WGTD's The Morning Show with Greg Berg

For Kailyn Palomares's monthly visit to the program, we hear from Ben French, Vice President of Propogation, Production and Product Development at Johnson Nursery in Menomonee Falls ..... one of the largest providers of native plants in Southeastern Wisconsin.

We preview the Racine Theater Guild's production of the musical PIPPIN with Doug Instenes, managing and artistic director of the RTG and the stage director for this production. We also talk about his long time connection with this particular show.

We preview this coming Sunday's concert by the Kenosha Chamber Choir .... "Songs of the American Heartbeat," an all-American program in honor of our country's 250th anniversary. We speak with Michael Gutierrez, director of the group, and Agnes Gray, president of the ensemble and a member of the soprano section. The concert will be performed at Bradford High School thanks to a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board.

Pauline Steinhorn, author of "Dreaming of the River: A Mother and Daughter's Fight for Survival during the Holocaust." The two people named in the book's subtitle were the author's mother and grandmother- and this book is based extensively on journals written by both women shortly after the end of the war. It allows Steinhorn to tell many of the same stories from two different perspectives.

Note from Gregory Berg: One of my favorite television programs is CBS Sunday Morning. Today, for Mother's Day, they ran a moving story about a series of retreats across the country for women who have lost their mothers and are trying to cope with the loss. I immediately recognized the name of the woman responsible for organizing the retreats- Hope Edelman - because she had been a guest on my Morning Show many years ago (2007) - talking about her book "Motherless Mothers: How Losing a Mother Shapes the Parent You Become." The book was a followup to her 1994 best-selling book "Motherless Daughters: The Legacy of Loss." I am replaying this interview today in honor of Mother's Day and because I am mindful of all of the people for whom this day includes sorrow and some sense of loss.

As Willow Newell ends her reign as Miss Wisconsin (she crowns the next Miss Wisconsin on June 20th) we decided to re-share this interview that was recorded shortly after she became Miss Wisconsin in the summer of last year.

We speak with David King Dunaway about his new book "A Four-Eyed World: How Glasses Changed the Way We See." It's a look at the history of how eyeglasses were developed - and what may be ahead as technology advances. The book also touches on the author's own relationship with glasses- which he has worn for more than 70 years. During the course of researching this book, the author elected to spend a week without wearing his glasses to see how well he could navigate with his very serious myopia uncorrected.

We speak with Russ Johnson, director of the Jazz Ensemble at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, about Wynton Marsalis's Abyssisian Mass: A Gospel Celebration, which is being performed at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside on Sunday afternoon and Monday evening in Frances Bedford Hall. This is a collaboration between the Jazz Ensemble and the choirs at Parkside, conducted by James Kinchen.

We speak with David Anderson, artistic director of the Lake Geneva Symphony Orchestra, about the concert this weekend that finishes out their 25th anniversary season - a program that will include Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian Easter Overture.

Sister Janet Weyker, a well-known advocate for environmental concerns in Racine, speaks about the importance of composting.

Dr. Peter Grinspoon, a teacher at Harvard Medical School, discusses his book "Feeling Better with Cannabis: Feel Better, Sleep Better, and Live Better with Marijuana and CBD. " Grinspoon's father, Dr. Lester Grinspoon, was a forceful advocate for medical marijuana a half century ago.

From 2025 - Michael Lombardi, author of "Football Done Right: Setting the Record Straight on the Coaches, Players, and History of the NFL."

We speak with Dr. James Ripley, director of instrumental activities at Carthage College, about the wind orchestra's final concert of the year - Sunday afternoon at 2:00 - titled "Flutissimo." The program will also feature the world premieres of two pieces written by student composers - Hope Johnson and John Cargille.

We talk to two members of the art faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside - Carey Watters and Lindsay Larsen - about print-making ..... in anticipation of Print Day in May. (May 2nd.).

We speak with best-selling author and former attorney William Bernhardt about his latest book, "The Superman Wars: A Battle for Truth, Justice, and an American Icon." The book explores how Jerry Siegel created the iconic character of Superman ..... lost creative control of it .... and sought to regain it - a struggle that went on for decades.

We preview the production of SHREK: THE MUSICAL that will be performed May 1- 17th by the Lakeside Players at the Rhode Center for the Arts. We speak with Natalie Colgan (music director and choreographer), as well as two members of the cast: Norgie Metzinger (Shrek) and Abby Miller (Fiona.)

We preview the University of Wisconsin-Parkside's production of CABARET, which opens this weekend. Our guest, Brett Olson, is director of the production.

We have two conversations about Print-Making. The first is with Robbyn Smith, Professor Emeritus at California's Monterey Peninsula College and founder of Print Day in May - created in 2007 to occur on the first Saturday in May - in which tens of thousands of print-makers from around the world gather and collaborate virtually to celebrate the joys of print-making. After that, we hear from Lisa Bigalke, a 1996 UW-Parkside graduate who teaches print-making at Carthage College. (We will be hearing from two UW-Parkside art instructors on Friday's program.).

We speak with Vijay Limaye, formerly a scientist with the Environmental Protection Agency - and now based in Madison, WI with the Natural Resources Defense Council. The NRDC has grave concerns for changes that the Trump administration is making with the E.P.A.

From 2006- TImothy Gilfoyle, author of "Millenium Park: Creating a Chicago Landmark."

In the wake of the release of the film MICHAEL, concerning the life and career of Michael Jackson, we replay a 2010 interview with photographer Todd Gray, responsible for a book titled "Michael Jackson: Before he was King." Gray was one of Jackson's personal photographers, and this book includes candid photographs taken of Jackson over the course of ten years.

Scott Kurashige, author of "American Peril: The Violent History of Anti-Asian Racism."

We speak with Alvaro Garcia, Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and conductor of their orchestras- and soprano Laura Strickling, a two-time Grammy Award nominee, who is serving this week as the Howard Brown Artist-in-Residence at Parkside. She will be performing Mozart's Exultate Jubilate with the Parkside orchestras this Saturday afternoon in a concert that will also include Schubert's so-called Unfinished Symphony.

We speak with Nancy Reese, Director of Nursing at Carthage College, about the grand opening for the college's School of Health on Thursday, April 23rd. (For more information on the schedule of events, go to carthage.edu and click on the link for the grand opening that you'll find on the main page.)

We talk about Carthage College's production of the musical BRIGHT STAR. with Matthew Hougland, director of musical theater at Carthage and the director of this production, and three of the students in the cast: Hannah Duda, Brayden Follett, and Colin Campbell. The play will be performed over the next two weekends.

We speak with Christi Geidner, a theater teacher at Bradford High School in Kenosha, and the stage director of a production there of the musical "The Hello Girls." The show is based on the true story of the hundreds of women who served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps as telephone operators who played a crucial role in keeping lines of communication open during critical battles.

From the archives- Evan Ross Katz, author of "Into Every Generation a Slayer is Born- How Buffy Staked our Hearts." It's a look at the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series and how it became such a phenomenon.

Veronique Tran, vice provost of the School of Manufacturing and Industrial Technology for Dallas College, is a finalist to be the next president of. Gateway Technical College. Go to gtc.edu and find the presidential search page to offer your input.

Phillip King, executive vice president and provost for the Milwaukee Area Technical College, is a finalist to be the next president of Gateway Technical College. (Go to gtc.edu and find the presidential search page to offer your input.)

Caron Daugherty, president of Flint Hills Technical College in Emporia, KS, is a finalist to be the next president of Gateway Technical College. (Go to gtc.edu and find the presidential search page to offer your input..).

Diana Du Pont talks about her new memoir "Fur Mama: How I found my Best Life Adopting an Ex-Racehorse and a Shelter Dog."

From the archives- Rebecca Sheir, veteran storyteller and public radio reporter (WBUR) - talks about her podcast "Circle Round" that celebrates folktales from around the world.

We preview Saturday evening's concert of the Choral Arts Society - a program titled "Fantasia" - with founder and artistic director James Schatzman, associate director Pat Badger, and guest concert pianist Randy Bush. The concert will include favorites like J.S. Bach's Prelude and Fugue in D minor, Pavane by Gabriel Faure, and Vaughan Williams's Fantasia on Greensleeves. The program's finale is an extraordinary rarity by Vaughan Williams- his Fantasy on Old 104th. The concert also marks the unveiling of First Presbyterian Church's newly restored pipe organ. (Nick Renkosik is the guest organist.)

Dr. Russell Johnson is a member of the faculty at the University of Chicago Divinity School. He is giving a talk at Carthage on April 22nd titled 'Peace, Protest and Polarization: Loving Your Enemy in Divided Times." The talk is part of the Hannibal series- and is free and open to the public. The lecture will be given at 4:30 in the Todd Wehr Center (Jockey Room A.). The event is free and open to the public.

For Kailyn Polamares's April visit to the Morning Show, she introduces us to Dr. Mila Marshall, Clean Water Advocate for Sierra Club-Illinois and a journalist for Chicago News Weekly. The interview includes a conversation about what it means to be an advocate for environmental issues.

From 2010 - We speak with one of the editors of "Autobiography of Mark Twain: the Complete and Authoritative Edition." Twain stipulated in his will that the work he had done on his autobiography could not be released to the public in complete form until 100 years after his death. 2010 marked the release of the first of the three volumes that comprise the autobiography. It yields remarkable insights into the life of one of the most unique and creative figures in American history.

From 2021 - Diane Rehm talks about her book "When My Time Comes: Conversations about whether those who are dying should have the right to determine when life should end." Rehm is an advocate for a practice known as M.A.I.D. (Medical Aid in Dying.). Rehm hosted her own radio program that was distributed by National Public Radio until 2016- and hosted her podcast "On My Mind" until 2025.

From 2004 - Jim. Kuhn, author of "Ronald Reagan: In Private - A Memoir of My years in the White House." Kuhn served as Executive Assistant to the President.

Part One- Parker Munoz talks about the Racine Theater Guild's production of J.R.R. Tolkien's THE HOBBIT, which runs now through April 21st. Munoz is the director of this production; it's his first time directing at the RTG. Part Two- Greg Schroeder, bell choir director at Mount Pleasant Lutheran Church in Racine, talks about the bell choir festival that is coming up on Saturday, April 18th .... in which the bell choirs of five ELCA congregations in southeastern Wiisconsin will join forces. The concert itself is 2:00 and is free and open to the public.

From 2004- Neal Bascomb, author of "The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goals, and Less than Four Minutes to Achieve it." The book was written to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Roger Bannister running the first sub-four minute mile in history.

From the archives- Doug Stewart, author of "The Boy Who Would be Shakespeare: A Tale of Forgery and Folly." This is the true story of a 19th-century English teenager names William Henry Ireland - who wrote a series of works that he claimed were forgotten works by the great William Shakespeare. The book explores not only how he pulled off this deception- but also why.

Mark Kurlansky, author of "To Catch a FishL. Essays on the Joy, Frustration, Curiosity and Allure of Fishing,"

From 2010 - Bonnie Blodgett, author of "Remembering Smell: a Memoir of Losing - and Discovering - the Primal Sense: a Medical Journey through Anosmia and the Science of Olfactory Recovery."

Here are three food-related interviews from the Morning Show archives. Part One: "Baking at Home with the C.I.A." (CIA stands for the Culinary Institute of America." Part Two: "Soup Night: Recipes for Creating Community around a Pot of Soup." Part Three: "Smashed, Mashed, Boiled and Baked - and Fried, Too; a Celebration of Potatoes in 75 Irresistible Recipes."

From 2015- Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz, author of "Dr. Mutter's Marvels: A True story of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine." It tells the story of Thomas Dent Mutter, a medical innovator in the mid-nineteenth century who - among other things - pioneered the use of ether as an anesthesia as well as the sterilization of surgical tools.

From 2002 - Betty Cowley, author of "Stalag Wisconsin: Inside World War Two Prisoner Camps." The book examines the story of the dozens of prisoner-of-war camps in Wisconsin during World War Two. .

Part One: Jennifer Clemens, Asst. Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. We preview an event coming up on April 16th titled "Power and Perception: Democracy, Enforcement, and Trust in U.S. Courts: a timely and crucial discussion of the evolving role of the judiciary in American life." We also talk about what it's like to teach political science at this turbulent moment in our nation's history. Part Two: from the archives, we speak with Curt Smith, co-author of "The Presidents and the Pastime: The History of Baseball and the White House."

Gavin Newsham talks about his newest book- "Project Tiger: The Birth of Genius and the Price of Greatness." The book examines the formative years of Tiger Woods with a special emphasis on the unconventional and sometimes controversial choices made by Tiger's father, Earl Woods, in grooming his son for golf greatness. Woods has just been arrested for the second time for DUI after a serious rollover crash last Friday.

For Women's History Month- we replay this conversation with Dr. WIlliam Kuhn, former history professor at Carthage - and a nationally-published author several times over- about his book "Jackie Stories." It includes illuminating stories about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis from eight of her friends.

In a followup to Friday's show, we speak to an expert on Dungeons & Dragons and other role-playing tabletop games - Skip Williams. He is one of the organizers of an annual event (Gary Con) in Lake Geneva that honors the co-creator of the game, Gary Gygax. This interview is designed in part to help people who know nothing about Dungeons & Dungeons to understand something about what the game is, how it is played, and what is the source of its immense appeal.

From 2006 - Richard Kurin, author of "Hope Diamond: The Legendary History of a Cursed Gem."