On a hot and hazy mid-July morning, two figures who are very familiar to Metro Detroit audiences are seated in front of a pair of microphones in a studio inside the lower level of a Southfield office building.
It’s just after 8 a.m. Three cameras are set up on the floor, a producer is seated in a corner in front of a mixing console and a video monitor, and a social media manager is ready at the wait. Pop culture ephemera — a Yoda tiki mug, a Pee-wee Herman bobblehead, an autographed picture of Madonna — rests on a bookshelf. A countdown clock is open on a laptop at the edge of the room, just within eyesight of the host.
And 3, 2 …
“Go baby,” says Spike, the former co-host of WKQI-FM’s “Mojo in the Morning.”
“Your name is first, bro,” says his co-host, Hank Winchester, the ex-WDIV (Channel 4) reporter.
And from there, the pair is off to the races. They’re cracking jokes, swapping stories and getting down to the important business of returning to local listeners’ airspace — and making up for lost time.
“Spike & Hank” is the pair’s new podcast, and it gives the two popular Metro Detroit media personalities a new platform to not only go back and forth about the news of the day, but to clear the air around what led to their departures from their respective outlets in the first place.
The podcast, which was teased by the pair on social media on Sunday night, officially goes live Tuesday with a batch of three episodes. New episodes will follow on Tuesday mornings on a weekly basis.
Topics discussed on this day range from travel tales to Madonna’s new album to news stories (explosive diarrhea! Ozempic!), delivered with familiarity and friendliness. The vibe is cozy and inviting, a pair of buddies getting together and gabbing over coffee.
“I think we want to give people a bright spot and an opportunity to just to zone out and hang out with two friends. To me, that is really the goal and intention,” says Winchester.
Spike puts an even finer point on it, which folds in the unique set of circumstances that is bringing this duo together at this specific time.
“Detroit loves a comeback story,” he says, “and I feel like this podcast is one more little comeback story for us.”
Spilling the tea
First things first, some housekeeping, and let’s start with Spike, since his name is indeed first, bro.
The 55-year-old — professionally he goes only by Spike, and he’s been pretty successful over the years at keeping his real name out of the press and off the internet — was the longtime co-host of Channel 955’s “Mojo in the Morning” broadcast, known for his crank calls and outlandish radio stunts. Prior to that, the Philadelphia native was an on-air personality at WXGD-FM (105.1), a Detroit alt-rock station in the waning days of grunge.
Spike was abruptly let go from “Mojo in the Morning” in April 2023, after having been with the show since its launch in January 2000.
Not much was said upon his sudden departure from the station. Host Mojo briefly but vaguely addressed it on air, and at the time, a spokesperson for iHeartMedia provided a short statement to the press confirming Spike’s absence from the show.
But little else was said, and fans of the show have been left to speculate on their own about what happened.
Spike, who was bound by a non-compete clause and was under strict order not to touch a microphone, lest he face legal action, was not allowed to publicly share his side of the story. That clause expired earlier this month.
“I wasn’t fired,” Spike says, finally clearing the air. “And I wasn’t laid off, which was kind of implied by some people, because there were corporate layoffs going on. I was still paid for an additional three years, so it wasn’t financial. And really, it was not my choice.”
Rather, it was a change made to the show, he says, and that change — his removal from the on-air team — came as a total surprise to him.
“It was not fully explained to me the reasons for it,” says Spike, his signature hairstyle matching his name. “I asked if I did anything wrong, and they said no. I asked if there was a reason, and they said, ‘No, we’re just making a change to the show.’ And then a month or two later, I understand there was somebody who was sitting in my chair. I don’t know any reason beyond that or why the change is made.”
If it sounds like there’s a lack of clarity surrounding his dismissal, well, Spike felt that way as well.
“I can’t explain beyond that, because I’ve never had conversations that gave me any explanation,” he says. “So I don’t understand why the change was made. But I’m glad I had time off to sit and realize that I was very grateful for that part of my life, and I wasn’t bitter. It hurt, but only for a few weeks, because I don’t want to be anywhere that I’m not wanted. So if somebody wants to make a change, it would be a miserable work environment to stay there.
“But also I had the ability to sit back and realize how lucky I was. Twenty-three years in one place is insane, that’s unheard of in this media world. You don’t get that kind of longevity. I think when I left, we were the longest running FM show in Michigan history, and so I’m grateful for that. That, to me, is a success story.”
He’s being diplomatic, of course. And if it sounds like there is more to say, he does, but like any good entertainer, he’s saving it for the show: Episode 3 of “Spike & Hank” is entitled “Spilling the Tea,” and promises to delve into the current state of his relationships with his former co-workers.
Spike, who says he’s been “fun-employed” the last three years, spent the intervening time expanding his travel business, Explore With Spike, and he’s traveled the world with small touring groups, drinking beer at every stop.
But everywhere he goes, he’s still asked about what happened, and now he’s finally able to open up.
Clearing the air
“My experience was a little bit different,” says Winchester, putting it mildly.
The longtime WDIV personality and consumer advocate reporter, known for his “Help Me Hank” series, left the station in 2025, following a sexual misconduct investigation which saw the front door of his Beverly Hills home get kicked down by authorities. The exact details of the accusations against him have not been specified.
Winchester, 52, was cleared of criminal wrongdoing in August 2025, but the investigation took its toll. It coincided with the death of his parents, his divorce from his husband and a bout with testicular cancer.
He called it “the worst nine weeks of my entire life.”
At the same time Kelly Stafford, wife of former Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and his longtime BFF, decided to step away from her podcast with Winchester for her own personal reasons.
And Winchester’s stint at WDIV — he had been placed on leave during the investigation — ended in 2025 when the two parties decided to mutually part ways after 24 years.
The entirety of what he went through in such a short period of time left him rattled, Winchester says.
“It’s still jarring to think about,” says Winchester, who says he has PTSD from the police kicking down his door, and he moved out of his home because of the incident.
“It was the most devastating experience of my life, because I could not say anything. And I also knew the truth,” he says. “And then when the truth got out there, it gave me a sense of clarity, and it made me feel like I could begin to put the pieces of my life back together.”
Winchester — who is father to an 8-year-old daughter, Emma — is now moving into a new home and is engaged to be married to his boyfriend, Oakland County circuit court judge Jake Cunningham.
He says he “loved” his time at WDIV, “mainly because it gave me an opportunity to help so many people in Detroit.”
He says he’ll be returning to reporting on behalf of consumers “in the future, in another capacity, that I really can’t get into right now,” and he says he’s still tight with his former Local 4 co-workers.
“I’m very thankful for the relationships I have there,” he says.
“Those people are my family, and still are to this day.”
Moving forward
Both Spike and Winchester find themselves the latest ex-employees of Metro Detroit legacy media outlets braving their way through the new media landscape.
Brad Galli, former sports director at WXYZ-TV (Channel 7), left the station in May after 15 years on the air, and in June he announced his new venture, “The Brad Galli Show,” which streams on YouTube. He says he’s seen his follow numbers increase on every platform since leaving the station.
“It’s a lot different nowadays leaving a legacy entity,” says Galli. “Taking that chance, taking the shot that I did, knowing I had established 15 years of authenticity and trust in the market, it’s more plausible, it’s more realistic nowadays. Media and content are personality-driven, and people get to trust the sources and the people that they enjoy consuming.”
Galli says Spike and Winchester already have a leg up.
“They’re not starting with zero followers, and I say that smiling,” he says. “For them to start something new, it’s not them starting anew. Both of these guys are well known in this town. People have watched them, people have listened to them, and again, in a media landscape that keeps adding new voices and faces, these guys have built up names and brands for themselves. I would have to think that would serve them well.”
Spike and Winchester — who between them have a combined 80,000 Instagram followers — have been friends for about 20 years, they say, after meeting while continually running into each other at the same media functions across the city. Their bond was fortified over the last year, after Winchester’s departure from WDIV.
“When he went through his separation, I didn’t hesitate. I made the phone call, I sent the text. I just said, ‘Hey, I’m here. Whatever you need, I’m around,'” Winchester says. “And then when I went through my situation, you remember the people who reach out. And he texted, ‘I’m here, whatever you need, if you want to chat.’ I think there’s a common relationship between a lot of people in the media in Detroit. It’s a friendly environment. But to me, he was a friend, someone who’s showing up for you when you need it.”
Through talking, naturally the conversation turned toward their next career moves, and organically they decided to start the podcast together, they say. Plans started coming together roughly six months ago.
“So all of a sudden, we went from having coffee together and just chatting about an idea to, like, browsing tech stores for what kind of cameras we needed,” Spike says.
And then there was the issue of sponsors, and they came up with a handful of local law firms, car dealerships and mortgage lenders to partner with.
“It was a lot of homework, but I enjoyed it,” says Spike, father of two college-aged daughters, who remarried during his time off. (He shares the details on the new podcast’s first episode.)
He’s the more organized of the pair, securing URLs and ordering branded notecards for the show, while Winchester likes to fly by the seat of his pants. Their yin and yang — which is emphasized in the promos they’ve created for the show — is what makes them a strong match together, Spike says.
As for whose name would come first in the podcast title, “I don’t think we even really discussed it,” Winchester says. “You would think this would be two prima donnas going after who’s getting top billing, but it’s not. It just sounded right.”
For both Spike and Winchester, the looseness of the new format is exciting, as is the opportunity to start something from scratch. Spike no longer has to wake up at 3:30 in the morning, Winchester no longer has to wear a suit to work everyday. They can cuss on air if the mood strikes.
“It’s nice to have that freedom now to just be ourselves,” Spike says.
And being themselves is going to be the fuel that propels the show.
“The core of the show is always gonna be what we enjoy getting together and talking about. So it’s gonna be Detroit life, pop culture, all these viral stories in the news and social media,” Spike says. “And then our own chaotic personal lives. We both have a lot of drama and fun stuff going on, and we have a circle of friends in media and in Detroit that I think are interesting and give us great stories. So, it’s always just going to be us, like we’re talking over coffee.
“I don’t think we’re out to take over the world, are we?” Spike asks his podcast partner.
“No, we are,” Winchester says with a laugh.
Their comeback story starts now.
agraham@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: ‘Spike & Hank’ podcast gives Detroit media personalities a new voice
Reporting by Adam Graham, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Adam Graham, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
