Wgtd's The Morning Show With Greg Berg

Today's podcast honors the amazingly talented and versatile Marni Nixon on what would be her 90th birthday.  This interview was recorded back in 2006 after the publication of her memoir "I Could Have Sung All Night."  Marni Nixon is best-known for the off-screen singing she did for such films as The King and I, West Side Story, and My Fair Lady.    Marni Nixon died in 2016.  

Part One, for Black History Month, features Joe Drape talking about his book "Black Maestro: The Epic Life of an American Legend," which chronicles the life and career of Jimmy Winkfield, a talented jockey from the late 19th century - who also happened to be black.   Part Two is a preview of this weekend's concert by the Lake County Symphony Orchestra.  We speak with conductor Ron Arden as well as with the group's composer-in-residence, Charles Brown, about his brand new work "Poem for American Acrimony," which receives its world premiere Saturday night. 

Margaret L. Andersen, a Professor Emerita at the University of Delaware, has written extensively on issues of Race and Racism for many years.  Her most recent book is titled "Getting Smart About Race:  An American Conversation."   

We speak with Andrew Gavin, UW-Parkside athletic director, who was recently given a 40 under 40 award from Milwaukee Business Journal as an outstanding young professional -   and Robyn Elliot, one of his graduate assistants. 

From the archives comes this 2007 interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Alice Walker ("The Color Purple"), talking about her children's book "Why War is never a good idea."  

Eileen Rivers, a military veteran who nows works for USA Today, is the author of "Beyond the Call:  Three Women on the Front Lines of Afghanistan."  She comes to Carthage this Saturday evening to be present for the performance of "Fighting for Home: stories of Women Who Serve" and to sign copies of her book, which will be for sale.   

For President's Day-  Pulitzer Prize winning writer Edward J. Larson, author of "Franklin & Washington:  The Founding Partnership."  The book explores the relationship between Benjamin Franklin and George Washington over the course of four decades.  

From 2003-  Best-selling author Po Bronson talks about his book "What Should I Do With My Life: The True Story of People who Answered the Ultimate Question."  

From 2011: an interview with renowned engineer Joe Sutter, author of "747:  Creating the World's First Jumbo Jet- and Other Adventures from a Life in Aviation."   

Carthage College is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its Women and Gender Studies program with a special event on Tuesday, Feb. 18th.   The program begins with a portion of an archival interview with Professor Pamela Smiley, who helped to create the program.   Second is a conversation with writer and speaker Zahira Kelly-Cabrera, who is speaking at the event on February 18th.  This program ends with more archival material- this time from retired art professor Carolyn Hudson, who was one of the first faculty members to teach in the program.  

Nan Calvert's guest is E. Shedden Farley, with the Farley Center for Peace, Justice and Sustainability in Verona, WI.   The 25th acres of their Natural Path Sanctuary has been platted as natural burial grounds.  We talk about what Natural Burial or Green Burial is.  

On Lincoln's Birthday, a treat from the past-  this is a  Morning Show conversation recorded back in the mid 1990's by long-time WGTD news director Bill Guy, the original host of The Morning Show - talking with a local Abraham Lincoln expert named Steve Rogstad.  

For Black History Month- a conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Isabel Wilkerson about her book "The Warmth of Other Suns:  The Epic Story of America's Great Migration."  It tells the story of the massive migration of Southern blacks into other parts of the U.S. over the course of decades, which dramatically reshaped our nation.

Kenosha author Michael Schumacher joins us to talk about the book he has just edited:  Allen Ginsberg- South American Journals- January-July 1960.  

For Black History Month, here is an archival interview with the great American bass-baritone William Warfield, who is best known to the American public for his memorable appearance as Joe in the 1951 MGM film "Showboat" - and for his historic performances as Porgy opposite the Bess of Leontyne Price.  After the end of his singing career, he was a distinguished voice teacher at Northwestern University.   This interview was recorded sometime in the late 1990's.  

Stephan Pastis (creator of the award-winning comic strip "Pearls before Swine") talks about his wildly popular and hilariously entertaining  Timmy Failure books.  The first one, "Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made," has been made into a film by Disney, and it premieres this weekend on Disney+.   The Timmy Failure books are intended for young readers. 

A preview of the Lakeside Players' production of "Little Shop of Horrors" with Joe Cardamone, Katie Gray, and Halie Hutchison.  Their production opens tonight. 

From the archives comes this interview from 2007 with ESPN's Cal Fussman, author of "After Jackie:  Pride, Prejudice and Baseball's Forgotten Heroes:  An Oral History."   The book tells the largely untold story of the black major league baseball players who immediately followed in the footsteps of Jackie Robinson and who had to confront challenges every bit as difficult as those faced by Robinson.   <For Black History Month.>

Today's Morning Show features the monthly visit of Bryan Albrecht, president of Gateway Technical College.  Joining him is Ray Koukari, Dean of Manufacturing, Engineering and IT at GTC,  and Jeff Daniel, CEO of an exciting new start up company called Blue Flux Power .... and one of the primary organizers of an exciting competition called Tech Prize that will take place this summer in Racine.  

In this bonus podcast edition of the Morning Show, here is an interview with my sister, Randi Berg, who was the precinct captain for Pete Buttigieg in Decorah, IA and shares her account of what happened Monday night.