As far as talk show sets go, "PPL Movin" has a pretty good one, with its stunning international views and sightlines of downtown Detroit. Just watch your step as you exit the moving vehicle.

Detroit's People Mover provides the backdrop for "PPL Movin," the social media talk show where hosts get the conversation rolling by asking guests and passengers one simple question: "What's movin' you?"

Answers can range from the mundane to the profound, as "PPL Movin" keeps things moving — just like the trains on downtown's elevated loop where it unfolds — at a pace of around 90 seconds per episode. At that rate, viewers can watch around 10 episodes while the People Mover makes one loop around its 3-mile track.

Hosts Layla McMurtrie and Deonte Bell based their show on "Subway Takes," New York's viral subway talk show, which usually opens with host Kareem Rahma asking his guests, "What's your take?"

"I was like, we can't ask the same question, and that's when I thought of, 'What's movin' you?'" says McMurtrie, 25, who grew up in St. Clair Shores and studied journalism at Eastern Michigan University. "And then the show's title came from there."

McMurtrie and Bell met in early 2025 at Sanctuary Studios in Oak Park and wound up in a group making music together.

When that group dissolved, they looked for something else creative to do together, and they came up with the idea for the show.

"I just wanted an excuse to talk to random people," says Bell, 30, who grew up on Detroit's west side.

They brought in their third piece of the puzzle, videographer Nickalas Kimbrough, a native Detroiter whom Bell knew from working on various projects around town. They didn't give him much of a choice.

"We were at Eastern Market, and they both came up to me, and she goes, 'You're going to shoot our 'PPL Movin' show, and right away I said, 'OK,'" says Kimbrough, 35. "And she goes, 'are you serious?' And I was like, 'yeah!'"

Before doing a show on the People Mover, they needed permission to film on Detroit's public transit loop, which turns 40 next year. McMurtrie and Bell approached reps at the city in mid-2025 and pitched them their idea.

"They came to us with a very well-thought-out concept and told us what they wanted to do," says Ericka Alexander, the manager of communications and outreach at the Detroit Transportation Corporation. "They were very thorough, very mindful and cooperative with our process."

The city gave them the green light and "PPL Movin" was off and running, or off and movin'. The first show was posted on Oct. 15, 2025, and more than 100 episodes have since been posted to the show's Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Facebook pages.

The initial plan was to interview artists they know, but the hosts started out talking to strangers, and the show has grown from there.

They've talked to activists, politicians, everyday Detroiters and visitors from elsewhere. Their guests have included Detroit's poet laureate Jessica Care Moore; Detroit actor, comedian and founder of Detroit charity event The Coney, Marc Evan Jackson; and Michigan's Democratic U.S. Senate nominee, Abdul El-Sayed. In one episode, McMurtrie interviewed her sister, Stella.

Interviews can last anywhere from five minutes to 15 minutes. Sometimes guests end up missing their their stops on the train, a problem guests on stationary talk shows don't encounter.

Kimbrough shoots the show with two iPhones. He originally shot with an iPhone and a DSLR camera, but the camera was becoming too complicated, so he switched to a second iPhone. He also edits and does post-production work, and then McMurtrie posts the content to their various channels.

They've also moved beyond the People Mover, sometimes interviewing people at People Mover stations, or other spots downtown. In May, the hosts interviewed guests heading into the Movement festival at Hart Plaza. They also have plans to shoot on the Detroit Princess Riverboat and on one of the pedal pubs that makes its way through downtown.

The goal is to uplift the community and give people a voice, McMurtrie says.

"We want to motivate people," she says. "We want 'PPL Movin' to be based around city pride and people's passions."

Potential guests can reach out to them for consideration; there's a collaboration and request form linked on their Instagram page.

The hosts' own wishlist guests include Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield, Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham, Detroit Lions stars Jared Goff and Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit sports analyst and former NBA star Jalen Rose, and Detroit rapper Kash Doll.

" Sam Bernstein would be one," Bell says. " Sam Bernstein is a legend."

But the hosts get plenty out of interviewing everyday Detroiters, as well.

"We talked to the guy who does shoeshines at the Greektown Casino, and he's been doing that for like 20 years or something," McMurtrie says. "He was one of my favorite ones, because he was just so jolly and excited about what he does in the city."

Alexander says the hosts have really come into their own with the show.

"I'm really proud of them," she says. "They've grown as a community and cultural voice that the city needs."

For his part, Bell is happy with how the show has taken root.

"It's been growing very genuinely, very organically," he says. "We've met a lot of cool people. A lot of people we've talked to have inspired me. You learn something different every time."

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