Wgtd's The Morning Show With Greg Berg

Dr. Art Cyr - a monthly visitor to the Morning Show for more than twenty years- pays his first visit to the program in 2025. We discuss the closing days of the Biden administration and his decision to pardon members of his family .... the opening days of President Trump's second term, with an array of executive orders .... the legacy of former president Jimmy Carter, which Professor Cyr believes is not properly acknowledged .... and the political landscape of southern California that has played some role in the response to the disastrous wildfires there.

From 2003 - renowned science-fiction author Ben Bova talks about his novel "Saturn," which was part of his Grant Tour series, which depicted the human colonization of the solar system in the late 21st century.

From 2008- Jonathan Kozol, author of "Letters to a Young Teacher."

Alexis Fernandez-Preiksa, author of "How to Chase Change: Thirty Days to Master your Mindset."

Our guest is Dr. Dana Oswald, Professor of English, and Chair of the Department of Literatures and Languages at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. She is about to teach a free community course on Homer's "The Iliad." We talk about this iconic work - who may have written it and why - and what sort of lessons it teaches us all these years later.

In honor of Martin Luther King Day: From 2014 or 2015 ..... Todd Purdum discusses his book "An Idea Whose Time Has Come: Two Presidents, Two Parties, and the Battle for the Civil Rights Act of 1964."

From 2009- Nancy Garfinkel, co-author of "The Recipe Club: A Tale of Food and Friendship."

In light of the catastrophic fires in southern California, we are re-sharing this interview with Daniel James Brown from 2006 in which he discusses his book "Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894." This was one of the most destructive fires in American history up until that point.

We speak today with Wisconsin State Senator Robert Wirch, who has represented the 22nd senate district since 1997. We touch on a number of different issues, including funding for education , gerrymandering, and what to do with the largest monetary surplus in Wisconsin history.

For Kailyn Palomares's monthly visit to the program, she is joined by two fellow alumni from the environmental studies program at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside .... Tiffany Wagner and Maddy Kammerer .... for a discussion about what each of them is doing now.

One of our most noteworthy interviews from 2024: Craig Unger, author of "Den of Spies: Reagan, Carter, and the Secret History of the Treason that Stole the White House."

Carthage grad Mike Stoehrmann talks about the experience of being a contestant on WHEEL OF FORTUNE. (Mike's episode was telecast on New Year's Eve.) Mike is a high school science teacher in Romeoville, Illinois.

From 2012- Chris Paine talks about his documentary film "Revenge of the Electric Car," which examines the work of several different trailblazers .... including Elon Musk .... toiling tirelessly to bring electric cars into the mainstream. The interview was done just as the film was about to air on the PBS series Independent Lens. The film can now be viewed on YouTube.

Part One: - In celebration of what would have been Rod Serling's 100th birthday on December 25th, 2024, we speak with Anne Serling, author of "As I Knew Him: My Dad Rod Serling." Joining her is Marc Scott Zicree, author of "The Twilight Zone Companion," which has just been re-released in its third edition. Part Two: From 2020... Award-winning writer Darin Strauss talks about his novel "The Queen of Tuesday: A Lucille Ball Story." The book, which is a work of fiction, imagines a romantic affair between Ms. Ball and the author's grandfather, Isidore Strauss.

From 2011= Susan Spangler, author and illustrator of the graphic novel "The Year of the Bird- True Stories in Pictures and Words."

One of our favorite interviews from 2024- Aime Alley Card, author of "The Tigerbelles: Olympic Legends from Tennessee State." The book chronicles the rise of the women's track team at Tennessee State in the 1950s, culminating in the spectacular successes of runners like Wilma Rudolph at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.

We remember renowned folk singer and composer Peter Yarrow, who passed away earlier this week, by replaying a 2012 interview about his children's book based on his song "Puff, the Magic Dragon."

Part One: Beth Bush is the guest director of the Racine Theater Guild's newest production, Joe Di Pietro's "Over the river and through the woods," which opens this coming weekend. Part Two: (one of our favorite interviews from 2024)- We talk about the Cameron Boyce Foundation, created in memory of the child actor who died several years ago from complications related to his epilepsy.

(Rescheduled) - This is a preview of next week's 3rd annual Carthage Arts Symposium, titled "Peace, Parity, a New Cold War?" which takes place next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday - January 14, 15, and 16. This is an interview with four Carthage faculty who are participating: Leslie Brothers, Visiting Assistant Professor and the current manager of Gallery Programs (she is the primary coordinator of the symposium) .... Richard Meier, Professor of English and Writer-in-residence ... Joshua McGowen, Assistant Professor of Art (specializing in photography and animation) .... and Gary Keller, Associate Professor of Marketing and Management. All of the events next week are free and open to the public. (The interview about the RTG production of "Over the river and through the woods" that was originally scheduled for today will air tomorrow instead.)

One of our favorite interviews from 2024 (originally airing during Banned Books Week) ..... Karl Weber, author and editor of "Why Books Still Matter: Honoring Joyce Meskis: Essays on Books, Bookselling, and Publishing." Joyce Meskis was the founder of the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver, CO - one of the most famous independent bookstores in the country, and a business that helped revolutionize the public's notion of what a great bookstore could and should be. The interview also includes considerable discussion about the phenomenon of book banning - and how the practice of book banning tends to be detrimental to the health of a democracy.