Joshua Johnson, host of 1A from NPR, has been broadcasting this week from Michigan Radio, and heading out into communities around Southeast Michigan to hear what's on the minds of voters.
Johnson joins Stateside to tell us more about the show's project 1A Across America, what he's heard from Michigan voters, and the intimate role that social media plays in today's politics.
1A Across America, Johnson explains, is a project focused on communities that typically get ignored by major media outlets, particularly during election cycles. The two-year collaboration between 1A and local NPR stations is a way to hear what people are talking about in six different communities across the country.
"Part of what we were looking at is how people in the manufacturing sectors in and around Detroit, in this part of Michigan, feel about the economy today — who they credit for it, maybe who they blame, and how that affects their political expectations going into next year's elections,” said Johnson.
Joshua Johnson will be hosting a community conversation this Thursday, May 16 at The Charles H. Wright Museum in Detroit. He will be discussing marijuana legalization and its impact on minority communities. The event is free and open to the public. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. You can find more information on the Facebook event.
