Wgtd's The Morning Show With Greg Berg

We talk about an exciting partnership between the United Way of Kenosha County and the Community-Based Learning Program at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside that resulted in the creation of an interactive online map house on the United Way's website that allows people to find resources and services in the community. Our guests: Carolynn Friesch, Chief Executive Officer of the United Way of Kenosha County... Amy Garrigan, UW-Parkside Community Engagement Specialist .... Jevon Claussen, Senior Director of Community Impact Operations for the United Way of Kenosha Country .... Dr. Caitlin Whitaker, Associate Professor of Geography and Anthropology ..... Kalista Butkiewicz, a junior environmental studies major at Parkside and a student in Professor Whitaker's GID & Communities course .... and Tamarra Coleman, former Executive Director of the Shalom Center and current CEO of the Racine YMCA. (The Shalom Center is one of the agencies that is part of this new online map.)

We speak with State Representative Robert Wittke, who represents the 63rd assembly district (which includes most of Caledonia and most of Franklin.) Our conversation includes his reflection on Governor Evers's proposed biennial budget.

Part One- Jeffrey Boutwell, author of "Boutwell: Radical Republican and Champion of Democracy." The author's distant ancestor George Boutwell was an important force for racial equality in the 19th century. He helped secure the Republican presidential nomination for Abraham Lincoln- assisted in the crafting of the 13th and 15th amendments- was a fierce defender of Reconstruction- led the charge for the impeachment of Andrew Johnson- and was a crucial advisor for President Ulysses S. Grant. Part Two: (from 2009) Howard Dotson, author of "Becoming American: The African-American Journey."

From 2009- John Lucas, author of "Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat: The Dire Warning- Churchill's First Speech as Prime Minister."

From 2008, Mary Roach discusses her book "Bonk! - The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex."

This interview was recorded this morning for broadcast next week - but because it concerns a theatrical production that is opening tonight, I want to share the interview as a supplement to today's podcast episode. The play is "Life is a Dream" by Pedro Calderon de la Barca, one of history's most notable theatrical masterworks. My guests: Neil Scharnick, Associate Professor of Theater and director of the production- Annaliese Ruhs, junior, who is assistant director- and Jessie Skonesey, junior, who is part of the cast. The play is performed this weekend and the following weekend.

This is the complete interview with Paul Beston talking about his book "The American Kings," which tells the story of seven American heavyweight boxing champions: John L. Sullivan, Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson. (An excerpt played on today's program.)

We preview the Racine Theater Guild's newest production, "And in this corner: Cassius Clay," which runs this weekend and the next. Shawn Holmes, director of the production, joins us - along with Aquil Ocacio, who is one of two actors portraying the title character. For part two, we replay an excerpt from an interview with Paul Beston in which he talks about his book "The American Kings," which examines the extraordinary legacy of American heavyweight boxing champions from John L. Sullivan to Mike Tyson.

From 2005- Award-winning teacher Ron Clark talks about his book "The Excellent Eleven: An Award-Winning Teacher's Guide to Raising Children Who Love to Learn."

We speak with Jennifer Charpentier, Executive Director of the Gateway Technical College Foundation.

We discuss the acute affordable housing shortage in our area with Ron Cronovich, Professor of Economics at Carthage College. He is the moderator for an event at Carthage on February 27th titled "Equity and Housing Development" that is sponsored by the Carthage Business and Professional Coalition.

Former FBI agent Mike German discusses his new book "Policing White Supremacy- The Enemy Within."

From 2003- Jeffrey Makoff, co-author of "Get Off the Fence: 10+1 Steps to Help You Make that Big Decision."

Kathleen DeLaski discusses her book "Who Needs College Anymore? - Imagining a Future Where Degrees Won't Matter." She contends that colleges and universities need to reinvent themselves for the 21st century and think beyond the standard model of granting degrees.

From 2002 - Rachel Simon discusses her memoir "Riding the Bus with my Sister: A True Life Journey." In this moving book, the author talks about her developmentally disabled sister who loved riding the city buses of their hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania. Rachel Simon took it upon herself to ride the buses with Beth in order to get to know her better.

From 2005- Doug Gordon, author of "The Engaged Groom: You're Getting Married! Read This Book! - Your Complete Wedding Guide."

Lindsay Jill Roth talks about her book "Romances and Practicalities: A Love Story (maybe yours!) in 250 Questions." Roth and her British boyfriend / eventual fiancee found themselves separated by thousands of miles for most of their courtship, so she compiled a list of questions with which the two of them could come to a deeper understanding of one another. She eventually realized that this array of questions could conceivably be of interest to others- and perhaps even helpful.

For Kailyn Palomares's February visit to the Morning Show, she is celebrating Valentine's Day a little early by bringing in Emily Porter, ecologist at Hawthorn Hollow, to talk about love and mating in the natural world.

We speak with Dr. Lynn Akey, Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. We talk about new programs at Parkside as well as the possibility of some major restructuring of the school.

We talk about a recent 15-day Carthage Study Tour of Cuba with Dr. Jeffrey Roberg and Dr. Maribel Morales Martinez - as well as two students, Loren Bucur and Claire Gunther, who participated in the trip.