WGTD's The Morning Show with Greg Berg

We celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Racine Literacy Council with three guests: Laura Sumner Coon, executive director of the RLC, Ann Zogg, who is a volunteer tutor, and Victor Mexia, whose wife and daughter have participated with him in the RLC's Family Literacy Program.

Dr. Art Cyr pays his first visit to the Morning Show in 2025 with today's conversation in which, among other things, we talk about the first six weeks of President Trump's second term-- including the dramatic scene in the Oval Office that Professor Cyr called "a brutal verbal assault" in his most recent column.

Today's Morning Show is the first to air during Women's History Month 2025. Part One: Laura Semmer, illustrator of "The ABC's of Women's History," a lovely children's book written by Rio Cortez. Part Two: from the Morning Show archives .... Bryant Johnson, who was the personal trainer of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, talks about working with t...

March 2nd is the date that Theodore Geissel ... aka Dr. Seuss .... was born in 1904. From the archives comes this 2004 interview with Charles D. Cohen, talking about his book "The Seuss, the Whole Seuss, and Nothing but the Seuss." Cohen is perhaps the world's foremost expert on all matters related to Dr. Seuss. This book was published to mark the centennial of Geissel's birth.

In the wake of the news of the death of award-winning actor Gene Hackman, we are replaying a 2004 interview with Hackman and his longtime friend Daniel Lenihan ... talking about "Justice for None," the second of three historical novels which they co-authored.

This is a bonus for Morning Show listeners- a brief conversation with Michael Gelman, executive producer of "Live with Kelly and Mark" (Kelly Ripa and Mark Conseulos.) They will be co-hosting a special program on Monday that will celebrate some of the most noteworthy Oscar winners from the night before. Gelman discusses some of the challenges involved in putting this particular program t...

We speak with Richard Rothstein about the book he co-authored with his daughter Leah Rothstein .... "Just Action: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law." The book examines the phenomenon of residential segregation - in which Blacks and Whites in America tend to live apart from one another despite all of the breakthroughs made during the Civil Rights Era - the reason...

From 2004 - Ellis Cose discusses his intriguing book "Bone to Pick: of Forgiveness, Reconciliation, Reparation and Revenge." This was part two of today's program. I chose to replay this interview because the theme of 'forgiveness' is central to the plot of Pedro Calderon de la Barca's "Life is a Dream," a Spanish masterwork from the 17th century that Carthage Co...

We talk about an exciting partnership between the United Way of Kenosha County and the Community-Based Learning Program at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside that resulted in the creation of an interactive online map house on the United Way's website that allows people to find resources and services in the community. Our guests: Carolynn Friesch, Chief Executive Officer of the United Way of...

We speak with State Representative Robert Wittke, who represents the 63rd assembly district (which includes most of Caledonia and most of Franklin.) Our conversation includes his reflection on Governor Evers's proposed biennial budget.

Part One- Jeffrey Boutwell, author of "Boutwell: Radical Republican and Champion of Democracy." The author's distant ancestor George Boutwell was an important force for racial equality in the 19th century. He helped secure the Republican presidential nomination for Abraham Lincoln- assisted in the crafting of the 13th and 15th amendments- was a fierce defender of Reconstruction- led...

From 2009- John Lucas, author of "Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat: The Dire Warning- Churchill's First Speech as Prime Minister."

From 2008, Mary Roach discusses her book "Bonk! - The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex."

This interview was recorded this morning for broadcast next week - but because it concerns a theatrical production that is opening tonight, I want to share the interview as a supplement to today's podcast episode. The play is "Life is a Dream" by Pedro Calderon de la Barca, one of history's most notable theatrical masterworks. My guests: Neil Scharnick, Associate Professor of The...

This is the complete interview with Paul Beston talking about his book "The American Kings," which tells the story of seven American heavyweight boxing champions: John L. Sullivan, Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson. (An excerpt played on today's program.)

We preview the Racine Theater Guild's newest production, "And in this corner: Cassius Clay," which runs this weekend and the next. Shawn Holmes, director of the production, joins us - along with Aquil Ocacio, who is one of two actors portraying the title character. For part two, we replay an excerpt from an interview with Paul Beston in which he talks about his book "The America...

From 2005- Award-winning teacher Ron Clark talks about his book "The Excellent Eleven: An Award-Winning Teacher's Guide to Raising Children Who Love to Learn."

We speak with Jennifer Charpentier, Executive Director of the Gateway Technical College Foundation.

We discuss the acute affordable housing shortage in our area with Ron Cronovich, Professor of Economics at Carthage College. He is the moderator for an event at Carthage on February 27th titled "Equity and Housing Development" that is sponsored by the Carthage Business and Professional Coalition.

Former FBI agent Mike German discusses his new book "Policing White Supremacy- The Enemy Within."

From 2003- Jeffrey Makoff, co-author of "Get Off the Fence: 10+1 Steps to Help You Make that Big Decision."

Kathleen DeLaski discusses her book "Who Needs College Anymore? - Imagining a Future Where Degrees Won't Matter." She contends that colleges and universities need to reinvent themselves for the 21st century and think beyond the standard model of granting degrees.

From 2002 - Rachel Simon discusses her memoir "Riding the Bus with my Sister: A True Life Journey." In this moving book, the author talks about her developmentally disabled sister who loved riding the city buses of their hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania. Rachel Simon took it upon herself to ride the buses with Beth in order to get to know her better.

From 2005- Doug Gordon, author of "The Engaged Groom: You're Getting Married! Read This Book! - Your Complete Wedding Guide."

Lindsay Jill Roth talks about her book "Romances and Practicalities: A Love Story (maybe yours!) in 250 Questions." Roth and her British boyfriend / eventual fiancee found themselves separated by thousands of miles for most of their courtship, so she compiled a list of questions with which the two of them could come to a deeper understanding of one another. She eventually realized that t...