Two stories highlight the bigger problems of food deserts in Detroit, a problem that's being documented through a new data mapping project in collaboration with WDET and our partner station WNYC.

Detroit's financial future may soon be out of the city's hands. Yesterday a review team appointed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder issued its final report, and explained what many in the city already knew: that Detroit faces enormous financial problems. Charlie LeDuff, author of "Detroit: An American Autopsy," explains what the future looks like for the city.

Charlie LeDuff, son of Detroit, former New York Times reporter, T.V. reporter for Detroit's Fox2 News and author of Detroit: An American Autopsy, talks about what the story of Detroit can tell us about the past and future of American manufacturing, and what lessons can be learned.

We continue now with our on-the-ground look at the state of something other than the union President Obama will talk about tonight in his State of the Union Speech. Austin Jenkins, is a statehouse reporter for the Northwest News Network and KUOW in Seattle. Craig Fahle is the host of the The Craig Fahle Show at WDET in Detroit. And Peter O'Dowd is the news director for Fronteras and KJZZ in Phoenix.

A 2014 Chevrolet Corvette C7 Stingray on display at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

(Mitchell Hartman, Marketplace)  The North American International Auto Show has kicked off in Detroit this week. Last year clearly showed the big-three U.S. automakers were back -- after GM and Chrysler got bailouts, and Chrysler also got new investment and leadership from Fiat. Auto sales were the highest since the recession began.

Record collector and music historian Amir Abdullah talks about researching -- and reissuing -- the music of Detroit's Strata Records. 

Detroit-area native Mark Binelli talks about Detroit—it’s long downward spiral and its new role as a laboratory for the future of cities. In Detroit City Is the Place to Be, he goes beyond the usual portrait of crime, poverty, and ruin to show how Detroit is being re-invented as a post-industrial city becoming smaller, less segregated, greener, economically diverse, and better functioning.

The World Series kicks off tonight, and Detroit is hoping their Tigers will do them proud. But do they have what it takes to beat the San Francisco Giants? Quinn Klinefelter, a Detroiter and reporter, from WDET weighs in.

The next big thing for cars out of Detroit is a huge transportation safety and infrastructure project that has buy-in from eight auto-makers and the U.S. Department of Transportation. The project is called Safety Pilot Model Deployment. Cars communicate with each other, the roads, and the traffic signals to improve safety and prevent accidents.

This past week, Detroit and much of America held its breath, waiting to find out if the newest lead on Jimmy Hoffa’s disappearance would reveal the truth. Thirty-seven years later, why does Jimmy Hoffa still capture the American imagination? Quinn Klinefelter has a few theories.

Reed Kroloff is no stranger to cities that are in need of a rebirth. As dean of architecture at Tulane University, he was responsible for bringing back 97 percent of the school's student body after Hurricane Katrina. This week, Kroloff is a part of the second annual Detroit Design Festival. He explains why he thinks that the Motor City could be the next design mecca.

Phillip Martin, senior investigative reporter at WGBH, Boston Public Radio, tells the story of how Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, may have gained financially from the American auto bailout he has long opposed.

Remember the Venn diagram? You know, two circles that overlap a little bit where they meet… well, if we made a Venn diagram consisting of indie rock in one circle, and indie classical in the other, My Brightest Diamond would find themselves right smack dab in the middle of ...

A Detroit bus stop. (By Flickr user JSmith Photo)

It may be called the Motor City, but a third of Detroiters don't have a car. They depend on the bus and it ain't easy. In the past few years, riders have suffered three-hour waits, dangerous conditions culminating in a driver strike, and watched service cut by a third. Detroit Mayor Dave Bing even suggested privatizing the bus system as a possible way to make ends meet in the municipal budget. These are gloomy times for the city's transit users.

But on Tuesday, Detroit's battered bus system took a leap forward -- not to mention a leap over some other larger bus systems. Riders can now text their location to "50464" and receive the next arrival time of the nearest bus -- not scheduled arrival but actual projections based on the location of the bus at that moment. It's designed for people who ride the bus every day: school kids, teenagers, folks who don't own a car. This isn't a fancy smart phone app -- anyone with text messaging service can use this. New York City has experimented with a similar plan but hasn't rolled it out citywide yet.

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Detroit Mayor Dave Bing issued a statement calling the new #TextMyBus service "an essential resource for all of our citizens as we continue our efforts to improve DDOT service and provide reliable bus transportation.”

To pull this off, Detroit's Department of Transportation partnered with the Federal Transit Administration, the Detroit Public School system, the White House Strong Cities initiative, and the Knight Foundation. It also managed to wrangle three "fellows" from Code for America, which calls itself "a Peace Corps for geeks."

CfA is a nonprofit organization that sends web designers, computer engineers, and software coders to beleaguered cities around the country. These fellows then work with city agencies on digital improvements for the collective good.

In Detroit's case, #TextMyBus is CfA's first project. The group's fellows are also working on other projects, including a way to streamline the process to buy city-owned property.

For those of you not in Detroit, the online brochure -- partially excerpted above -- does a good job explaining how the app works.

Do you live in the greatest music city in America? Detroiters seem to think so. In their honor, we've made Motor City the next stop on our cross-country musical road trip. Our tour guide is none other than Grammy winner, Detroit native, and founding member of the Supremes Mary Wilson. 

Thirty years ago this month, against the backdrop of a suffering American auto industry, and a growing Japanese one, a young Chinese American man named Vincent Chin was beaten to death by two white auto workers. Neither was found guilty of murder or served any jail time. The case galvanized the Asian American civil rights movement and introduced many Americans to the notion of hate crimes before U.S. hate crime laws existed.

In the rest of America, vinyl may be a dying breed, but it’s alive and kicking in Detroit. Archer Records, one of the few companies left in the world that continues to press records, thrives on a symbiotic relationship with techno DJs.

Street Fighting Man is a documentary about three generations of men living on the east side of Detroit. It shows what happens to communities who have been left with no option but to fend for themselves and their families. Celeste Headlee had the opportunity to screen the film last week in Detroit and shares her reaction.