WGTD's The Morning Show with Greg Berg

In honor of the city of New Orleans and its citizens twenty years after Hurricane Katrina, we replay this interview with Jason Berry, author of "City of a Million Dreams: A History of New Orleans at Year 300." The book was originally published in 2018. A documentary film of the same name has been created that is expected to be made available through streaming in the next few months.

Hurricane Katrina unleashed its savage fury 20 years ago this weekend. This is a rebroadcast of a conversation with Christopher Cooper in which he talks about his book "Disaster: Hurricane Katrina and the Failure of Homeland Security."

Earlier this year marked the 50th anniversary of the final withdrawal of American troops from South Vietnam, amid a scene in Saigon that could only be described as desperate and chaotic. We begin with Tom Clavin, co-author of "Last Men Out: The True Story of America's Heroic Final Hours in Vietnam." After that comes a portion of a conversation with Lewis Sorley in which he talks about his book "A Better War: The Unexamined Victories and Final Tragedy of America's Last Years in Vietnam." The book was originally published in 1999, and has been re-released in several different editions over the years. Sorley passed away on September 25, 2024 at the age of 90.)

We talk with Kevin Ervin, current co-owner of Frank's Diner, one of the best-known landmarks in downtown Kenosha- which is about to celebrate its 99th anniversary on September 13th. Ervin shares the story of how the diner was built (from a kit) 100 years ago- what prevented them from opening for an entire year- and what it means to take ownership of such a beloved institution.

We speak with Todd Kapp, CEO and Founder of Kivi Bio, which is one of the tenants of the Kenosha Innovation Center. We talk about - among other things - what the field of biotechnology entails and what Kivi Bio is doing to help others launch their own biotechnology ventures.

From 2023- Gail Merrifield Papp, author of "Public/Privater: My Life with Joe Papp at The Public Theater." The author's husband, Joe Papp, was an important theatrical impresario who founded The Public Theater as an outgrowth of The Shakespeare Workshop. The Public Theater's most noteworthy productions over the years have included "Hair," "A Chorus Line," and "Hamilton." PBS is now streaming a marvelous American Masters documentary titled "Joe Papp in Five Acts."

From 2008- Joseph M. Marshall, author of "The Day the World Ended at Little Bighorn: A Lakota History." In this intriguing book, the author presents how the Lakota people see that moment in American history that has come to be thought of as Custer's Last Stand.

From 2004 - A conversation with author Suzi Parker about her irreverent book "Sex in the South: Unbuckling the Bible Belt," in which she - herself a southerner - examines some of the interesting attitudes about sex and sexuality that she has encountered over the years.

On the eve of a new school year, we speak with Dr. Lynn Akey, Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. We talk about the dramatic reorganization of the school in the hopes of allowing it to offer more cost-effectively ..... new offerings from the school .... and the challenging environment within which the school is still managing to flourish.

Nicole Terrizzi discusses her book "Learning in Free Fall: A Testimony of Mental Health, Poverty and Race in American Education." The book is a memoir of her experience as a young teacher in a struggling inner city school.

We talk with Anna Barrington about her novel "The Spectacle" - which is set in a world she has worked in for a number of years .... high-end, luxury artwork.

Chris Paulson, director of the Racine Heritage Museum, talks about a new project in which they are digitalizing the diaries of Racine's George Horlick.

Andrew D. Blechman, author of "Leisureville: Adventures in a World Without Children." The book explores the rise of retirement communities in which children are expressly excluded. What does it mean to live in such an environment? What is attractive about that for so many seniors? What is gained? What is lost?

Two KUSD teachers - Kristen Singer and Nic Cicerale - and two KUSD students - Darren Arendt and Stephen Stockholm - have just returned from the Festival Fringe (or Fringe Festival) in Edinburgh, Scotland ..... the largest performing arts festival in the world. Over the course of three weeks, more than 3,500 plays are performed in several hundred different venues by actors for sixty different countries. KUSD presented Mary Zimmerman's theatrical treatment of Ovid's "Metamorphosis."

In honor of Dave McGrath, longtime morning anchor at WGTD, who retired this past Friday after just over 25 years at the station, we are resharing a memorable interview with him and his wife Guida Brown in which they recount their experience of following the so-called Buddy Holly Tour. This involved retracing the final concert tour of Buddy Holly, which was cut short by a plane crash in rural Iowa on February 3, 1959 that killed Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper.

In honor of Dave McGrath's retirement from WGTD (his last day with the station was yesterday, the 15th) we are resharing this memorable Morning Show conversation in which he talks about his book "Gene Pitney: The Singer, The Songs, The Songwriters." Dave McGrath and his wife Guida worked with Gene Pitney for many years selling his memorabilia. In this very interesting book, Dave looks at the stories behind some of Pitney's greatest hits.

Today was the last day for Dave McGrath as WGTD's local anchor for Morning Edition ..... something he has been doing for more than 25 years! (Dave has opted for retirement.) With the help of his wife Guida Brown as well as assistance from WGTD general manager Dave Cole, we were able to round up some very special guests from Dave's long professional career in radio broadcasting to help give him a fitting send-off.

Kailyn Palomares joins us for her monthly visit to the program- and her guest is Laura Holder with Conservation Dogs Collective. Her dogs are trained to detect both invasive and endangered species - plants, animals, insects, even nests.

We preview this coming Saturday's HarborPark Jazz Rhythm and Blues Festival - a fundraiser for the Mary Lou and Arthur F. Mahone Foundation - with Tim Mahone ..... and with the musical headliner for this year's event, Grammy Award-winner Kirk Whalum. (He performs Saturday evening at 7:30.) The event occurs in Celebration Place adjacent to the Kenosha harbor.

Dr. Robyn Koslowitz, author of "Post Traumatic Parenting: Break the cycle and become the parent you always wanted to be." This book is intended as a guide for anyone who has experienced trauma in their own childhood and in how they were parented- and hopes to rise above that hurt and trauma to be the best parents they can be. - After that, from the archives (2014) is an interview with author Alan Rabinowitz in which he talks about his children's book "A Boy and his Jaguar." The book stems partly from his real-life experience as a stutterer.

On the eve of another school year, we speak with Dr. John Swallow, the president of Carthage College. He tells us about the record-breaking freshman class that is about to begin studies at Carthage - the creation of a School of Health - and the offering of a new Biotechnology major/minor.

From 2008 - Former Carthage College president Dr. F. Gregory Campbell remembers Alan Anderson, a 1950 Carthage graduate who went on to serve the college in a number of capacities .... including acting president .... over the course of 35 years. He is fondly remembered as one of the most beloved figures in the history of the college. This interview aired right before Homecoming that year - several weeks after Anderson's death on September 28, 2008. [NOTE - Tomorrow, Monday August 11th, we will air a newly recorded interview with the current president of Carthage, Dr. John Swallow.]

From 2007- Acclaimed actor Alan Alda talks about his memoir "Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself."

We speak with Dr. Samuel Jay Keyser, an emeritus member of the faculty at MIT and author of "Play it again, Sam: Repetition in the Arts." In this book, Professor Keyser explores how and why we experience pleasure and satisfaction when we encounter repetition in music, poetry, and visual arts. What exactly is going on in the brain? What is the nature of the pleasure we experience?

From 1999- more from Michael Schumacher, talking about his book "Francis Ford Coppola: a Filmmaker's Life." Earlier this year, Coppola became the 50th person to receive the Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute.

Earlier this year, Francis Ford Coppola became the 50th person to be granted the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award- and the star-studded ceremony where he was presented the award was recently telecast on Turner Classic Movies. In honor of that, we are resharing our 1999 interview with Kenosha author Michael Schumacher in which we talk about his book "Francis Ford Coppola: A Filmmaker's Life." Coppola is renowned for directing and/or producing such films as "The Godfather," "The Godfather II," "Apocalypse Now," "The Outsiders," "Peggy Sue Got Married," "American Graffiti," and "The Cotton Club."

We preview a fun event planned for this Friday at the Uptown Library in Kenosha to celebrate its 100th anniversary ..... a video game competition.

We speak with best-selling author J. Randy Taraborelli about his most recent book- "JFK- Public, Private, Secret." It is, in many ways, the culmination of several decades of research that he has done into the Kennedy family in the course of writing half a dozen books about the Kennedys. His previous book, crafted in a very similar fashion, is titled "Jackie- Public, Private, Secret." Taraborelli has also written best-selling biographies of Frank Sinatra, Princess Grace, Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson, and - perhaps most famously- Diana Ross with the book "Call Her Miss Ross."

Today's program is the first visit to the Morning Show of Dr. Morgan Phillips, Interim President and CEO of Gateway Technical College. We talk about his long and varied professional career- his initial impressions of Gateway Technical College- and also touch on the profound hearing loss he experienced in his mid-forties and the amazing technological interventions that have made such a powerful difference for the better.

From 2008- Dr. Wilkie Wilson, co-author of "Buzzed: The Straight Facts about the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy." The book has been released in at least two more editions since this one.

From 2003- Ron Fry, author of "101 Smart Questions to Ask on your Interview." The book was written to help people be more effective when interviewing for a new job. The book has been re-released in several new editions in the years since.

Our program opens with Amy Greil, executive director of the Kenosha Community Foundation, and Cheryl Hernandez, executive director of the Kenosha Literacy Council. We round out the program with a 2007 interview with Tom Miller, editor of "How I Learned English: 55 Accomplished Latinos Recall Lessons in Language and Life."

Part One- We welcome Robb Woulfe, executive director of the Racine Art Museum, for his first visit to the Morning Show. R.A.M. is one of the finest museums of its kind in the Midwest. Woulfe succeeded Bruce Pepitch as executive director in January of this year. Part Two- We preview this Sunday's Starving Artists Fair with coordinator Jayne Herring. The event occurs on the beautiful grounds of Racine's DeKoven Center between 9 am and 4 pm.

Tiffany D. Jackson talks about her latest book for young readers, "Blood in the Water."

Best-selling author Gordon Korman talks about his latest book for young readers ..... "Snoop" ..... which is an intriguing and entertaining exploration of the way in which young people get addicted to screens.

Jeremy Lent, author of "The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity's Search for Meaning"

More from Winnetka, Illinois native Bill Hulseman, talking about his essay collection titled "six to carry the casket and one to say the mass: reflections on life, identity, and moving forward." Hulseman grew up in a Roman Catholic family where he was the youngest of ten children (and the youngest of seven sons). In this second interview, we talk about his dad's love of poetry, his mom's struggles with alcohol, and some of Hulseman's most important life experiences, including singing in the Boston Gay Men's Chorus.

From 2022 .... Steve Binder was the director of Elvis Presley's 1968 comeback TV special - and has written a book that gives the reader a remarkable behind-the-scenes perspective on how this special took shape.

From 2005 - Michael Streissguth, author of "Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison: The Making of a Masterpiece."

We speak with two librarians from the Racine Public Library - Viridiana Rocha and Keiko Skow - about the library's Japanese Cultural Exchange series. (Two more events are coming up in the next several days.)

We reconnect with local historian Steven Rogstad about his latest book "The Million Dollar Quartet and the Challenges of Oral Testimony." The title refers to four legendary musicians- Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis- who converged on a Sun Records studio in Memphis, Tennessee in 1956 for what turned out to be a spontaneous jam session .... some of which was recorded and ultimately shared with the world. In the book, Rogstad seeks to gain some clarity on what exactly happened on that memorable occasion- and how a serious historian goes about such a task.

I speak with Bill Hulseman, author of a collection of personal essays titled "six to carry the casket and one to say the mass: reflections on life, identity and moving forward." Hulseman grew up in a Roman Catholic family in Winnetka, Illinois- and eventually went into Catholic education as his profession - but did so as someone who happened to be gay. The essays gathered together in this book explore many facets of his childhood, his relationship to his parents, siblings and school mates, his evolving relationship to his religion and the Roman Catholic church, and the ways in which various facets of pop culture (e.g. television shows like 'Designing Women' or singers like Madonna) helped him develop a clearer sense of his own identity and his place in the world. And yes .... we also give the author a chance to explain the title of his book. Hulseman is returning to his hometown of Winnetka, Illinois for a book signing this Tuesday evening, July 29th, 6:00, at The Book Stall.

We talk with Sandra Johnson about the 50th Williams Bay Fine Arts and Crafts Fair, which happens this coming weekend.

We speak with Willow Newell, Miss Wisconsin - a former Miss Kenosha and Miss Racine .... and a recent graduate of Carthage College, where she majored in Musical Theater.

Dr. Art Cyr joins us to offer his analysis of current events and issues. (This is a slightly abridged version of the interview. To hear the interview in its entirety, seek out the Morning Show archive on our website- wgtd.org.)

Dr. Ernesto Castañeda, author of "Immigration Realities: Challenging Common Misperceptions."

From 2008- Joseph M. Marshall III talks about his book "The Day the World Ended at Little Bighorn: A Lakota History."

From 2008 - Paul Salsini talks about his book "The Cielo: A Novel of Wartime Tuscany."

We talk about cancer with Dr. Rhonda Randall, Chief Medical Officer for United Healthcare, one of the country's leading medical insurers.

From 2007 - S. E. Hinton, author of "The Outsiders," one of the most significant novels of the last half century. The occasion of this interview was the release of the special 40th anniversary edition of the novel (from Penguin). The novel was eventually made into an outstanding film starring Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, and Ralph Macchio - and is now enjoying new life as a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical.

We speak with Rob Kroes about the Racine Theater Guild's latest production- the musical "The Drowsy Chaperone"- which runs for the next two weekends. Kroes is both the stage director and music director for the production.