WGTD's The Morning Show with Greg Berg

My guest is Stephen Ives, writer and director of a documentary titled "Ruthless: The Secret History of Monopoly," which airs Monday night on the PBS series American Experience.  The film explores the tangled history of the board game Monopoly and the fascinating story of one man's tireless efforts to uncover the truth about the woman who actually invented the game, despite what Parker Brother...

From the archives:  Allen Shawn, author of "Wish I Could Be There: Notes from a Phobic Life." 

Vijay Pandian is horticulture educator of the Kenosha County UW-Extension. 

For Black History Month: Yohuru Williams, author of "Call Him Jack: The Story of Jackie Robinson, Black Freedom Fighter."  

Dr. Peter Dennee - with two members of the choir -  Chloe Kroger and Danae Palmer - in a discussion about the Treble Chorale's recent European tour that took them to Prague, Munich, Salzburg as well as to some picturesque small towns.

One day after Super Bowl 57, we have excerpts from two football-themed interviews..... 1) Jason Reid, author of "Rise of the Black Quarterback."  Super Bowl 57 was the first Super Bowl to feature two black starting quarterbacks.  2)  Casey Sherman, author of "12: The inside story of Tom Brady's Fight for Redemption."   The primary focus of the book is on the controversy kn...

For Lincoln's Birthday (from 2008) -  Phillip B. Kunhardt Jr., co-author of "Looking for Lincoln:  The Making of an American Icon."    The book actually begins in the spring of 1865 and the assassination of Lincoln- and ends with the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in 1922 - and traces the how the world came to terms with Lincoln and his extraordinary legacy.  

Each Saturday in February, we are replaying memorable Morning Show conversations with the late Dr. Yuri Maltsev, long time Economics Professor at Carthage College, who passed away on January 25th.  This 2018 conversation was primarily about Chernobyl.   (Maltsev was living and working in Moscow at the time of the 1986 disaster.)  

In anticipation of Sunday's Super Bowl:   Part 1:  From 2015,  Austin Murphy (Sports Illustrated), author of "Super Bowl Gold: 50 Years of the Big Game."   Part 2:  Richard J. King, author of "Meeting Tom Brady: One Man's Quest for Truth, Enlightenment, and a Simple Game of Catch with the Patriots' Quarterback."  

For Nan Calvert's February visit to the Morning Show,  we talk about Native Plants (and the danger of invasive plants) with Regina Harders, president of the Root River Area Chapter of Wild Ones, and Joann Sustachek, coordinator of the group's native plant sale, which is currently underway.   

From the archives, (2019) for Black History Month:    Melba Pattillo Beals,  one of the so-called Little Rock Nine .... the nine young black students who were the first blacks to attend Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.   Their dramatic entry into the school in the fall of 1957 was one of the most crucial events in the civil rights movement.  In this...

Nick Brooks, author of a social thriller titled "Promise Boys."  

Part One:  Chris Whipple talks about his much-discussed book "The Fight of his Life: Inside Joe Biden's White House."  Part Two:  Eric Schaeffer, founder and director of the Environmental Integrity Project, talks about his concerns regarding the effectiveness of the EPA (the Environmental Protection Agency.)

In memory of Dr. Yuri Maltsev, longtime Professor of Economics at Carthage College (who passed away on January 25th) we are sharing a number of archival Morning Show interviews with him during the month of February.  This particular interview was recorded and initially broadcast in April of 2013.  [His first-ever Morning Show interview, from 2001, was shared on Saturday February 4th. &nb...

From 2005-  Robert Kurson, author of "Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans who risked everything to solve one of the last mysteries of World War II."  

Through the month of February, we will devote one weekend segment of the Morning Show podcast to remembering Dr. Yuri Maltsev, Professor of Economics at Carthage College since 1991 and a frequent guest to the Morning Show - who passed away on January 25th at the age of 72.   This is (I believe) the first of Professor Maltsev's visits to the program- dating from the fall of 2001.  

From 2011-  Patricia Bosworth, author of "Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Private Woman."  Fonda is one of the stars of a new film,  "80 for Brady," which opens this weekend in movie theaters across the country.  

Bob Delaney, author of 'Heroes are Human: Lessons in Resilience, Courage and Wisdom from the COVID Front Lines." 

Dr. Art Cyr, from the faculty at Carthage College, joins us for his first monthly visit of 2023.  Our conversation begins with a tribute to Dr. Cyr's longtime faculty colleague and friend Dr. Yuri Maltsev, who recently passed away.   (We will be sharing recordings of a couple of Dr. Maltsev's Morning Show conversations this coming weekend.)  

Jim Campbell, author of "Madoff Talks: Uncovering the untold story behind the most notorious ponzi scheme in history." 

In a departure from our normal routine, here is an example of a program I did during my first years at WGTD .... "Music-A Closer Look," a 60-minute documentary series that I did when it was no longer possible for our station to carry the very popular program "Adventures in Good Music with Karl Haas."   This particular installment of "Music-a Closer Look" was recorded and broadcast in the...

From 2009- Edward McPherson, author of "The Backwash Squeeze and other Improbable Feats: a Newcomer's Journey into the World of Bridge."  

"1,000 Facts about Space" - "Chloe's Lunar New Year" -  "Paws of Courage." 

From 2009-  Kelly Corrigan, author of "The Middle Place,"  a memoir in which she talks about her struggle with cancer - a battle she fought concurrently with her father's own similar battle with the disease.  

Sharon Price John, CEO of Build-a-Bear Workshop, talks about her book "Stories and Heart: Unlocking the power of Personal Stories to Create a Life You Love."