killing in a small Upper Peninsula town became one of the most important—and controversial—criminal trials in Michigan history.
The lawyer who defended the accused was John D. Voelker: former county prosecutor, defense attorney, future Michigan Supreme Court justice, and a gifte…
Listen On
Recent Blog Posts
Jan. 24, 2026
From Flint Factories to Freedom: Redefining 'Home' and Identity
Welcome back to the blog, everyone! In our latest episode, titled "Leaving Flint to See America on a Schwinn Bicycle," we delved into a truly transformative journey. It was a narrative of youthful rebellion against the backdrop of a blue-coll…
Jan. 12, 2026
The Ghost of Kent State: Minneapolis and the New War at Home
In the spring of 1970 at Kent State, the air was thick with tear gas and with a country cracking open over a war overseas. Today, in the snowy streets of South Minneapolis, the smell is rubber and gunpowder, and the war is no longer abroad; it is …
Jan. 8, 2026
Flint at a Crossroads: From Paternalism to Flint‑First Leadership
Part II – Flint at a Crossroads: From Paternalism to Flint‑First Leadership In Part I, the focus was on how broken systems, economic decline, and racial segregation have battered Flint’s ability to govern itself and plan for the future.…
About the Host
Arthur A Busch
Arthur Busch is a veteran lawyer and educator with an acclaimed record of success in high-profile cases. He was a Prosecutor and community leader for decades.
Arthur Busch grew up in rust belt Flint, Michigan, just three blocks from the former General Motor's Fisher Body Plant #1. The auto factory was the site of the historic sitdown strike that gave birth to the United Automobile Workers Union.
Mr. Busch holds a BA in Urban Public Policy, and a Masters's Degree in Labor and Industrial Relations from Michigan State University as well as a Juris Doctorate from Thomas Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan. He attended Flint Public Schools.
Reviews
- Dr Dave Coriasso
- May 1, 2020
Loved the episode with Skip Harbin!
Great conversation about FCS and the community education program. Enjoyed listening to Skip talk about the golden age of FCS.
- Balogney
- March 15, 2021
- Srubfthu
- Jan. 6, 2021
- BRL17
- Aug. 6, 2020