Wgtd's The Morning Show With Greg Berg

On the eve of another academic year, we speak with Dr. Lynn Akey, the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

From 2008- John Warne Monroe, author of "Laboratories of Faith: Mesmerism, Spiritism and Occultism in Modern France."

From 2008 - Jerelle Kraus, author of "All the Art that fit to Print (and some that wasn't)- Inside the New York Times Op-Ed Page."

From 2008- New Orleans based journalist Jed Horne talks about his book "Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City." Today marks the 9th anniversary to the day of the dissipation of Hurricane Katrina, one of the most terrible natural disasters in American history.

Samuel Sattin, author of "Unico: The Awakening ... an Original Manga." We'll also talk about two other books intended for young readers: "Made in Asian America" and "Louder than Words."

As another school year gets underway, we hear from Dr. John Swallow, the president of Carthage College. We talk in particular about the near record-breaking number of new students on campus this fall- and what an accomplishment that was in the challenging environment of higher education in 2024- a challenge made even steeper by a disastrous problem involving FAFSA, a Federal program involved with financial aid. We also hear about several notable additions to the administration and staff - and renovation work going on.

Exactly wo months ago today, former Racine County Executive Jonathan De La Grave passed away suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 51. Today's Morning Show features two interviews I did with him. The first dates back to sometime between 2010 and 2015, when he was director of Racine County Human Services. The second was recorded in the summer of 2020, not long after he tested positive for COVID-19. He believed - as I did - that there might some benefit to him sharing his own COVID story with the public.

From 2016- Constantine Markides, author of "Chasing Water: Elegy of an Olympian." The subtitle refers to American swimmer Anthony Ervin, a two-time gold medalist in the 50-meter event. Ervin has also contended with Tourette's Syndrome for most of his life.

Ellen Ruppel Shell, author of "Slippery Beast: A True Crime Natural History - with Eels."

From 2008- Leander Kahney, author of "Inside Steve's Brain," an illuminating look at the personality, creativity, and imagination of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. <There are technical limitations to this recording. Our apologies.>

As a followup to yesterday's interview with Ian O'Connor, we pull up this interview with him from 2008 in which he talks about his book "Arnie and Jack: Palmer, Nicklaus, and Golf's Greatest Rivalry."

In a Bonus offering, we share this interview from the archives with Jeff Pearlman, author of "Gunslinger: The Remarkable, Improbable, Iconic Life of Brett Favre." (2016). Pearlman's book is quoted in O'Connor's biography of Aaron Rodgers.

Sportswriter Ian O'Connor talks about his latest book, "Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers." The book explores the background of this renowned quarterback .... the reasons for his estrangement from most of his family .... and how and why he has become such a divisive and controversial figure in recent years.

In memory of Phil Donahue, who passed away yesterday at the age of 88, we are replaying this 2020 conversation with Donahue and his wife Marlo Thomas as they talk about their book "What makes a marriage last: 40 celebrated couples share with us the secrets to a happy life."

Dr. Art Cyr joins us for his monthly visit to the program. We begin with the current presidential race - but move from there to look back 50 years to the resignation of Richard Nixon and some of the forgotten aspects of his legacy .... the recent re-election of Venezuela's corrupt president, Nicolas Maduro .... recent positive developments in relations between South Korea and Japan .... and the long-awaited release by the Russians of Wall Street Journalist Even Gershkovich and 15 other political prisoners.

Diana McLain Smith discusses her new book "Remaking the Space Between Us: How Citizens Can Work Together to Build a Better Future For All."

Dr. Adaira Landry and Dr. Resa Lewiss, who are both ER physicians, discuss their new book "Micro Skills: Small Actions, Big Impact" - in which they talk about how even intimidating, complicated challenges in one's life can be broken down into relatively simple, learnable skills or 'micro skills.'

Dr. Jerald Mast, Professor of Political Science at Carthage College, returns to the Morning Show on the eve of the Democratic National Convention to talk about all that has transpired since his last visit to the program: President Biden's decision to withdraw from his re-election bid, Vice President Harris's rise to become presumptive nominee of her party, her choice of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to be her running mate - and how Republic nominee Donald Trump has responded to all of this.

From 2008- Russ Parsons, author of "How to Pick a Peach: The Search for Flavor from Farm to Table." (This interview only exists in an off-the-air recording in somewhat poor sound quality- but I think the conversation is compelling and worth hearing.)

From 2000- Michael Schumacher discusses his book "Francis Ford Coppola: A Filmmaker's Life."