Alex B. Hill is the principal of DETROITography, an organization that provides data resources for city residents.

"You know, I have Detroit maps in the back of my head. I've made so many of them. And the Great Lakes, I've lived here forever, but I hadn't ever really made a map of the region," Hill said.

As a cartographer and information designer, Hill focuses on Michigan locations, offering new perspectives for understanding these areas.

His new book, "Great Lakes in 50 Maps," explores our freshwater features and the surrounding land, highlighting how this relationship impacts how people live.

"As I was thinking about this book, I realized how much the Great Lakes are a part of all of us," Hill said. "We're 90 percent water. We are the Great Lakes; we just walk around!"

The book includes maps featuring indigenous names for the lakes, treaties, and land rights associated with the Great Lakes, historical Underground Railroad stops, and shipwrecks in the inland seas, among other topics.

Hill is also the author of "Detroit in 50 Maps."

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The regents of University of Florida had already offered Ono the gig, and he had accepted. But the larger governing body - the Board of Governors - rejected that plan as pressure mounted from Republican lawmakers and influential voices decried Ono as too liberal.

At the meeting on June 3, 2025, the members of the Board of Governors peppered Ono with questions about his record of support of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. DEI programs have become a target of the Republican Party under President Donald Trump. Ono halted DEI programs at U-M after Trump took office this year.

Ono told the board members this week that he stood by his decision to walk away from DEI.

"My evolution over the past 18 months or more... has really focused on my personal experience seeing DEI programs - that were started with all good intensions - what impact they've had on campuses," said Ono.

Board members also pushed on Ono's handling of pro-Palestinian campus protests, and questioned whether he came out with enough forceful support of Israel in the days after the Oct. 7th attack in 2023. Conversely, many pro-Palestinian supporters on campus and in Ann Arbor railed against Ono while president at U-M for being too supportive of Israel and for continuing university investment in Israeli businesses.

The Florida Board of Governors rejected Ono's appointment by a 10-6 vote. It's unclear what Ono will do now.

His departure from U-M came after three difficult years, in which the university was challenged on multiple fronts.

The reason and manner of Florida’s apparent rejection are also historic, and say a lot about this moment.

Today, we’ve invited back Jamal Watson, editor of the online journal, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education to explain what happened and what's next for Ono.

Watson is also a Professor of Strategic Communication and Public Relations at Trinity Washington University.

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The mistrial in the criminal case against former Grand Rapids police officer Christopher Schurr, who shot and killed Patrick Lyoya, has left the Lyoya family vowing to continue seeking justice through civil court. Some legal experts argue that police training and the difficulty of convicting officers played a key role in the hung jury decision.

GUEST:

Ekow Yankah, Associate Dean for Faculty and Research and holds the title of Thomas M. Cooley Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School. He's also a professor of philosophy at the university.

Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way.

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Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

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