WGTD's The Morning Show with Greg Berg

From 2015- Linda Flashinski talks about her book "In What Light There Is," a collection of some of her best work from her column of the same name that appeared in the Racine Journal-Times. Linda Flashinski has been an on-air presence on WGTD as one of the co-hosts of "Education Matters" and the host of a limited series she created titled "Heroes Among Us."

Acclaimed best-selling British author (and farmer) James Rebanks talks about his most recent book, a fascinating and touching memoir called "The Place of Tides." In it, he recounts his experience of working for several months on a tiny and remote island off the coast of Norway - and a remarkable elderly woman named Anna whom he was assisting. His previous books include "The Shepherd's Life: Modern Dispatches from an Ancient Landscape" and "Pastoral Song: A Farmer's Journey." The interview aired in abridged fashion on today's broadcast, because of time constraints. This is the interview in its entirety.

I speak with John Magerus about his book "James DeKoven: Biography of a Famous yet Forgotten Man." DeKoven was a 19th century Episcopalian clergyman and educator for whom Racine's DeKoven Center is named.

Dr. Samantha C. Sweeney, author of "Culturally Competent Kids: Raising Children to Thrive in a Diverse World."

From 2003- Lawrence C. Ross Jr., author of "The Ways of Black Folks: A Year in the Life of a People."

From 2007- Dr. Leonard Sax, author of "Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Men."

For Pride Month- from 2017- Susan Stryker, author of "Transgender History: The Roots of Today's Revolution"

In honor of Juneteenth (the federal holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S.) we replay a 2009 conversation with John Stauffer, author of "Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln."

From 2016, acclaimed British author and playwright James Swallow talks about his thriller "Nomad."

Maria Foscarinis discusses her book "And Housing for All: The Fight to End Homelessness in America."

We commemorate the 125th anniversary of Lionel Trains with Roger Carp, author of a number of books about model trains. His most recent book is "Lights, Camera, Lionel Trains! A Photo History of an American Icon." Carp is editor of Classic Toy Trains magazine.

I speak with three people who will be making a presentation about Restorative Justice practices as it relates to Domestic Violence at tomorrow's Trauma in our Community event at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee under the auspices of their School of Continuing Education. My guests are Judge Mary Triggiano, who now teaches at the Marquette Law School .... and two staff members from the Sojourner Family Peace Center in Milwaukee, the state's largest provider of services to those who have been impacted by domestic violence. (More information about tomorrow's event is available at uwm.edu/sce. The event can be attended in person or experienced on-line.

From 2010- for Father's Day- Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Michael Chabon talks about his book "Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son." Also participating in the interview is Chabon's wife, Ayelet Wildman, talking about her book "Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crises, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace."

From the archives (date unknown) Professor Gregory Mayer (from the biology faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside) and Professor Julio Rivera (from the geography faculty at Carthage College) and two students talk about a study trip to Nicaragua that they had just experienced.

We speak with Jason Witt, who is one of the featured presenters at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee this Tuesday, June 17th: "Trauma in Our Community," an event that can be attended either in person in Milwaukee or virtually. Witt speaks on A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) and how A.I. is beginning to be used in certain therapy scenarios. We also talk about how some people - including young people - utilize A.I. Chatbots for companionship. (You can go to uwm.edu/sce to find out information on how to register for Tuesday's event.)

For Kailyn Palomares's June visit to the Morning Show, we have a conversation about the importance of bumblebees with Judy Cardin, an educator with the Wisconsin DNR's community science program Bumblebee Brigade.

This is a portion of a conversation with Roger Carp, Senior Editor of Classic Trains magazine, and the author of "Lights, Camera, Lionel Trains! - A Photo History of an American Icon." The book celebrates the legacy of Lionel model trains in the company's 125th anniversary year. We will air the interview in its entirety next week.

We speak with Greta Neubauer, State Representative for the 66th Assembly District and Minority Leader for the State Assembly. We talk, among other things, about the current impasse regarding the state budget.

Matt Prochaska, Tourism Manager for the Village of Mount Pleasant, talks about Campus Park and the beautiful outdoor entertainment venue there and the summertime performances that will be presented there.

From 2004 ..... Lynne Truss, author of the best-seller "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation." The sound quality of this interview, as preserved, is rather poor- but we are still sharing it in the hopes that listeners will still find it to be compelling and entertaining.

Thursday, June 5th, would have been singer/actor Bill Hayes's 100th birthday. We are replaying the interview that I was privileged to record with Mr. Hayes nines years ago. Hayes's career included a stint on Sid Caesar's legendary series "Your Show of Shows," performances in the original Broadway cast of Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Me and Juliet," and half a century of performances on the soap opera "Days of our Lives."

Deborah Karp, director of the Alan E. Guskin Center for Community and Business Engagement at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, reflects on her career at Parkside and the work she has done with local non-profits, community-based learning, and arts management. She is about to retire after just over a quarter century with the university.

Kristine Heuser (Root Pike WIN) talks about a free community planting event happening this Saturday afternoon at Kenosha's Washington Park .... in which 14,000 square feet of turf grass will be replaced with native plants that will be attractive for pollinators.

We preview Sunday afternoon's concert by the Belle City Brassworks ("The Music of Espana") with conductor Doug Johnson and board of directors president Katie Humphrey. The concert is Sunday afternoon, 3:00, at Francis Bedford Concert Hall on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. The concert is free and open to the public.

In the new book "Human History on Drugs: An Utterly Scandalous but Entirely Truthful Look at History Under the Influence," Sam Kelly examines forty historical figures who used drugs. Some of these stories are stories of drug abuse, but other stories are of drugs used out of necessity and very much for the person's benefit. Kelly discusses an array of remarkable people, from Alexander the Great to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. The author mentions in the introduction that he is on the autism spectrum, and we spend a few minutes talking about how this figures into his passionate and relentless love of history.

From 2005- Dr. Mardy Grothe, author of "Viva la Repartee: Clever Comebacks and Witty Retorts from History's Greatest Wits and Wordsmiths."

Marguerite Holloway, a journalism professor for Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, participated in a tree-climbing workshop for women- and it touched off in her a fervent interest in trees and deep concern for the way in which many trees in America are facing unprecedented challenges. Her book is titled "Take to the Trees: A Story of Hope, Science and Self-Discovery in America's Imperiled Forests."

From 2005 ..... T. R. Reid discusses his book "The United States of Europe: The New Superpower and the End of American Supremacy." Much has happened in the twenty years since this book was published- and it's interesting to consider what has come to pass as Reid envisioned as well as the ways in which events have not played out quite as he imagined they would.

(from 2006) Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan talk about their book "Sinatra: A Life."

From 2022- Kate Colbert, co-author/editor of "Commencement: The Beginning of a New Era in Higher Education."

Part One- Ted Williams, author of "Earth Almanac: A Year of Witnessing the Wild from the Call of the Loon to the Journey of the Gray Whale." (2020) Part Two- David Rothenberg, author of "Thousand Mile Song: Whale Music in a Sea of Sound." (2008)

From 2007- Tim Jeal, author of "Stanley: The Impossible life of Africa's Greatest Explorer" (Henry Morton Stanley)

Former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens discusses his book "Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life." The book explores what resilience is and how essential it is for living a truly successful and happy life.

From 2017- Corina Chocano talks about her essay collection titled "You Play The Girl: On Playboy Bunnies, Stepford Wives, Train Wrecks, and Other Mixed Messages."

For Memorial Day - from 2006 - Sergeant Daniel Hendrix, author of "A Soldier's Promise- The Heroic Story of an American Soldier and an Iraqi Boy."

For Memorial Day- from 2007- Tom Bissell, author of "The Father of All Things: A Marine, His Son, and the Legacy of Vietnam."

From 2001- Paul Dickson discusses his book "Sputnik: The Shock of the Century." The title refers to the Soviet satellite that was sent into orbit in 1957 - a development which was nothing less than terrifying for many Americans who feared what the Soviet Union might be able to do with such technology.

Gerald Early discusses his book "Play Harder- The Triumph of Black Baseball in America." The book was written in cooperation with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

From 2008- Anthony Rudel, author of "Hello, Everybody - The Dawn of American Radio."

In his monthly visit to the program, Dr. Art Cyr- a member of the faculty at Carthage College and a nationally-syndicated columnst- offers his thoughts on the legacy of Pope Francis, the most recent national election in Canada, and President Trump's recent trip to the Middle East.

For National Military Appreciation Month (and in anticipation of Memorial Day) ..... from 2017 comes this interview with Daniel P. Bolger, author of "Our Year of War: Two Brothers, Viet Nam, and a Nation Divided." The book is the true story of two brothers from Nebraska - Chuck and Tom Hagel - who served together in the Viet Nam conflict- but who seriously disagreed about the conflict and America's place in that conflict.

Part One- In light of the recent announcement that the late Pete Rose is now eligible for entry into Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame, we are replaying our conversation with Keith O'Brien, author of "Charlie Hustle- The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose and the Last Glory Days of Baseball." Part Two- Kostya Kennedy talks about his book "The Story of Baseball in 100 Photographs."

From 2005 - Steven Squyres, author of "Roving Mars: Spirit, Opportunity, and the Exploration of the Red Planet." Squyres was the Principal Investigator on the Mars Exploration Rover Mission. His book is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the project.

From 2008- Adam Sexton talks about his graphic novel rendition of Shakespeare's MacBeth. (We're replaying this in honor of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside's production of MacBeth which closed on May 11th.)

We preview the American Experience documentary "Mister Polaroid," which airs this coming Monday evening on channel 10 in Milwaukee and on PBS stations across the country. The film tells the story of Edwin Land, the inventor of the Polaroid camera, which revolutionized photography. You'll hear from Ronald Fierstein, one of the expert guests in the film - first in a 2015 interview about his book "A Triumph of Genius: Edwin Land, Polaroid, and the Kodak Patent War." After that, you'll hear a follow up interview with Fierstein recorded earlier this week.

Kendall Victorine tells us about the Four Seasons Garden Club's annual plant sale, which is coming up this Saturday at Harbor Market in downtown Kenosha.

We get a preview of the Racine Theater Guild's production of the musical LEGALLY BLONDE, which opens tomorrow night, from Doug Instenes, managing and artistic director of the Racine Theater Guild and the stage director of this production.

Claudia Rowe discusses her new book "Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care." Rowe has done extensive research into how the foster care system works in America- and how the way it is set up often creates terrible alienation rather than a sense of connection and belonging. The book includes a look at how the foster care has been approached over the generations.

From early 2024- Kenneth Davis, author of "The World in Books: 52 Works of Great Short Non-Fiction."

From 2009- Shiloh Somaya Gowda, author of "Secret Daughter: A Novel."

Happy Mother's Day. From the archives: Hope Edelman, author of "Motherless Mothers: How Losing a Mother Shapes the Parent You Become." (from 2007)