“American Gods” in Detroit: Artist Tylonn Sawyer’s New Exhibition Paints the Political
Tylonn Sawyer Click the audio player to listen. CultureShift airs weekdays at 12 p.m. Detroit-based artist Tylonn Sawyer wanted to...
Ryan Patrick Hooper is the award-winning host and producer of CultureShift 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.
In The Groove with Raphael Saadiq
Derrel Todd Click the audio player to listen. CultureShift airs weekdays at 12 p.m. Raphael Saadiq's entire neighborhood was talking...
Standing Room Only: Is Detroit’s Hottest New Restaurant a Food Cart in an Alley?
Jesse Knott Click the audio player to listen. CultureShift airs weekdays at 12 p.m. Open six days a week, the Skip...
What Do Detroit and Kabul Have in Common? Exhibit Brings Photographers from Across the Globe Together
Courtesy of Darkroom Detroit Click the audio player to listen. CultureShift airs weekdays at 12p.m. Young women in Detroit, Michigan...
New Restaurants Are Popping up All Over Detroit, but What About the Ones That Have Been Around for Decades?
Melody Baetens/ Detroit News Click the audio player to listen. CultureShift airs weekdays at 12p.m. Over the past five years,...
Bonfires & Bonham: The Pontiac Silverdome Was an Insane Place to See a Concert
Raz Mataz Magazine Click the audio player to listen. CultureShift airs weekdays at 12 p.m. When the Rolling Stones played the Pontiac...
18-Year-Old Musician from Detroit Receives Over $1 Million in Scholarships
Ryan Patrick Hooper Click the audio player to listen. CultureShift airs weekdays at 12 p.m. Since he was a toddler, 18-year-old Josh...
Inside Decaying Michigan Central Station, Detroiters Made Memories
Joshua A. Gaudette CultureShift airs weekdays at 12 p.m. More than 20,000 people signed up to legally tour the future Ford...
In The Groove with Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson
Photo by Nick Anderson Click the audio player to listen. CultureShift airs weekdays at 12 p.m. Did you know that...
If Marijuana Becomes Legal, How High Can You Get in Michigan?
Brett Levin, flickr. Click the audio player to listen. CultureShift airs weekdays at 12 p.m. When Michiganders step into the voting...
Not-so-Broke Artists: Detroit’s Creative Class Cashes in on $25,000 Kresge Grants
Noah Stephens / Kresge Arts in Detroit Click the audio player to listen. CultureShift airs weekdays at 12 p.m. For...
Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die: Punk As Design at Cranbrook Art Museum
Photo: the Galleries at Moore, Philadelphia Click on the audio player above for the full conversation. Punk has invaded the Cranbrook...