A Flint lawyer helped end a Jim Crow relic—and the hometown paper barely noticed. We sit down with Robert Steiger, a retired civil rights attorney whose argument before the Warren Court contributed to striking down Virginia’s poll tax. From Detroit roots and Michigan training to a chance move to Flint, Bob’s journey shows how a small, principled firm can punch far above its weight. He recalls colleagues who marched in Mississippi, the chill of the McCarthy era, and the National Lawyers Guild network that backed embattled Southern lawyers when local support collapsed.

Bob opens the courtroom door and walks us through strategy, nerves, and the give-and-take of a hot bench. He explains how the poll tax worked as voter suppression in plain sight, why a 1930s defeat set the stage for a 1960s victory, and how a 6–3 decision ended poll taxes in five states. We talk about the paradox of recognition—headlines in Time and the New York Times, silence in Flint—and what that says about local power and memory. For legal nerds and history fans, there’s rich detail: direct appeals, divided argument time, and the Warren Court’s role in expanding voting rights.

Beyond the spotlight case, Bob shares decades of trial craft and the quiet power of mediation. He argues that facts carry more weight than doctrine, that civility is a professional asset, and that a strong bar culture can keep hard fights human. Honors like “Champion of Justice” and the Herb Milliken civility award mark a career defined by principle over posture. If you care about voting rights history, Supreme Court storytelling, and the everyday choices that shape justice, this is your listen.

Enjoyed the conversation? Follow, rate, and share the show, then email us your thoughts at radiofreeflint@gmail.com. Your reviews help others find thoughtful stories rooted in Flint and relevant nationwide.

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Margarette Eby was murdered in 1986. In an investigation led by Genesee County (MI) Prosecutor Arthur Busch and the Michigan State Police, two cold case rape-murders were solved using the most advance forensic science available.

Key details regarding the case:

• Date: She was found on November 9, 1986, having last been seen on November 7, 1986.
• Location: She was murdered in her home at the Mott family estate in Flint, Michigan.
• Perpetrator: Jeffrey Gorton, a sprinkler system installer who worked on the estate, was identified via DNA evidence and charged in 2002.
• Outcome: Gorton pleaded no contest in Genesee County, Michigan (Flint) to the murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

We walk you through how a partial print on a faucet and carefully stored biological evidence waited years for the right moment, then unlocked a chain of breakthroughs that tied two murders to one man.

We break down why so many late‑20th‑century investigations stalled: reliance on eyewitness memory, confessions, and limited lab tests that hinted at guilt but rarely proved identity. Then we zoom into the tools that changed the map. AFIS took fingerprint comparison from magnifying glasses to searchable databases, and STR DNA profiling built full genetic identities from the tiniest trace. With CODIS linking labs across states, an old profile from Flint collided with a new profile from a hotel near an airport, revealing a single serial predator hiding in plain sight. Along the way, we revisit the Mary Sullivan case in Boston and the capture of the Golden State Killer to show how forensic genealogy fills gaps when offenders aren’t in criminal databases.

What ties it all together isn’t luck—it’s infrastructure. Proper evidence storage turns slides and swabs into time‑delayed witnesses. Dedicated cold case units create focus where daily caseloads can’t. Updated databases make every new arrest, every new algorithm, and every fresh upload ripple across past scenes. For families, a late arrest doesn’t erase loss, but it affirms that loved ones were not forgotten. For offenders, the takeaway is stark: time no longer offers cover.

If this story moved you, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review telling us which case changed your view of cold case work. Your voice helps fund the labs, units, and training that keep justice from aging out.

The Mitten Channel is a network of podcasts.

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• The Mitten Works: Essential history and analysis of labor and economic policy.
• Flint Justice: Critical insights into the legal and institutional challenges facing our state.
  
  

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The Mitten Channel is a production of Radio Free Flint Media, LLC. © 2026 All Rights Reserved.

A vanished hometown. A son who came back different. An elder on a quiet porch waiting for someone to say hello. We follow John Prine’s trail from Maywood, Illinois, to the coal seams of western Kentucky and the factory streets of Michigan, mapping how his songs became a living record of America’s working‑class migration.

We start with the family story: parents who left Muhlenberg County for steadier pay, weekend drives back down the Green River, and the language that knit southern memory to northern labor. That double vantage shaped a body of work that feels at home in both coal camps and auto plants. Paradise turns industrial extraction into compact family history, explaining why so many left towns that now exist only in stories. Sam Stone pulls the curtain on the cost of war in neighborhoods that sent more than their share, capturing addiction and broken promises without sermon or spectacle. Hello in There lowers its voice to honor elders displaced by geography and time, reminding us that attention is a form of care. And Grandpa Was a Carpenter sketches a worldview built on work, loyalty, and a plain, steady pride.

Along the way, we walk the line locals know by heart—the Hillbilly Highway—where Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas families followed Dixie Highway and U.S. routes into Illinois and Michigan, trading coal dust for factory grit. Prine didn’t just sing about characters; he archived a code: show up for your people, honor your history, do your part, and expect your country to keep faith. When he died in 2020, the loss felt less like a star going dark and more like a neighbor setting down the notebook where everyone’s names were written.

If you care about Americana music, labor history, or the quiet ways songs hold communities together, press play. Then tell us which John Prine lyric still finds you where you live. Subscribe, share with a friend who grew up on a front porch or a factory block, and leave a review so more listeners can find these stories.

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This episode is a newly expanded version of my 2020 John Prine podcast episode, with more story and analysis.”

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The Mitten Channel is a network of podcasts.

👉Subscribe to The Mitten Channel

Join us for the full experience. Subscribe to The Mitten Channel on Substack to receive our latest narrative essays, audio stories, and deep-dive reporting directly in your inbox.

Explore Our Series:

• Radio Free Flint: Narrative storytelling and community perspectives on industrial resilience.
• The Mitten Works: Essential history and analysis of labor and economic policy.
• Flint Justice: Critical insights into the legal and institutional challenges facing our state.
  
  

Visit our Mitten Channel website for our complete library of podcasts, videos, and articles.

The Mitten Channel is a production of Radio Free Flint Media, LLC. © 2026 All Rights Reserved.