Dec. 16, 2025
The Age of Anxiety: Political Media Dementia and the Boomer Fear
“The Mitten Channel: Stories of Work, Law & American Life
"A public-interest media network documenting labor, law & justice, environment and community in Michigan — and what those stories reveal about America."
"The Mitten Channel produces podcasts, documentary audio, narrative video, and interviews that explore how work, power, history, and place shape the lives of ordinary people.
Rooted in Michigan’s industrial heartland, the network examines local stories with national consequence, connecting lived experience to larger questions about democracy, accountability, and economic life."
Spotlight on Popular Podcast Episodes
Our most interesting stories of crime & justice, labor rights and community building.
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…
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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 confusion by national leaders is clipped, replayed, and mocked. For older viewers, this coverage is not abstract or partisan. It is personal. This investigative audio essay examines how constant media foc...
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Recent Blog Posts
Dec. 12, 2025
Fear of Aging in Politics: Media, Dementia and Older Voters in Michig…
In Michigan living rooms, from Flint to Saginaw, older residents turn on the news. They often see something they never asked for: aging men turned into a spectacle. The screen shows familiar figures like Donald Trump, Joe Biden, or John Fet…
Sept. 8, 2022
Memories of Detroit Tiger Baseball Announcer Ernie Harwell
Originally published on December 29, 2020 Memories of Detroit Tiger Baseball Announcer Ernie Harwell: The late Ernie Harwell might be considered baseball's version of iconic Americana artist Norman Rockwell with a microphone. There is litt…
April 9, 2021
Michigan Lumber: A Flint Centennial Business
Much of the telling of Flint, Michigan history has revolved around the rise of the transportation industry. Flint played a leading role in putting America on wheels. The city also has a rich small history. Many of these businesses help…
About the Host
Arthur A Busch
Founder and Host of Radio Free Flint Podcast
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.