Ryan Patrick Hooper is the award-winning host of "In the Groove" on 101.9 WDET-FM Detroit’s NPR station. Hooper has covered stories for the New York Times, NPR, Detroit Free Press, Hour Detroit, SPIN and Paste magazine.

Hooper grew up reading the Sunday paper with his dad. That’s where he learned the basics of writing while dreaming of one day writing the stories himself. At 16, he knocked on the door of his hometown paper and asked for a job as a reporter. Since then, he's written extensively for the Detroit Free Press -- the same paper he grew up reading.

Since joining WDET in 2017, Hooper has expanded the station’s arts and culture coverage and received numerous awards from the Michigan Association of Broadcasting along the way. Nationally, Hooper was awarded a 2020 RTDNA Regional Edward R. Murrow award for feature reporting for his story “Would You Rent a Stray Dog From the City of Detroit?“ In 2018, Hooper was named the Associated Press Michigan Editors Broadcast Rising Star in broadcast journalism. He received the prestigious Crain’s Detroit Business “20 In Their 20s” award in 2014. His commitment to volunteerism was recognized by the State of Michigan in 2007.

His juggalo-inspired I.C.Pizza costume was selected by the Huffington Post as one of the best Halloween costumes of 2014.

The Queen Next Door: New Book Captures Behind-The-Scenes Look at Aretha Franklin’s Life

Linda Solomon / Wayne State University Press In photojournalist Linda Solomon's new book "The Queen Next Door: Aretha Franklin, An...

Memorial To Be Held for Local Artist, Musician Stretch Adam at Tangent Gallery

Mark McClelland A memorial for local Detroit musician, artist and comedian Adam Shellabarger -- better known to friends as "Stretch...

Immigration, Disabilities Take Center Stage in Dark Comedy at Detroit Film Theatre

Jake Neher/WDET The 2019 fall season of movies screening at the Detroit Film Theatre is in full swing. This weekend,...

Michigan Science Center’s New CEO On Plans to Make Center More Accessible, Relevant

Innovation has been a centerpiece in conversations surrounding Detroit’s revitalization. There’s an active energy to approach ordinary operations with fresh...

In Michigan’s Thumb, Artists Find New Uses for Old Barns

At the tip of Michigan’s thumb, the village of Port Austin is banking on arts and culture tourism as a...

Detroit’s Wash and Learn Initiative Takes School Into Laundromats

Education has taken a non-traditional approach with pop-up learning spaces that take youth outside of the classroom environment. In Detroit, this...

Legendary Jazz Musician Reggie Workman Will Pay Tribute to John Coltrane in Detroit

LaToya Cross Reggie Workman made his mark in the 1960s and 1970s as one of the most influential bass players in modern...

In The Groove with Comedian Marc Maron

Travis Shinn In The Groove is CultureShift’s award-winning series that talks with creatives from all walks of life about the music...

Cass Tech Student, Local Artist Team Up For Global Climate Strike

Ryan Patrick Hooper Starting Friday around the globe, the Global Climate Strike will bring activists together to protest environmental injustice....

Detroit v. Mercedes? The Copyright Case that Could Affect Public Art Globally

It’s a court case out of Detroit that has the art world at-large paying attention. Earlier this year in March,...

New Exhibit Shows Off the Visual Art of Detroit Musicians like Niagara, Chris Turner

Mark Arminski For many in Detroit’s creative community, visual and musical art are the same. Creativity is expression — no...

“America You Kill Me” Documents the Legacy of Gay Rights Activist, Jeffrey Montgomery

The year was 1984, Jeffrey Montgomery and his partner were outside of a gay bar in Detroit, when shots let...