Zoe Clark
Political DirectorZoe Clark is Michigan Public's Political Director. In this role, Clark guides coverage of the state Capitol, elections, and policy debates. Her passion for understanding and explaining politics led Michigan Public to create the position in 2022 for the first time in station history. She offers regular on-air political analysis and hosts the November election-focused edition of Stateside on Fridays.
She co-hosted, with Michigan Public Radio Network's Senior Capitol Correspondent Rick Pluta, It’s Just Politics, a weekly look at Michigan politics. Clark regularly appears on WKAR’s Off the Record, WDIV’s Flashpoint and offers political analysis on NPR, PBS, and CNN.
Clark is an award-winning journalist, including the prestigious Peabody for overseeing the station’s first nationally distributed podcast Believed.
Clark previously was the station’s Program Director and is the founder and former Executive Producer of Stateside. She began at the station by producing Jack Lessenberry’s daily interviews and essays, and producing Michigan Radio’s Morning Edition.
Clark began her collegiate studies at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She holds degrees in Communication Studies and Political Science from the University of Michigan and lives in Ann Arbor, where she was born and raised.
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The special state House committee formed to amend Michigan’s tipped wage and sick-time leave laws meets for the first time this week in Lansing. The chair of the committee, Republican Representative Bill G. Schuette, joins It’s Just Politics to discuss his goals for the bills. -
The 103rd Michigan Legislature is underway with a handover of authority in the Michigan House to Republicans and a strong signal of how the new majority plans to manage its power. -
New and returning lawmakers of the Michigan House were sworn-in today at the state Capitol, marking the beginning of Michigan’s new 103rd Legislature. The state Senate remains under Democratic control but the state House is now being run by Republicans. On this week’s It’s Just Politics: what to expect when you’re expecting divided government. Hosts Zoe Clark and Rick Pluta are joined by Michigan Public Radio Network’s Colin Jackson and Bridge Michigan’s Lauren Gibbons. -
In a special edition of the It’s Just Politics newsletter, Zoe Clark and Rick Pluta take a look at five political stories that will make headlines in Michigan in 2025. From a new divided legislature to fights over who will lead the Republican and Democratic parties in Michigan, the It’s Just Politics team breaks it all down. -
A new Congress is being sworn-in tomorrow in Washington D.C. That means today is the last day for current members, including Michigan’s long-time Democratic Congressman Dan Kildee. It’s Just Politics host Zoe Clark spoke with the outgoing Representative from Flint about his dozen years in office and whether D.C. is really more House of Cards or Veep. -
In a special edition of the It’s Just Politics newsletter, Zoe Clark and Rick Pluta take a look back at the 10 biggest political stories in Michigan of 2024. From Election 2024 and the Uncommitted National Movement to the state Supreme Court’s decision on ‘adopt and amend’ to Mayor Mike Duggan’s headline-grabbing gubernatorial announcement, the It’s Just Politics team breaks it all down. -
Frustration is boiling over at the state Capitol as the final days of Democrats’ complete control in Lansing come to an end. Republicans are continuing to boycott votes in the House, a Democratic lawmaker walked out of the Capitol while voting was underway, and state Representatives are taking to social media to vent their anger. -
After nearly six years, Lavora Barnes is stepping down as chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. After a very disappointing 2024 for Democrats, a new party leader is going to have a lot to manage. But that doesn't appear to be diminishing Curtis Hertel's interest in the job. -
In this week’s It’s Just Politics newsletter, Zoe Clark and Rick Pluta take you behind the scenes of a day of lame duck in the 102nd Legislative session in Lansing. Plus, this week marks the tenth anniversary of the city of Detroit emerging from the nation’s largest municipal bankruptcy, and a recount in Calhoun County shows that every vote really does matter. -
2025 will be a monumental year in Detroit politics as Mayor Mike Duggan seeks to run for governor, leaving an open seat for the highest office in the state’s largest city next year. Stephen Henderson, host of American Black Journal, and Nancy Kaffer, editorial page editor of the Detroit Free Press join this week to discuss Duggan’s legacy, Detroit’s political landscape and the ten-year anniversary of the city emergency from bankruptcy.
