Body and soul: The story of Fisher Body 21

By Samantha Cleaver

Published: 8/13/2008

Types: Culture

You can't miss it. At the junction of I-94 and I-75, the hulking white structure looms mysteriously over the landscape, catching the eye of drivers streaming in and out of downtown. With clean lines, broken only by shattered panes of glass, Fisher Body 21, a former GM-owned factory, stands out. ...[MORE]

Oasis-building: Fighting for freshness in a 'food desert'

By Samantha Cleaver

Published: 4/9/2008

Types: Culture, Health & science

Shopping in early spring, the only local foods that Patrick Crouch, field and greenhouse coordinator for Earth Works, can find at Eastern Market are rhubarb, local eggs, some meat and remnants of last year's harvest that people have held over the winter — cabbage, potatoes, apples. Spring...[MORE]

Across the board: A Brazilian chess master finds his match in Detroit

By Samantha Cleaver

Published: 3/12/2008

Types: Culture, Sports

Silvio Cunha Pereira rests his forearms on the wobbly brown table and squints at the plastic blue-and-white chessboard in front of him. The clock is ticking. Five seconds. Four. Three. Whiffs of fresh McDonald's french fries float through the Wayne State University Student Center. Behind Pereir...[MORE]

Fowl talk: A portrait of a turkey farmer

By Samantha Cleaver

Published: 11/21/2007

Types: Food & Drink

Up a gravel dirt road, past two rusting tractors, we can hear turkeys talking. And John Harnois knows what they're saying — they gobble, and he gobbles back.See, the 52-year-old Harnois raises free-range fowl here on his farm in Whitmore Lake. They're spread out in small metal and wooden...[MORE]

(De)Mythologizing Bats: Some facts about bats

By Samantha Cleaver

Published: 10/31/2007

Types: Culture, Health & science

There are more than 1,100 bat species on Earth; one of every five mammal species is a bat. A bat can eat more than 1,000 mosquitoes a night, with moths and beetles for dessert. Next time you drink a margarita, thank the bats — they pollinate the agave plant that is made into tequila. Bats d...[MORE]

Gone batty: Bat people and the bizarre beauty of the creepy winged creatures

By Samantha Cleaver

Published: 10/31/2007

Types: Cover Story

Dark, swooping, mammals that fly, mouths open, teeth bared, through evening skies, after hanging upside down by the thousands in caves all day, capture the imagination. Dracula, Batman, Silverwing. Bright, stinging eyes and menacing, fangy grins, oversized ears with thin veins pulsing, hearing ever...[MORE]