It's a great Michigan debate; what is the line or the place that marks the end of the southern part of the state and the beginning of that mystical land we call Up North?

The answers vary from emotional to philosophical. But there's also an ecological answer that helps us better understand why we feel different when we go Up North.

Check out the Michigan Natural Features Inventory website for a ton of cool stuff about our natural world.

GUESTS ON TODAY'S EPISODE:

• Gretchen Whitmer, Governor of Michigan
• Joshua Cohen, lead ecologist with the Michigan Natural Features Inventory at MSU Extension

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Many of us have a road that's more than a line on a map—it's a memory. Maybe it’s the street you grew up on or the dirt road that leads you to a cottage Up North.

For listener Tom Topolski, it’s Lake Michigan Drive.

GUEST:

• Thomas Topolski, Hudsonville resident

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• Email us: onhand@michiganpublic.org

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PHOTO CREDIT: City of Grand Rapids Archives and Records Center

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If you’ve ever gotten directions from a metro-Detroiter, you have probably heard a ‘9 Mile’ or a ‘10 Mile Road’ mentioned. Or maybe even the most famous of them all: 8 Mile. But where did all these boring road names come from? And how did they become a kind of cultural shorthand in the region?

GUESTS:

Paul Sewick, amateur Detroit historian and part-time Lyft driver. Check out his blog Detroit Urbanism here.

Jeff Horner, professor in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at Wayne State University

Jamon Jordan, Detroit historian and lecturer in history at the University of Michigan Residential College.

Cover photo courtesy of the Archives of Michigan

Want to submit a question to On Hand? Do it here:

• Online Submission Form

• Call us: 734-764-7840

• Email us: onhand@michiganpublic.org

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work: michiganpublic.org/podfund

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.