Jer and Norris talk Detroit nightlife nostalgia and a viral TGI Fridays "club" promo, a wild DDOT discipline case, where auto trends are really heading in 2026, and Jer's feature in Hour Detroit on Michigan politics and social media.
Topic list:
- The last TGI Fridays in Michigan in Southfield turning into "the club" with paid booth service on a Wednesday; memories of Fridays, Club Blue, and early‑2000s happy hour culture.
- "The club is dead" argument; bottle‑service pricing, booths vs dancing, and how nightlife has shifted.
- Case for bringing back happy hour instead: coffee hangs at the studio, listener suggestions for meetups, and shout‑outs to Zuzu, Ema's Izakaya happy hour, Bastille bar, and Marrow in Eastern Market (including Jer's steak eview).
- DDOT discipline story: Office of Inspector General report on a supervisor and driver whose on‑the‑clock romantic hookup caused a 115‑minute service delay and further issues after abandoning a running bus.
- Transit talk for "bus nerds": SMART's FAST Woodward and Gratiot routes moving to 20‑minute headways between Detroit and the suburbs, plus 30‑minute headways on Nine Mile and why that actually makes the bus useful for commutes and events.
- Auto talk: GM becoming the number‑two EV seller in the U.S.; Cadillac Lyriq and new EV SUVs, Ford Maverick's popularity and pricing, Lightning discontinuation, and why hybrids are quietly winning.
- Are EVs "failing"? Pushback on the narrative that "people don't want EVs," with Norris talking about living with an EV and never wanting to go back to gas.
- Jer in Hour Detroit/Hour Magazine: being featured alongside other Detroit voices on 2026 political outlooks, including concerns about Michigan's governor's race, U.S. Senate race, and Democrats' name ID.
- Why medium‑form, edited work (magazines, newsletters, podcasts) matters more than hot‑take social media for political and civic coverage.
- Rethinking social media in 2026: Daily Detroit shifting emphasis to newsletter, podcast, and live streams; gaining followers even while posting less; frustration with junky, "engagement first" content.
- Norris talks about the viral fake DoorDash "backend engineer" post as an AI‑generated hoax; term "enshittification," and why platforms stay quiet even when misinformation blows up.
- Community over algorithms: We're using in‑person events to build local connection instead of chasing feeds. Mark your calendars for Saturday morning the 17th of January.
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