The Mitten Channel

The Mitten Channel

135 episodes listed below

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Flint history, evidence, and memory on record.

The gist

The Mitten Channel moves between cold cases, public systems, local biography, and working-class memory with a plainspoken Flint center. Its best episodes connect forensic evidence, courtroom logic, water infrastructure, airport security, sports, foodways, and industrial legacy without sanding off the local detail.

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About The Mitten Channel

The Mitten Channel is a Flint-centered record of crimes, institutions, biographies, and local traditions that rarely fit into one neat category. It has the patience of a public file. Episodes often begin with a specific person, place, or piece of evidence, then widen into the systems around it. A cold case story follows a 1986 Flint murder from a partial fingerprint and stored biological evidence to later AFIS and DNA matches. The forensic detail matters. So does the question of why a case can sit for years before technology and public investment give it another chance. The show uses that same practical frame when it turns to public policy. Its episode on militarized policing argues through the language of rights, war rhetoric, searches, lawyers, bail, and state power. Its Flint water coverage separates bodily harm from infrastructure harm, drawing a clean line between children who may need lifelong support and mechanical systems that need repair. These are not abstract debates. They are told through local consequences. The Mitten Channel also makes room for memory, especially the kind carried by people who grew up in Flint schools, neighborhoods, fields, gyms, and restaurants. Jeffrey Natchez's story moves from Freeman School, McKinley, Southwestern, baseball, football, and basketball into optometry. Christopher Miller's account ties General Motors parents, Flint Public Schools, music, law enforcement, and Bishop Airport into one career arc. Biographical episodes revisit Charles Stuart Mott, William Durant, politics, banking, and philanthropy. Food history gets similar seriousness, with Dave Liske's work on Flint-style coney restaurants leading into recipes, Abbott's, Macedonian people, and Balkan Wars migration. Even the true-crime material stays anchored in Michigan geography, including John Norman Collins, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and the fear around his crimes. The show is sober, local, and evidence-forward. It suits listeners who want more than a headline and less than a polished national gloss.

Made for: For listeners drawn to Michigan history, true crime, public institutions, and Flint's working-class cultural memory. It especially suits people who like interviews and narrative explanations that stay close to names, places, and evidence.

What sets it apart: The Mitten Channel treats local history, legal process, environmental harm, and biography as connected civic records. Its strength is the Flint lens: cold cases, coney recipes, school athletics, airport security, and industrial figures all sit inside the same regional story.

In their own words

The Mitten Channel is a Michigan podcast and media network created by former Genesee County Prosecutor Arthur Busch.We produce original programs that blend legal expertise, investigative storytelling, and deep Michigan history — including true crime analysis, environmental investigations, employee rights, and rich biographies rooted in Flint’s working-class culture.Our mission is to preserve Michigan stories, examine the systems that shape our communities, and give voice to the people who define our industrial past and future.Mitten Channel Podcast Shows: Radio Free Flint, Flint Justice, The Mitten Works, Mitten Environmental and The Mitten Biography ProjectTo listen to full audio podcast in…

Why you'd press play

Flint's memory gets a microphone here, and you get the stories that never made the plaque.

Press play if you want

  • to hear Arthur Busch draw out the family history behind a judge's life in law
  • a Grammy-winning songwriter's memories of faith, mentorship, and making music
Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
Flint and Michigan historycold case investigationsforensic DNA and fingerprintscivil liberties and policingFlint water harmlocal sports memoriesindustrial and philanthropic biographyFlint-style coney history

Talks about

Podcasts like The Mitten Channel

Episodes

  1. 1

    How A Flint Attorney Helped Strike Down Virginia’s Poll Tax And Changed American Voting Rights

    Mar 10, 2026·38m
  2. 2

    Cold Case: How AFIS And DNA Unmasked A Hidden Killer

    Feb 19, 2026·6m
  3. 3

    John Prine’s America, Hymns for the Working Class

    Feb 15, 2026·11m
  4. 4

    Saigon’s Baby Airlift: A Flint Medic’s Story

    Feb 12, 2026·23m
  5. 5

    A Flint Athlete’s Journey From High School Stardom To Optometry

    Hidden gem

    ["Jeffrey Natchez, a Flint-area optometrist and former Tigers draftee, traces his path from Dearborn Street and McKinley Southwestern to UNLV, Ferris, and Nevada.", "He says Flint's school gyms and fields gave him nonstop access to sports, and Coach Williams told him to skip sophomore football because he was too fragile.", "Bill LaJoy spotted him at Southwestern, the Tigers drafted him in the sixth round, and he weighed that against a University of Michigan football offer and Tiger Stadium dreams.", "After a spring 1976 release, Natchez and Tommy Thompson mapped out optometry school, and he eventually returned to Flint to practice part-time in Brighton."]

    Feb 10, 2026·21m·1 clip
  6. 6

    Joe Ryan III: From Flint to Hollywood — The Sound of a New Generation

    Feb 7, 2026·18m
  7. 7

    Can Minnesota Prosecute an ICE Agent?

    Feb 6, 2026·15m
  8. 8

    A Republic at War With Itself: Militarized Policing and the Slow Erosion of Civil Liberties

    Arthur Bush discusses the historical shift in U.S.

    Feb 3, 2026·17m
  9. 9

    Flint on the Brink: Who Governs After Collapse—Broken Systems, Billion-Dollar Philanthropy, and Flint-First Leadership

    Jan 29, 2026·8m
  10. 10

    Bad Water, Kids, Big Money, and Lawyers

    This episode examines the human and mechanical damage from the Flint water crisis, focusing on lead-poisoned children and infrastructure failures.

    Jan 25, 2026·14m
  11. 11

    Leaving Flint to See America on a Schwinn Bicycle

    Jan 21, 2026·13m
  12. 12

    John D. Voelker and Anatomy of a Murder: Law, Doubt, and Justice in Michigan

    Dec 27, 2025·14m
  13. 13

    Inside Anatomy of a Murder

    Dec 27, 2025·3m
  14. 14

    The Age of Anxiety: Political Media, Dementia, and the Boomer Fear

    Dec 15, 2025·7m
  15. 15

    She Dodged Bullets for the UAW — and Her Legacy Still Haunts the Auto Industry

    Dec 12, 2025·18m
  16. 16

    Inside Detroit’s 99th Thanksgiving Parade:On-the-Ground Coverage by Arthur Busch

    Dec 12, 2025·9m
  17. 17

    When Flint Fought Back: Genora Johnson and the Strike That Changed America

    Dec 12, 2025·1m
  18. 18

    DETROIT RISING: The Untold Story of the Motor City's Durable Comeback | The Mitten Channel

    Dec 8, 2025·2m
  19. 19

    DETROIT RISING: A Photo Tour of Motor City's Amazing Comeback | The Mitten Channel

    Dec 8, 2025·3m
  20. 20

    Flint’s 1937 Sit-down Strike Saved Wages, Work, and Democracy

    Nov 25, 2025·1m
  21. 21

    The Michigan Murderer: John Norman Collins and the Ypsilanti Terror

    Host Arthur Busch interviews author Gregory Frenier about serial killer John Norman Collins, who terrorized Ann Arbor in the late 1960s.

    Nov 14, 2025·25m
  22. 22

    Flint’s Coney Island Legacy: The Immigrant Story Behind a Michigan Icon

    Nov 13, 2025·38m
  23. 23

    Why I Leave Michigan Every Winter (And What It Says About Us)

    Nov 12, 2025·14m
  24. 24

    The Golden Age: Flint Community Schools

    Jan 7, 2023·37m
  25. 25

    Electronic Drone Musician Hauras: A Song for Flint, Michigan

    Jan 3, 2023·18m
  26. 26

    Conservation and Sustainable Food Growing in Michigan

    Dec 7, 2022·29m
  27. 27

    Potholes, Roads and the Future of a Michigan Rustbelt Town

    Nov 22, 2022·38m
  28. 28

    Midnight in the Vehicle City: The Strike Heard Around the World

    Nov 15, 2022·35m
  29. 29

    George Winters — A Michigan Music Life: Flint, Davison & The Red Piano

    Nov 1, 2022·35m
  30. 30

    In Flint They Don't Name the Streets for Us

    Oct 26, 2022·27m
  31. 31

    Emily Doerr: What Can Be Done To Fix Flint's Schools?

    Oct 23, 2022·25m
  32. 32

    Bryan McCree: A Flintstone Comedian With Joy in His Bones

    Sep 20, 2022·32m
  33. 33

    Prep School Transfers Impact Flint Prep Hoops and Culture

    Sep 6, 2022·36m
  34. 34

    The 2017 Bishop Airport Terror Attack: Chief Chris Miller Tells the Inside Story

    Former Public Safety Chief Christopher Miller discusses his background and a significant 2017 event that rocked the Flint community.

    Aug 30, 2022·40m
  35. 35

    Keeping Old Documents,Photos and Donating Your Treasures

    Hidden gem

    Colleen Marquis explains how to flatten curled photographs using a Rubbermaid container, water, and a baking rack.

    Aug 25, 2022·26m·1 clip
  36. 36

    A Conversation with Genesee Historical Center Archivist Colleen Marquise

    Jul 26, 2022·28m
  37. 37

    Flint’s Civil War Heroes: The Story of the 10th Michigan Infantry

    Jun 14, 2022·42m
  38. 38

    Ben Pauli: Democracy and the Flint Water Crisis

    Jun 8, 2022·37m
  39. 39

    "Mr Flint" Charles Stewart Mott an American Capitalist Pt II

    Arthur Busch interviews author Edward Renehan about the life of Charles Stuart Mott, focusing on his business ventures, political involvement, and philanthropic foundation in Flint, Michigan.

    May 31, 2022·40m
  40. 40

    Troubadour of Crossroads Village Michigan: Neil Woodward

    May 21, 2022·32m
  41. 41

    Semaj Brown, Flint Poet Laureate, Author and Educator

    May 17, 2022·27m
  42. 42

    Marquise Gray: MSU Basketball Great & Flint Beecher Coach

    May 10, 2022·22m
  43. 43

    Dave Liske: History of the Flint Style Coney Island Restaurant

    Author Dave discusses his book on the history and recipes of the Flint Tony sandwich, tracing its origins to Macedonian immigrants.

    May 3, 2022·27m
  44. 44

    Michael J Thorp: Michigan Trivia & People We Should Know

    Arthur Busch interviews veteran broadcaster Michael J.

    Apr 26, 2022·48m
  45. 45

    Jan Worth-Nelson: History of the Iconic East Village Magazine

    Apr 19, 2022·40m
  46. 46

    Connor Coyne novel "Urbantasm" Set in Deindustrialized Flint

    Apr 12, 2022·29m
  47. 47

    Flintstones: Whats in a Nickname?

    Host Arthur Busch explores the origin and meaning of the term 'Flintstone' as a symbol of Flint's resilient identity.

    Apr 5, 2022·25m
  48. 48

    CS Mott: A Giant in Automotive History Part 1

    Apr 2, 2022·42m
  49. 49

    Carriage Town Ministries and Homelessness in Flint

    Mar 23, 2022·28m
  50. 50

    Rev Robert McCathern and His Hip-Hop Civic Park Church

    An interview with Pastor Robert McCatherin of Joy Tabernacle in Flint, discussing the church's history, urban ministry, and community impact.

    Mar 15, 2022·40m
  51. 51

    Jeffrey LeValley, Gospel Grammy Songwriter

    Hidden gem

    The Mitten Channel interviews Grammy-winning gospel composer Jeffrey LaVallee about building a 40-year music career from Flint, Michigan.

    Feb 22, 2022·31m·2 clips
  52. 52

    The First Internet Murder Trial (ft David Nickola)

    Feb 17, 2022·48m
  53. 53

    Judge Duncan Beagle Interview Part Two

    Hidden gem

    Duncan Beagle describes developing transverse myelitis after numbness in both legs led to four months in hospitals and ultimately left him using a wheelchair.

    Feb 9, 2022·29m·1 clip
  54. 54

    Judge Duncan M. Beagle Part One

    Feb 2, 2022·41m
  55. 55

    Reviving Rust Belt Flint with Phil Hagerman

    Jan 25, 2022·40m
  56. 56

    Safetyville, Corvettes, T-Birds, and Miniature Flint-- Part Two

    Jan 18, 2022·26m
  57. 57

    Flint Poet Laurate Semaj Brown

    Hidden gem

    Samaj Brown’s Flint poem turns water, industrial damage, and environmental injustice into a declaration of survival.

    Jun 8, 2021·49m·2 clips
  58. 58

    Rico Phillips Helps Hockey Break Barriers to Diversity

    May 21, 2021·50m
  59. 59

    Michigan Truck Camper Tour: Lake Huron Shoreline

    May 6, 2021·24m
  60. 60

    Michigan Lumber Company: Oldest Lumber Yard in Flint Area

    May 3, 2021·36m
  61. 61

    Author Patricia Majher

    Apr 25, 2021·37m
  62. 62

    The Poisoned City: Flint’s Water Crisis (ft. Anna Clark)

    Apr 18, 2021·46m
  63. 63

    Policing Flint: Jermaine Reese on Community, Training, and Accountability

    Apr 14, 2021·38m
  64. 64

    Michael Jablonski

    Apr 4, 2021·44m
  65. 65

    Joel Bye and the Blue Hawaiians Band

    Mar 28, 2021·40m
  66. 66

    William S. Ballenger III

    Mar 21, 2021·36m
  67. 67

    Pete Flanders, Musical Memories

    Mar 14, 2021·42m
  68. 68

    Flint Community Schools (ft Norm Bryant)

    Mar 11, 2021·40m
  69. 69

    Joel Feick: Life After Television

    Mar 8, 2021·38m
  70. 70

    Arlene Crane-Curns: 93 Year Old Author Shares Her Story

    Mar 8, 2021·43m
  71. 71

    The KKK and Flint, Michigan 1920-2020

    Mar 4, 2021·34m
  72. 72

    Fighting the Poll Tax with Attorney Robert Segar

    Feb 28, 2021·38m
  73. 73

    Former neo-Nazi Leader Charts an Unusual Path

    Feb 4, 2021·46m
  74. 74

    Daniel J. Clark: Your Grandpa's 1950's Auto Industry

    Feb 1, 2021·34m
  75. 75

    Ang Adamzcik: Arts & Scraps

    Jan 17, 2021·24m
  76. 76

    Before Columbine: Remembering the Bath School Bombing of 1927

    Jan 10, 2021·29m
  77. 77

    Flint’s Country Music Capital Story—David O. Norris on Maybelle Carter & Johnny Cash

    Dec 31, 2020·15m
  78. 78

    MC5 Guitarsist Wayne Kramer: Rock and Roll Pioneer

    Dec 27, 2020·31m
  79. 79

    Ernie Harwell: Detroit Tiger Broadcaster (ft Jack Lessenbury)

    Dec 20, 2020·40m
  80. 80

    Hip Hop Artist Joe Ryan III: Flint to Hollywood

    Dec 13, 2020·19m
  81. 81

    Flint Water Crisis: Musical Tribute (ft Antje Duvekot and Barb Barton)

    Nov 29, 2020·26m
  82. 82

    Kate Garns: Self Talk & Motivational Speaking

    Nov 26, 2020·17m
  83. 83

    Marty Embry: Flint Basketball Legend

    Nov 22, 2020·26m
  84. 84

    Kosher Nostra: The Purple Gang and Prohibition-Era Detroit

    Nov 19, 2020·30m
  85. 85

    Toxic Brownfield and the Flint River

    Nov 12, 2020·17m
  86. 86

    Flint River Blues: Colton Ort

    Nov 10, 2020·14m
  87. 87

    A Cain & Able Murder Case: David Melfi

    Nov 10, 2020·17m
  88. 88

    Ode to Singer Songwriter Justin Townes Earle

    Oct 24, 2020·15m
  89. 89

    Safetyville, USA Part 1

    Oct 19, 2020·17m
  90. 90

    Characters in the Commercials: Flint Television Advertising

    Oct 12, 2020·18m
  91. 91

    Harrowing Rescue of Orphan Babies, a Plane Crash and a Flint Hero, Phillip Wise

    Oct 1, 2020·43m
  92. 92

    Truck Camping: The Mackinac Bridge and the Straits of Mackinaw

    Sep 27, 2020·27m
  93. 93

    Truck Camper Tour: Lake Michigan and Wilderness State Park

    Sep 19, 2020·21m
  94. 94

    Ruth Bader Ginsburg: My Eulogy

    Sep 19, 2020·13m
  95. 95

    Gypsy Jazz Guitarist Remi Harris

    Sep 14, 2020·1h
  96. 96

    Labor Day Tribute: UAW Dir Steve Dawes

    Sep 7, 2020·59m
  97. 97

    Michigan's Woodstock: Sherwood Forest #20042

    Sep 5, 2020·32m
  98. 98

    Wild Rice in Michigan with Author Barb Barton

    Aug 30, 2020·1h 6m
  99. 99

    Planet of the Humans: A Movie About Surviving Climate Change

    Aug 23, 2020·1h 17m
  100. 100

    Flint's White Backlash: George Wallace, Don Williamson & Trump #20039

    Aug 16, 2020·21m
  101. 101

    1970's Flint and Other Tall Tales: Jon Harpst

    Aug 15, 2020·59m
  102. 102

    Super Lawyer Tom Pabst on Whistleblowers, Police Misconduct and Civil Rights

    Aug 9, 2020·1h
  103. 103

    State Rep Tim Sneller: Memories from a 30-Year Career in the Michigan Legislature #20036

    Aug 6, 2020·35m
  104. 104

    Judge Herman Marable on his Career, Efforts to Help Kids in the Flint area

    Jul 29, 2020·36m
  105. 105

    From Flint Sandlots to the Michigan's Big House and the NFL: The Paul Staroba Story

    Jul 26, 2020·35m
  106. 106

    #32 Schools & Pandemic: Michigan State Rep Sheryl Kennedy Discusses the Plan

    Jul 23, 2020·44m
  107. 107

    #31 Murals & Graffiti: Flint Public Art Project

    Jul 19, 2020·41m
  108. 108

    Harry Barrett FGC Golf Teaching Pro

    Jul 16, 2020·33m
  109. 109

    #29 Michigan Murder Mystery: A Confession but No Bodies?

    Jul 9, 2020·21m
  110. 110

    #28 Judge Jessica Hammon: Exciting, Smart and a Yoga Teacher for Delinquent Kids

    Jul 5, 2020·47m
  111. 111

    Cold-Blooded Murders at Mary's Sunshine Dairy #20027

    Jul 2, 2020·10m
  112. 112

    At 92,Harry Binder, Finishes His Last Crim Road Race.

    Jun 28, 2020·40m
  113. 113

    Judge Chris Christenson. His Path to the Bench.

    Jun 24, 2020·16m
  114. 114

    Scott & Me: #2: M&S Pop, Dawn Donuts, Kresege Store Selfies and Olive Burgers #24

    Jun 18, 2020·40m
  115. 115

    Toxic Tadpoles and Curious Kids: Flint's First Lead Crisis

    Jun 14, 2020·25m
  116. 116

    Gritty Flint: George's Gambling Joint, Armed Robbery and Pinball #20022

    Jun 11, 2020·21m
  117. 117

    Welcome to Flint: Charlie's Drug Store Murder #20021

    Jun 7, 2020·15m
  118. 118

    US Supreme Court & Flint's Gang-Related Murder Case #20020

    Jun 3, 2020·20m
  119. 119

    Flint Culture Clash: Southerners Find Auto Boomtown USA

    May 31, 2020·17m
  120. 120

    Student Diary: A Riot at High School

    May 31, 2020·19m
  121. 121

    Income Inequality in a Factory Town

    May 28, 2020·17m
  122. 122

    Flint's Hidden History

    May 26, 2020·36m
  123. 123

    Investigative Reporter's Most Haunting Murder Cases

    May 23, 2020·54m
  124. 124

    Flint's 1960's "Golden Age" Memories: Hot Rod Cars, Music and Girls

    May 16, 2020·32m
  125. 125

    A Career in Journalism In a Place Like No Other

    May 12, 2020·44m
  126. 126

    Oldtime Baseball News: From Hobby to Dream Job

    May 4, 2020·42m
  127. 127

    A Champion for Flint's Poor

    Apr 25, 2020·37m
  128. 128

    A Grand National BMX Racer and Auto Gypsy

    Apr 22, 2020·31m
  129. 129

    Sports Broadcaster Recalls Flint's Best Athletes #20007

    Apr 18, 2020·34m
  130. 130

    JFK, Coors, Golf: Flint's Trailblazer Leo Seide #20006

    Apr 15, 2020·31m
  131. 131

    Jeff Natchez, DO: A Detroit Tiger Baseball Dream

    Apr 13, 2020·40m
  132. 132

    Ode to John Prine

    Apr 8, 2020·12m
  133. 133

    Americana tribute to Working People of Flint #20003

    Apr 7, 2020·38m
  134. 134

    Musician Rachel Cole: Flint Roots #20001

    Apr 3, 2020·21m
  135. 135

    Radio Free Flint Podcast: Voices from America's Heartland (Trailer)

    Apr 3, 2020·1m