Wgtd's The Morning Show With Greg Berg

From 2020 - An interview with three highly regarded high school choir directors in southeastern Wisconsin ... Elizabeth Steege from Case H.S. in Racine, Polly Amborn from Tremper H.S. in Kenosha, and Derek Machan from Waterford H.S. ...... talking about how each of them confronted the considerable challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic within the protocols and practices of their respective school districts. I am re-sharing this interesting interview because two of these three choral directors - Elizabeth Steege and Polly Amborn - are retiring.

Two interviews about dogs. Part 1- Jennifer Holland, author of "Dog Smart: Life-Changing Lessons in Canine Intelligence." Part 2- from 2004, the author of "How Dogs Think."

Dr. Art Cyr, a monthly visitor to the Morning Show, offers a commentary on D-Day on the 80th anniversary to the day of that momentous event.

We catch up with Barbara Brattin, who has been the director of the Kenosha Public Library for the past ten years. She is retiring on August 2nd. We talk about the ways in which libraries have changed over recent years - specific innovations that have come about at the KPL over the past decade - and the challenges that public libraries face. We also talk about the new children's library in Kenosha- which has its grand opening on July 13th.

From 2004: Mario Cuomo, author of "Why Lincoln Matters"

Andrea Balis and Elizabeth Levy, co-authors of "Witch Hunt: The Cold War, Joe McCarthy, and the Red Scare." The book is actually designed for young readers but is likely to be interesting and illuminating for readers of any age.

We get an update about the Kenosha Community Foundation from executive director Amy Greil - with a special focus on the partnership between the KCF and ANVK, which is the philanthropic arm of the Kenosha Visiting Nurses Association. Joining Amy in the conversation is Linda Scott, CEO of ANVK, and Alex Berce, a border member of ANVK. (Berce oversees the operations of Good Value Pharmacy, a locally-owned pharmacy which has several locations in the Kenosha and Racine areas.)

We speak with best-selling author Greg Iles about his latest novel, "Southern Man." The book, set in the present day, presents a premise in which a tragic police shooting leads to a wave of violence across the country- which is exploited by an ambitious politician. The novelist draws extensively upon his own personal background in writing the book and in shaping the persona of the main character.

From 2017- Finn Murphy, author of "The Long Haul: A Trucker's Tales of Life on the Road."

From 2016- Debbie Clarke Moderow, author of "Fast into the Night: A Woman, Her Dogs, and their Journey North on the Iditarod Trail."

Long-time Sports Illustrated writer S. L. Price talks about his book "Heart of the Game: Life, Death and Mercy in Minor League America." (from 2009) This is probably my single favorite book about baseball.

Dr. Art Cyr joins us to talk about the 80th anniversary of D-Day, recent local elections in Britain (in which the conservative party suffered massive losses), U.S. Speaker Michael Johnson's decision to support U.S. aid to Ukraine, and JFK's narrow victory in the 1960 presidential primary in Wisconsin (the topic of Tuesday's Morning Show.) Dr. Cyr is a member of the faculty at Carthage College and a columnist whose work appears in newspapers across the country. He has been a monthly visitor to the Morning Show for more than twenty years.

Edson Melendez talks about Brew City Opera's production of Mozart's COSI FAN TUTTE which opens Thursday evening and runs this weekend only.

Dr. Arturo Casadevall discusses his fascinating book "What if Fungi Win?" Dr. Casadevall has been studying fungi for more than forty years. They are extraordinary organisms - remarkably diverse - and absolutely essential for human life. They also pose a grave threat to us with fungal diseases that affect both human beings as well as our food supply. Dr. Casadevall also talks about all that we still do not understand about fungi and the ways in which research has fallen short. "I want to help change the way we practice science," he says at one point.

B.J. Hollars discusses his book "Wisconsin for Kennedy: The Primary that Launched a President and Changed the Course of History." The book gives a careful account of the JFK's campaign in the 1960 Wisconsin presidential primary in which he eventually secured a narrow victory over Hubert Humphrey. The book includes portraits of some of the people who played very important roles in the campaign, including Jerry Bruno, a forklift operator from Kenosha (with a 9th grade education) who became one of the coordinators of the candidate's travel arrangements- and went on to serve a similar function in President Kennedy's administration. The book also examines the crucial role that Jackie Kennedy played in her husband's campaign.

For Memorial Day: Patrick K. O'Donnell talks about his remarkable book "The Unknowns: The Untold Story of America's Unknown Soldier and World War One's Most Decorated Heroes Who Brought Him Home." (We replay this interview on every Memorial Day.)

From 2010 - Thomas Childers, author of "Soldier from the War Returning: The Greatest Generation's Troubled Homecoming from World War Two." (in anticipation of the Memorial Day holiday.) This haunting and illuminating book examines the largely untold story of all of the soldiers from World War Two who returned home with physical, mental and physical trauma, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder- something not fully understood or appreciated at the time. Childers focuses in particular on the stories of three families - one of which was his own.

From 2014 - Ayelet Waldman talks about her riveting novel "Love and Treasure" - partly set in the immediate aftermath of World War Two - and also set seventy years later. It touches on the painful legacy of plundered treasures.

We speak with Matthew Matysik, Kaylee Annable, Betty Peterson and Dan Venne about the Racine Theater Guild's production of the Kander/Ebb musical CABARET. We play excerpts from a number of the songs that are part of the score.

Ann E. Burg talks about "Force of Nature: a novel of Rachel Carson." Carson was one of the most important environmentalists of the 20th century.