It's Just Politics
Wednesdays at 3:40 p.m. and 8:40 p.m.
Michigan politics is rough and tumble, sometimes confusing but definitely consequential. It’s Just Politics hosts Zoe Clark and Rick Pluta help make sense of the serious questions and the tomfoolery every week. Listen Wednesdays at 3:40p and 8:40p on Michigan Public and get the It’s Just Politics newsletter in your inbox every Friday afternoon. Plus, be sure to subscribe to the It’s Just Politics podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
The Latest from It's Just Politics
Michigan legislative leaders passed a confusing mix of stopgaps this week to address the 1.4M Michiganders losing federal food aid due to the ongoing government shutdown.
On the Podcast
From the Newsletter
Radio Segments
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First, the former U-M president’s continuing journey. Plus, a two-part conversation on Medicaid cuts and on who might be taking the hit. -
First, the loopholes in Michigan law around manufactured home parks. And a Detroit artist who just received a national grant for her boundary-pushing contributions.
Elsewhere on Michigan Public
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Join Michigan Public’s It's Just Politics team Zoe Clark and Rick Pluta and a panel of guests, as they dig into what’s happening at the state capitol and take your questions about Michigan politics. -
Governor Gretchen Whitmer warns that the budget deadlock at the state Capitol will worsen Michigan’s economic uncertainty caused by federal tariffs. With just two weeks until a possible state government shutdown, what could a shutdown mean for Michigan’s already shaky economy?
More from It's Just Politics
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Less than a week ahead of the October 1 deadline to avert a partial state government shutdown, and months past a due-date written into state law, Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the leaders of the state House and Senate announced Thursday evening that they have "reached an agreement" to pass a budget to keep the government funded. But there’s still a lot of work to be done. -
On Tuesday, with two weeks before a possible partial state government shutdown, Governor Gretchen Whitmer seemingly reemerged with a speech at the State Capitol. Its focus was the economic impact on Michigan of federal tariff policy and, more to the point, that not having a state budget deal is only making things worse. -
This week, attorneys for Michigan Senate Democrats faced off against House GOP lawyers in a Michigan Court of Appeals courtroom in Detroit to argue constitutional law, legislative prerogatives and who is ultimately responsible for ensuring nine bills remaining in legislation limbo get moved to the governor’s desk. -
A judge dismisses charges against Michigan’s 2020 so-called ‘fake electors’, the ‘nine bills’ lawsuit between the state House and state Senate is back in court, and three weeks before a possible partial government shutdown, there’s no obvious signs of a budget deal in Lansing. -
House Republicans in Lansing approve a bill to restrict students’ access to school bathrooms. Democrats say the bill is a distraction deployed by the GOP to use transgender teenagers as political pawns while the state budget remains unfinished less than a month before the October 1 deadline to avert a partial government shutdown. -
With exactly four weeks before a possible partial state government shutdown, the question hanging over Lansing remains: where do things stand in state budget negotiations? -
There is a huge decision facing Michigan voters in an already huge 2026 election: whether to vote to convene a constitutional convention (also known as a “Con-Con”) to rewrite the state’s entire constitution. The implications are enormous. What you need to know.
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