[3] and the Michigan Association of Broadcasters (MAB) named WDET the 2021 and 2022 Public Radio Station of the Year.

DRIS serves the visually impaired community with live and pre-recorded readings of daily and weekly print publications via special radio receiver or streaming.

In May 1960, WDET began broadcasting from the 15th floor of the Maccabees Building near the Wayne State University campus.

[9] In the early 1970s, WDET-FM began adding shows from the new public radio network, NPR, including All Things Considered and Morning Edition.

Many felt that this changing of the station's identity left some groups without a voice, but Granger stated that programs with small audiences were not financially viable.

In 1983, Ed Love, Ann Delisi, Martin Bandyke and Ralph Valdez were hired as music hosts.

The broadcast facilities in the Maccabees Building were considered "unhealthy and dangerous"[17] and the station began planning improvements.

[19] WDET's antenna remained attached to the tower atop the Maccabees Building, which was then owned by Detroit Public Schools Community District.

The station dropped many NPR programs such as Fresh Air and Car Talk, as well as some popular local music shows such as Folks Like Us and Arkansas Traveler.

In the fall of 2005, new general manager Michael Coleman (replacing Caryn Mathes, who departed for WAMU in Washington, D.C.) made changes to WDET's schedule again, dropping many of the weekday music programs in favor of a more news-oriented format.

Local media outlets reported he may have violated conflict of interest rules by accepting gifts from record companies.

Bandyke later hosted morning drive time at Adult Alternative-formatted WQKL 107.1 FM in Ann Arbor.

As a result of the 2005 format change, some listeners filed a class action lawsuit against the station for fraudulently taking donations for programming that was planned on being discontinued.

Organizers promised that the rally would draw 5,000 people, though less than one hundred showed up, and a plan to protest WDET's changes during the Super Bowl XL festivities also failed to occur.

On September 15, 2007, WDET added the show "Tell Me More" with Michel Martin from NPR News on weekdays at 1 pm, which replaced "World Have Your Say" from the BBC.

Detroit Free Press editorialist Stephen Henderson began hosting the station's daily talk show in March 2015.

She, with program director Adam Fox, added several hours of local music and talk to the schedule as of February 5 2024.

[22] WDET transmits from a tower at 554 feet (169 meters) in height above average terrain (HAAT) near the intersection of Cass Avenue and Canfield Street near the Wayne State University campus.

The backup transmitter had poor sound quality and a fundraising campaign was begun to replace the equipment.