WGTD's The Morning Show with Greg Berg

On July 30th, Barb Salvo died. She was a high-regarded science teacher at Washington Park High School in Racine for many years - and after retiring from Park, she worked with many of the science education majors at Carthage. During her years at Park, she was the faculty advisor for the school's science team, which was one of the finest in the state. This interview from spring of 1998 came shortly after the team won the state championship- which in turn qualified them for the National Science Olympiad. The interview is with Barb Salvo and with three students who were members of the science team: Jeremiah James, Amanda Schneider, and Nick Barootian.

Tom Vignieri, a Kenosha native and Carthage College alum, had an impressive and wide-ranging music career that included stints with the Handel-Haydn Society, the Tanglewood Institute, and public radio's "From the Top." He was also a prolific and highly-regarded composer. He died this past Thursday, July 30th. In his memory, we are replaying a Morning Show conversation from the fall of 2018, when he returned to Carthage to participate in a special concert in honor of Dr. Richard Sjoerdsma, a long-time member of the music faculty and one of his most treasured mentors. (We will also be replaying a 2012 conversation with Vignieri on Wednesday, August 5th.).

Today is the last day that Kevin and Julie Ervin are the co-owners of Frank's Diner, one of Kenosha's most beloved landmarks. (They have sold the diner to a longtime employee so they can retire.). In this interview from last year, Ervin outlines the 100-year history of the diner.

This is a brief interview with Bill Diekhoff, who was the choral director at Washington Park High School in Racine for many years. He is returning to Racine this weekend to sing a voice recital Saturday afternoon, 2:30, at Holy Communion Lutheran Church in Racine .... to celebrate his 90th birthday! The program includes arias by Donizetti and Bizet, songs by Sigmund Romberg and Rodger & Hammerstein, and much much more.

This is the interview we recorded with current Racine County Sherif Cary Madrigal ahead of the Republican primary on August 11th. (We also have an interview with her Republican challenger.).

This is the interview we recorded with Henry Perez ahead of the upcoming Republican primary on August 11th for Racine County Sheriff. (We also have an interview with the current sheriff whom Perez is challenging in the primary.).

Here are interviews with the two Republicans facing off in the Republican Primary for Racine County Sheriff on Tuesday, August 11th.: (The order of these interviews was determined by random draw). Heny Perez and Cary Madrigal. (Madrigal is the current sheriff. Perez is challenging her in the primary.). We are also posting each of these interviews separately.

We preview the 2026 Starving Artists Fair - coming up this Sunday, August 2nd, at the Dekoven Center - with Jayne Herring, coordinator of the fair, Sue Smith, current president of the Racine Art Guild, and past-president Jill Castillo. The fair this year will feature the work of 130 artists.

This is the interview we recorded with James Beller ahead of the upcoming Republican primary for Kenosha County Sheriff on August 11th. (We also have interviews with the other two candidates.).

This is the interview we recorded with Tony Gonzalez ahead of the upcoming Republican primary on August 11th for Kenosha County Sheriff. (We also have interviews with the other two candidates.).

This is the interview we recorded with current Kenosha County Sheriff David Zoerner ahead of the Republican primary on August 11th. (We also have interviews with his two challengers.)

Here are interviews with the three people facing off in the Republican Primary for Kenosha County Sheriff on Tuesday, August 11th: (the order of these interviews was determined by random draw)- David Zoerner, Tony Gonzalez, and James Beller. (Zoerner is the current sheriff. Gonzalez and Beller are challenging him in the Republican primary.). We are also posting each interview separately.

We speak with former Racine Poet Laureate Debra Hall about how she fell in love with poetry, the daily routine she follows that helps her write every single day, and her newly published chapbook "What the Current Cannot Swallow." This collection of poems stems from a difficult period in her life when her husband was seriously stricken while the two of them were flying to Italy for vacation. The poems in this collection reflect on various aspects of their ordeal that eventually culminated in her husband's death. We also share information about the search for new poets laureate for Kenosha and Racine ... and about a fundraiser for the program that will be happening at The White Lilac in Kenosha on September 20th.

From 2021- Writer Matthew Paul Turner talks about the experience of completing Rachel Held Evans's children's book "What is God Like?," which was left incomplete at her untimely death in 2019 at the age of 37.

From 2015- Kristy Woodson Harvey talks about her debut novel "Dear Carolina."

We talk with Colleen Walker, director of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" that's being performed the next two weekends. at Badger High School by Christian Performing Arts.

From 2024- Jonathan Scott, author of "Into the Groove: The History of Sound from Tin Foil to Vinyl."

We talk about Regenerative Farming with Amy Greil, executive director of the Kenosha Community Foundation - Paul Maggio, owner/operator of Starry Nights Farm in Kenosha County and leader of the Kenosha Regenerative Producers Group - and Ken Stock, a family farmer in Jefferson County and a staff member for Glacierland Resource Conservation and Development, a non-profit that works with farmers who would like to engage in regenerative practices.

Because so much of northern hemisphere is experiencing record-breaking heat waves this summer, we are replaying this interview with Eric Klinenberg, author of "Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago." The book examines the devastating heat wave in July 1995 when hundreds of people in Chicago perished from the heat. Klinenberg did a careful study of where in the city people were more apt to perish from the heat- and why. (This interview was recorded in 2002.)

As a memorial to Frank Egerton - a beloved Professor Emeritus from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and devoted community activist who died on July 14th at the age of 90 - we are replaying a 2022 Morning Show conversation where he talks about his book "Gun Crazy America: A History and Critique of our Gun Culture."

Part One- Dan Werb, author of "Our Wild Familiars: How Animals are Adapting to Cities and Reshaping the Natural World." The book examines the ways in which more and more wild animals are living within urban settings. Werb examines special instances of this- the raccoons of Toronto, the rats of New York City, the bats of Boston, and more. Part Two:- from 2009- Michael D'Orso, author of "Plundering Paradise: The Hand of Man on the Galapagos Islands."

From 2004- Patrick J. Kiger, author of "Poplorica: A Popular History of the Fads, Mavericks, Inventions and Lore that Shaped Modern America."

From 2005 - Maria Housden, author of "Unraveled: The True Story of a Woman who Dared to Become a Different Kind of Mother."

In anticipation of Sunday afternoon's championship match between Spain and Argentina for the FIFA World Cup, we are replaying an interview from earlier this year with Nick Greene, author of "How to Watch Soccer like a Genius."

Ceiridwen Terrill, author of "Part Wild: One Woman's Journey with a Creature Caught Between the Worlds of Wolves and Dogs." Terrill adopted a wolfdog- part husky and part gray wolf. The experience of living with and working with it helped her understand the differences between wild animals and domesticated animals ... and how the distinction can sometimes be difficult to delineate.

We speak with Joycelyn Fish, director of marketing and development at the Racine Theatre Guild, who is serving as stage director for the RTG's summer main stage show: "Dad's Season Tickets," a Green Bay Packers-themed musical.

We reconnect with Antiques Appraiser Mark Moran (formerly of the PBS series "Antiques Roadshow" - who is doing an antiques appraisal program at Salem Lakes Community Library this coming Saturday, July 18th. This is a free event, but pre-registration is an absolute requirement for anyone who wants to bring something to be appraised. Spectators are welcome to come and observe. Our conversation includes an overview of the world of antiques. The program is actually a combination of a recently-recorded interview and an earlier interview recorded in 2015.

We talk about the recent 13-day trip to New York City led by Herschel Kruger and Maureen Chavez-Kruger from Carthage College's theater faculty,. Also joining us: Anna Riess, Chase Portner and Madison Jones, three of the 20+ students who participated in the trip. The students attended a plethora of plays and musicals and also took in some of the major sights in NYC.

From 2002 - In a followup to yesterday's interview with astronaut Malcolm Scott Carpenter, we speak with his daughter, Kris Stoever, who collaborated with her father on his memoir "For Spacious Skies: The Uncommon Journey of a Mercury Astronaut." This is the first time that this interview has been shared with listeners.

From 2002 - Astronaut Malcolm Scott Carpenter talks about his memoir "For Spacious Skies- The Uncommon Journey of a Mercury Astronaut." Carpenter was one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts. He was the second American astronaut (after John Glenn) to orbit the earth.

Part One- We preview the 2026 summer season of the Racine Concert (its 104th season) with Mark Eichner, who has just begun his 25th season as the group's music director and conductor. This summer, the group will be performing concerts for the next four Sunday evenings at the Racine Zoo - which will be followed by one week off and then two Sunday evening concerts on the grounds of the DeKoven Center. Part Two- From the archives- Steve Binder, who was the director/producer for Elvis Presley's famous comeback concert in 1968.

For Kailyn Palomares's July visit to the Morning Show, we talk about a restoration project at Hawthorn Hollow involving the Pike River. Joining Kailyn is Nicole Zeisler, Conservation Land Manager at Hawthorn Hollow.

We preview the Four Season Garden Club's upcoming Secret Garden Walk with Lynda Guy. This year's Secret Garden Walk offers access to five secret private gardens - secret in the sense of not being easily visible to passersby- plus Chiwaukee Prairie as a bonus garden. The Secret Garden Walk - a major fundraiser for the Four Seasons Garden Club - happens this Saturday, July 11th, 9 am to 3 pm, rain or shine.

We speak with Alexandra Natapoff and Guy Charles, professors at Harvard Law School and co-editors of "America Unfinished: 250 Years of Law and Governance." This extraordinary book is a collection of 62 essays by a total of 64 law professors at Harvard on topics such as free speech and dissent, elections, crime and punishment, new technologies, and American identity, citizenship and race. Although written by learned legal scholars, the book is written for the general public.

Nicholas Freudenberg, author of "Fighting for New York: Activism for Health and Social Justice since the 1960s."

From 2015 - Bill Moyers discusses his book "Moyers on America: A Journalist and his Times."

From 2002 - Judith Martin (Miss Manners) discusses her book "Star Spangled Manners: In Which Miss Manners Defends American Etiquette."

From 2017 - Historian Harlow Giles Unger discusses his book "First Founding Father: Richard Henry Lee and the Call for Independence."

Dr. Art Cyr's July visit to the program begins with a comparison between the celebration of our country's 250th birthday and the way that our Bicentennial was celebrated back in 1976.

For America's upcoming 250th birthday celebration- Peter Onuf, from the history faculty at the University of Virginia, talks about his new book "Thomas Jefferson Survives: American Independence in His Time and Ours." Professor Onuf and his co-author, Francis Cogliano, examine the legacy of our third president and explore what Jefferson has to offer to modern America in this era of exceptionally bitter division.

From 2010 - Dr. Sandra Moats from the history faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside .... discussing her book "Celebrating the Republic: Presidential Ceremony and Popular Sovereignty from Washington to Monroe." Professor Moats has focused much of her research on the early years of our country. This book examines the decisions made by Washington and his successors which helped to shape how our leaders- and especially how the president - was viewed by the American public.

We speak with Scott English, President and CEO of the Pritzker Military Museum and Library, which is located just west of Somers on County E. The museum has a couple of special exhibits in honor of our nation's 250th birthday, including "Among His Troops: George Washington and the Citizen-Soldier Tradition." We also talk about an important event coming up on July 8th featuring best-selling military author Steven Pressfield. We also get an update on a remarkable exhibit called "Above and Beyond," which consists of replicas of more than 58,000 dog tags - representing the Americans who died during the Viet Nam War. The exhibit is on track to open by th end of the summer.

In honor of our nation's 250th birthday, we are replaying this 2018 conversation with historian Jon Meacham, talking about his book "The Soul of America: The Battle for our Better Angels." The book is a thoroughly researched and unfailingly honest look at how bitter divisiveness has been a very important part of our nation's history and identity. This interview was recorded a few days before Meacham visited the campus of Carthage College.

From 2003 - Alice Radosh, author of "Women Confronting Retirement: A Nontraditional Guide." The book was written for the first generation of women for whom working outside of the home was the norm - and for many of them, their professional work was an important part of their identity- and retirement marked a drastic life change.

We speak with former tennis pro Mansour Bahrami, a Franco-Iranian player who was renowned as one of the most gifted shotmakers of his day. He is the subject of a new book called "Mansour Bahrami: Face to Face.- Candid Discussions led by Hamid Gharavi." He recounts how he first fell in love with the game of tennis - how he learned the game without access to a proper racket - how the game was essentially forbidden in Iran at one time- and how he built a new life for himself away from his homeland. The book features prefaces written by Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, who both played Bahrami during his prime.

From 2016- We speak with best-selling author J. Ryan Stradal about "Kitchens of the Great Midwest: A Novel" ..... a celebration of great food, how powerfully we can connect around food, and how food can give us our strongest sense of home. The novel also reminds us that amazing food is not only found in upscale restaurants but also in midwestern church suppers, the kitchens of family-owned farms, and more.

We speak with former Racine mayor John Dickert about a video project that he and his wife Teresa have undertaken called "Dinner at the Bar" that is meant to celebrate the terrific restaurants to be found in downtown Racine. The first of what they hope will be a series of videos has just been released on YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok.

Natasha Lance Rogoff, "Muppets in Moscow: The Unexpected, Crazy True Story of Making Sesame Street in Russia."

We speak with David Greene (former co-host of NPR's Morning Edition) about the new documentary film "Louder than Guns," which draws together people with strong disagreements over the issue of guns and gun safety - with music used as a means for finding common ground. The film is in limited theatrical release. The only midwest showing scheduled at this point is at the Wayfarer Highland Park this Wednesday evening at 7:00.

From 2004 - Mick Burke, former reporter with the Racine Journal Times - in a conversation that explored the latest efforts to revitalize downtown Racine, the abrupt closer of Color Arts, and the special challenges of covering business.

Remembering the late American composer Carlisle Floyd, whose 100th birthday was June 11th - and is being celebrated with a gala concert at Carnegie Hall tonight (June 20th.) This interview with Floyd was recorded in 2012 before the Milwaukee Florentine presented his most popular opera, SUSANNAH.