Wgtd's The Morning Show With Greg Berg

This first week of 2024 is devoted to some of our favorite author interviews from last year. Jonathan Scott's new history of sound recording is titled "Into the Groove: The Story of Sound from Tin Foil to Vinyl."

We devote this first year of 2024 to some of our favorite author interviews from 2023. Today: J. Randy Taraborelli, author of "Jackie- Public, Private, Secret" - a fascinating new biography of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

We have been devoting the last few podcast episodes to replaying memorable 2023 Morning Show interviews with local guests. For this final episode of the year, I want to replay the Morning Show memorial tribute to Frank Germinaro that aired back in January, shortly after his death. Frank was a beloved member of the community - a highly-regarded educator, devoted family man, and wonderful entertainer and musician. This tribute included an archival interview with Frank and his wife Janet - as well as a newly recorded interview with Craig Gall, who counted Frank as one of his closest friends and most cherished mentors. The interview with Frank deals chiefly with his experience as a kidney transplant recipient- and how he defied all expectations and predictions by living as long and vibrantly as he did.

We are devoting the last podcast episodes of 2023 to noteworthy Morning Show interviews from the past year that featured local guests. This is a replay of a memorable Morning Show from late August that actually featured two interviews .... recorded twenty years apart ... with the same guest: Casey Holtz. 20 years ago this summer, Casey saved the life of a young boy who almost certainly would have drowned in Lake Michigan had Casey not gone into the water to save him. We managed to track Casey down earlier this year and recorded a follow up interview to see what he remembers about that dramatic event back in 2003.

We are devoting the last podcast episodes of 2023 to memorable interviews with local or state guests from earlier in the year. This conversation recorded back in May was the final Morning Show appearance of Dr. Deb Ford, who for the previous 13 years had served as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

We are devoting the final podcast episodes of the year to noteworthy Morning Shows from 2023 that featured local or state guests. This is a memorable conversation I recorded back in August with public radio legend Jack Mitchell, one of the very first employees of NPR when that network was first created more than a half century ago. He went on to lead Wisconsin Public Radio for many years and helped shape the network and nurtured its spectacular growth over the course of a quarter century.

This week's podcasts are devoted to noteworthy 2023 Morning Show interviews that involved local or state guests. This show from March featured a spectacularly talented student-athlete from Kenosha, Joseph White, who is now a nursing student at Carthage. With him in the interview were three Carthage coaches: Seth Weidmann, Josh Henry and Greg Raimondi.

Among our most noteworthy Morning Show interviews from 2023: the 150th anniversary of the founding of Kemper Hall, a girls school in Kenosha that was an important fixture in the community for more than a century before its closure in the mid 1970s. Earlier this summer, three Kemper alumni joined us to talk about their experiences with the school and how this anniversary was celebrated.

From 2017 - Martha Brockenbrough, author of "Love, Santa: when you're ready to share the beautiful truth about Santa." This is a book about that moment when one might need to somehow confirm the suspicions in a youngster's mind that there might not actually be a Santa Claus.

From 2010 - Hugo and Carol Rizzoli, authors of "The House at Royal Oak: Starting Over and Rebuilding a Life, one room at a time." It's the story of a couple's efforts to refurbish a run-down country farmhouse and transform it into a bed and breakfast.

From 2009- Joanna Krotz, author of "The Guide to Intelligent Giving: Make a Difference in the World- and in your own life."

Margaret Grossi talks about the documentary film "The Boys of '36" which she directed and co-directed (with Mary Carillo.) It tells the story of the American rowing team that scored a stunning upset gold medal victory in the Berlin 1936 Olympics when they upset the heavily favored German team. The story is the basis for a new major motion picture titled "The Boys in the Boat" that opens on December 25th. The film is directed by George Clooney.

Dr. Catherine McCarthy, co-author of "Raising a Kid Who Can: Simple Strategies to Build a Lifetime of Adaptability and Emotional Strength."

Russ Bengtson, author of "A History of Basketball in 15 Sneakers."

Mitchell S. Jackson talks about his new book "Fly: The Big Book of Basketball Fashion," in which he examines some of the bold fashion statements that have been made by various NBA stars over the years. The book includes an interesting discussion of how some of those fashion choices have challenged customary notions of what is masculine. The book is loaded with spectacular photographs.

From 2022, John Feinstein talks about his novel for young readers titled "Game Changers," part of his Bench Warmers series. It follows the exploits of two goodhearted and talented middle school athletes named Andi and Jeff. The first book in the series concerned soccer- This book focuses on basketball.

Matt Hranek, founder and editor of the men's lifestyle magazine "Wm Brown," has written a series of books including "A Man and his Watch" and "A Man and his Car." His latest, "A Man and his Kitchen," is an exceptionally beautiful and entertaining cookbook a guide to home entertaining.

Tenaya Darlington talks about her newest book "Madame Fromage's Adventures in Cheese: How to explore it, pair it and love it, from the creamiest brie to the funkiest blues." The book celebrates a variety of distinctive cheeses from around the world, explains the process by which it is made, introduces you to an array of people involved in cheese-making, and offers helpful advice on everything from pairing cheese with the right wine to tips on how to create wonderful and unique cheese boards.

From July of this year- Michelle Ferrari, talks about the American Experience documentary "Sandra Day O'Conner: The First," which looks at the life and legacy of the first woman to serve as a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. During her long tenure on the court (1981-2006) the Court dealt with a number of highly consequential and divisive cases- and often Justice O'Connor was the deciding vote. Ferrari was co-producer, director and writer for the film. Justice O'Connor passed away on December 1st at the age of 93. Her funeral is later today. (This film can be viewed free of charge at pbs.org.)

We introduce you to Sal Catanese and his sons Paul and David, who own and operate Legacy Inspection Group, which does home inspections in suburban Chicago. We talk with them about what home inspectors do- and how they do it - and what prospective buyers should be thinking about as they undertake this process.