Wgtd's The Morning Show With Greg Berg

Doug Instenes, managing and artistic director of the Racine Theater Guild, talks about their production of Sean Grennen's play "Now and Then," which opens this weekend. He is the director of the production.

Dr. Susan Partovi has devoted most of her professional life to providing medical care to people experiencing homelessness. Her memoir is titled "Renegade MD: A Doctor's Stories from the Streets."

We reconnect with best-selling novelist Steve Berry to talk about his latest thriller, "The Atlas Maneuver." The novel touches on a number of fascinating topics, including the widespread plundering of treasure during World War Two.

For President's Day: We speak with Pulitzer Prize winning writer Edward J. Larson about his book "Franklin and Washington: The Founding Partnership."

We are devoting the Saturday and Sunday editions of the podcast to some of our favorite episodes with Nan Calvert, who has co-hosted monthly environmental programs on the Morning Show for 18 years - but who has decided to hand over that responsibility to someone else. This is a conversation about one of the most amazing creatures on earth - the dragonfly - with Marla Garrison, one of the country's leading dragonfly experts.

Nan Calvert has been contributing interesting environmentally-themed Morning Shows on a monthly basis for the past eighteen years. She recently stepped away from that responsibility. In gratitude for her great contribution to the show, we are replaying some favorite Nan Calvert shows from the past. This one is about Lichens with Kathleen Thompson.

Aime Alley Card discusses her book "The Tigerbelles: Olympic Legends from Tennessee State." The book chronicles the spectacular women's track and field athletes from Tennessee State University .... including the legendary Wilma Rudolph .... who scored such a stunning success at the 1960 Olympic Games under the leadership of their coach, Ed Temple.

Dr. Art Cyr, from the faculty at Carthage College, joins us for the first time in 2024. The topics we discuss include Secretary of State Blinken's recent visit to Africa, Sweden's long-sought entry into NATO, Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, and the most recent presidential election in Taiwan.

Rev. Darren Utley is the pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Racine, which is about to celebrate its 185th anniversary. Its long history includes a commendable commitment to abolition; the church was actually part of the Underground Railroad. The celebration kicks off this coming Sunday, February 18th.

We talk about the play "Wherever You've Been" with playwright (and Carthage alum) Caitlin Di Giacomo and stage director Adrianna Jones. The play concerns the disappearance of a homeless woman - and tackles such issues as how we view people contending with homelessness.

Five years ago this month (Feb. 2019) a fascinating exhibit opened at the Kenosha Public Museum titled "From Curiosity to Science." This interview was done shortly before the exhibit opened. The guests were Dan Joyce, who at the time was the museum's executive director, and Nancy Mathews, a longtime member of the museum staff who was largely responsible for the creation of this exhibit. Nancy was a frequent guest on the Morning Show over the years, and this interview is being replayed in her memory. (The exhibit was specifically mentioned in the interview that was broadcast today on the Morning Show, in which writer Ann Parson discusses her novel "The Birds of Dog." NOTE: There was also a video Morning Show done in which I walked through the exhibit with Dan Joyce and Nancy Mathews. The video can be viewed via WGTD's Facebook page. This is the link: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=search&v=2245400225678869

Ann B. Parson, author of "The Birds of Dog: An Historical Novel Based on Mostly True Events." The book is set in early 19th century Boston and delves into the fascinating world of museums- which in that period were reinventing themselves and rethinking their mission and their relationship with the natural world. NOTE: During the interview, you will hear me make mention of a fascinating exhibit at the Kenosha Public Museum called "From Curiosity to Science." This link will take you to a Morning Show video tour of that exhibit: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=search&v=2245400225678869

From 2020- Steven K. Rogstad, author of "Lincoln Among the Badgers." The book explores the many and various connections that our 16th president had with the state of Wisconsin. Among other things, the book looks at the many statues of Lincoln that can be found around the state.

In gratitude for Nan Calvert's monthly contributions to the Morning Show for the past 18 years, here is a favorite- from March 2021 - concerning the Meachem Road Habitat Restoration Project. Nan's guest was Joe Pfeiffer from KCI Technologies.

In honor of Nan Calvert's 18 years as a contributor to the MS, we're rebroadcasting some favorite Nan programs from the past. This undated interview features Kevin Doyle, Rare Plant Botanist with the Wisconsin DNR.

Part One: An update on Holy Rosary's Sports Night with Grey Pawell and Tony Geliche. The event celebrates its 60th anniversary this year just as it is about to undergo some dramatic changes. Greg Pawell and Tony Geliche are co-chairs of the event. Part Two: From 2015- "Super Bowl Gold," a book that celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl.

Nan Calvert welcomes to the program Dave Giordano (executive director) and Kristine Heuser (storm water consultant) for Root Pike WIN (Watershed Initiative) to talk about a couple of exciting projects, including one that involves a partnership with Microsoft. NOTE: Nan Calvert has been arranging for monthly environmentally-themed Morning Show interviews for the past 18 years. This is her final such interview as co-host. At the end of this interview, she introduces Kailyn Palomares- education manager at Hawthorn Hollow- who will be taking over. We plan to share some favorite Nan interviews from the past in the Saturday and Sunday podcasts for the next several weekends, in honor of and appreciation for the great contribution that Nan has made to the program over these many years.

From 2004 - Ron Clark, author of "The Excellent 11: Qualities Teachers and Parents Use to Motivate, Inspire and Educate Children."

Dr. Kathleen Corley talks about her book "The Magical Place We Call School: Creating a Safe Space for Learning and Happiness in a Challenging World." Dr. Corley has served as the first principal for four different public schools. She started out her career as an elementary music teacher.

Part 1 - David Anderson, music director of the Lake Geneva Symphony Orchestra, talks about recent and future projects with the ensemble (whose members are all volunteers.) The group has an Around The World gala fundraiser this weekend. Part 2- (from the archives) Joanne Lipman, author of "Strings Attached: One Tough Teacher and the Gift of Great Expectations."