Wgtd's The Morning Show With Greg Berg

From 2017 - a preview of what was a very special performance of Gian Carlo Menotti's Christmas opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors" by the Choral Arts Society - in which three past performers of the role of Amahl - Brett Angel, Michael Weideberg, and Nathan Engstrom - were invited to return to Racine for a special audience Q&A. All three participated in this interview, along with conductor James Schatzman - and Jim's grandson Tai Heether-Schatzman, who sang the role of Amahl for the 2017 production. The program includes several excerpts from the opera, which had its world premiere over NBC television on Christmas Eve 1951.

From the archives: Bruce Littlefield, author of "Merry Christmas, America: Mega-watt Displays across the U.S.A."

From 2017- Martha Brockenbrough talks about her delightful children's book "Love, Santa - The Beautiful Truth About Santa."

From 2004 .... Catherine Scott-Clark talks about her book "The Amber Room: The Fate of the World's Greatest Lost Treasure."

In the wake of a tragic school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin, we are re-sharing a 2005 conversation with Katherine Newman, author of "Rampage: The Social Roots of School Shootings."

We remember John Stewig, who had a long and distinguished career in the field of library science with a specialty in children's literature. He helped to create the Center for Children's Literature at Carthage's Hedburg Library and served as director of the center from 2004 to 2014. This is a rebroadcast of our first conversation.

We replay a 2013 conversation with Dr. Thomas Noer, long time history professor at Carthage, who passed away earlier this year. Carthage has created a special fund in memory of Professor Noer. In this interview, Professor Noer reflects on the legacy of John F. Kennedy.

From 2018- Curt Smith, author of "The Presidents and the Pastime: The History of Baseball and the White House." Smith's professional resume includes a stint as a presidential speech writer.

From the archives: Andrew Roberts, author of "Napoleon: A Life."

From 2022 - We speak with Dr. Laura Gellott, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, about her book Helen Perry Curtis and the European Trip of a Lifetime." Ms. Curtis was the author of "Jean and Me," which once upon a time was an extremely popular book for young readers- and a book that Professor Gellott dearly loved in her youth. We talk about the life and legacy of Ms. Curtis, but we also discuss Professor Gellott's wide-ranging efforts to gather as much information as she could about her subject's life.

From 2021 - Livia Blackburne talks about her beautiful children's book "I Dream of Popo."

We speak with Eddie Williams III, a corps officer and pastor with the Salvation Army Racine Chapter and Community Center, about their famous Red Kettle Campaign. We also learn a little about the history of the Salvation Army.

From 2023- April Genevieve Tucholke talks about her children's book "Merry and Hark: A Christmas Story." It's based on the true story of a small owl that accidentally traveled into New York City with that year's Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.

In a startling role reversal, Gregory Berg is the guest .... interviewed by his longtime colleague Dave McGrath, WGTD news director - talking about the next Signature Spotlight Concert at the Racine Theater Guild which is co-hosted by Greg and his wife Kathy ..... called a Berg Christmas Special. Some family members as well as some of Greg's former voice students will be joining in what will be an evening of both secular and sacred Christmas music.

From earlier this year- Best-selling author Earl Swift talks about his book "Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings."

From 2010 - Doug Stewart, author of "The Boy Who Would Be Shakespeare- A Tale of Forgery and Folly." It's the story of a frustrated young writer named William Henry Ireland who (beginning in the spring of 1795) produced a large number of Shakespearean fabrications that were widely accepted as authentic- for a while.

Kailyn Palomares joins us with two of her colleagues from Racine County Land and Water Conservation Division - Chad Sampson and Jon Grove - to talk about what conservation is and what it takes to conserve two of our most precious resources: water and topsoil.

We speak with Craig Gall, director of the Kenosha Pops Band, about their Christmas concert coming up this Saturday evening 7 pm at Carthage's Siebert Chapel.

Debbie Slevin, author of "Unpregnant Pause: Where are the babies?" The book is a very thoughtful exploration of what goes into a woman's decision about whether or not to have children - and why more and more women are delaying having children, choosing not to have children at all, or choosing to have fewer children then was once common.

We preview the Christmas concerts of the Belle City Brassworks on December 11th and 18th with Doug Johnson, director of the group .... and Katie Humphrey, president of the board (and member of the french horn section.)