Wgtd's The Morning Show With Greg Berg

The recent thefts at The Louvre in Paris brought to mind a past Morning Show conversation about Leonardo da Vinci and his most famous painting, the Mona Lisa, which is displayed at the Louvre. Bulent Atalay is the author of "Math and the Mona Lisa: The Art and Science of Leonardo da Vinci." This interview was recorded and initially broadcast in 2014.

Amy Neumann is founder and executive director of Resourceful Non-Profit, which assists other non-profit organizations and agencies in accessing technology (including AI) that can help them enhance their effectiveness. She is going to be the keynote speaker for the upcoming Non-Profit Leadership Conference at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside on November 12th.

Part 1- Best-selling author Tom Clavin talks about his latest book, "Running Deep: Bravery, Survival, and the True Story of the Deadliest Submarine in World War II." The book describes the crucial role played by American submarines in the Pacific Theater during World War Two (especially given the disaster suffered by the U.S. at Pearl Harbor and the way in which our naval forces were so badly compromised.) The book focuses particularly on the U.S.S. Tang, and its commander, Captain Richard Hetheringrton O'Kane- which sank more Japanese vessels and rescued more downed aviators than any other American submarine. Part 2- From 2010, Eric Blehm tells a story of heroism from the War in Afghanistan in his book "The Only Thing Worth Fighting For: How Eleven Green Berets Fought for a New Afghanistan."

We talk with Michael Clickner about the Racine Theater Guild's production of "Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors," which runs through November 9th. (He is the director of the production.) We also talk with Clickner about the 50 years that he has been active at the RTG in many different capacities.

We preview the next concert of the Belle City Brassworks with their artistic director, Doug Johnson. "Classical Brass" will occur this Sunday afternoon, November 2nd, at 3:00 - in the Frances Bedford Concert Hall on the campus of UW-Parkside.

In anticipation of the University of Wisconsin Parkside's Non-Profit Leadership Conference on November 12th, we talk with two of the organizers of the event ..... Crista Kruse, Director of Professional and Continuing Education at UW-Parkside, and Len Iaquinta, who has worked extensively in the non-profit sector for more than half a century. Beyond previewing the conference, we also talk about the exceptional challenges facing non-profit organizations and sectors today, some of the most significant principles of successful non-profits operate, and some of the intriguing ways in which the non-profit sector operates very differently from the profit-making world.

We speak with Marcus Watts, executive director of Racine Kenosha Vocational Ministry - and his predecessor, James Schatzman, founder and executive director emeritus. RKVM assists recently incarcerated persons in finding meaningful employment. Theirs is a methodical approach in which they work closely with their clients to help prepare them to flourish in the workplace.

In the wake of the sad news that PBS has had to cancel the documentary series American Experience, we are replaying some past interviews that previewed previous films in the series. From 2005, 20 years ago, is this interview with Barak Goodman in which he talks about his film "Kinsey," which examines the life and legacy of Alfred Kinsey and the sometimes controversial research which he conducted on sexual behavior. The film can be purchased on DVD - is currently available on YouTube - and may be available through the PBS app. {Goodman's most recent American Experience film, "Kissinger," airs Monday and Tuesday evening (Oct. 27 & 28.) My interview with Goodman about "Kissinger" aired Friday, the 24th of October.)

From 2012- Betsy Connor Bowen talks about her father's book "Back from Tobruk" - a memoir of his experiences as a volunteer ambulance driver during World War Two. Croswell Bowen's book was never published during his lifetime.

We speak with award-winning documentarian Barak Goodman about his latest film for the PBS series American Experience. "Kissinger" - a 2-part film airing Monday and Tuesday evening on PBS (including channel 10 in Milwaukee) - examines the life and career of Henry Kissinger, one of the most famous and controversial figures in the last sixty years. By the way, this appears to be the final film to air on the series; due to budget cuts, PBS has been forced to cancel American Experience. (Goodman is continuing to make documentaries that will air elsewhere.) Those of us who have loved this series over the years can only hope that it will return someday. <NOTE: I will be sharing of my other Barak Goodman interviews from over the years on upcoming episodes of the podcast.>

We speak with Martin McClendon about Carthage College's production of Will Eno's new adaption of Maurice Maeterlinck's classic play "The Blue Bird" as part of Carthage's New Play Initiative. The play will be performed for the next two weekends.

We talk about the production of Heathers: The Musical that is about to open at the Rhode Center for the Arts in downtown Kenosha. Our guests: Jordyn Lander, director ..... Chase Portner, assistant director/music director .... Abby Miller (Veronica)... and John Dicks (Jason "J.D." Dean.) The production opens this Friday night, October 24th, and will run through November 9th. The musical is based on the 1989 film "Heathers."

In honor of WGTD's upcoming 50th anniversary of being on the air, we speak with the station's first general manager, Gary Vaillancourt, who was at the helm when the station first went on the air in December 1975.

We speak with Dr. Matthew Restall, the Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of History and Anthropology and Director of Latin American Studies at Penn State University, about his latest book ...... "The Nine Lives of Christopher Columbus." Professor Restall examines not only what we know about Columbus and what he accomplished during his life, but also the enormous mythology that has sprung up around him and the sharp difference of opinion on whether he is someone who deserves our reverence or our scorn.

From 2011- Patrick O'Donnell talks about his book "Give Me Tomorrow: The Korean War's Greatest Untold Story: The Epic Stand of the marines of George Company."

From 2005 - John Vaillant talks about his book "The Golden Spruce"= which tells the sad story of the real-life destruction of a unique, golden-needled spruce tree in British Columbia back in 1997.

In memory of Dr. Jane Goodall, who passed away on October 1st at the age of 91, we are replaying this 2018 interview with Dale Peterson, her primary biographer (who also co-authored at least one book with her.) This particular book is titled "Ghosts of Gombe: a True Story of Love and Death in an African Wilderness." The book focuses on an incident that occurred at Gombe, where Goodall did most of her research on chimpanzees. (By the way, you might also seek out another book by Dale Peterson titled "Jane Goodall: The Woman who Redefined Man."

Part 1- Dexter Patterson, author of "Birds of the Great Lakes." He will be coming to Kenosha for a book signing Monday evening, October 20th at Blue House Books. Part 2- from the archives- Dan Koeppel , author of the memoir "To see every bird on earth: a Father, a Son, and a Lifelong Obsession." The author's father engaged for many years in what might be described as competitive bird-watching. By the end of his life, he had seen 7,000 different species of birds all around the world; at that time only ten people were known to have achieved that milestone.

We previewed Saturday night's concert by the Racine Choral Arts Society .... "Gospel Fusion" ...... with Jim Schatzman, the founder and artistic director of the group. Also participating- Pat Badger, associate director of the Racine CAS - and Ella Richardson, a member of the Greater Mount Eagle Baptist Church Choir, which is joining with the CAS in the Alpha Mass. She was a participant in the 1990 concert when Burleigh's Alpha Mass was first performed in Racine.

We speak with Lucas E. Morel and Jonathan W. White, editors of a new book called "Measuring the Man: The Writings of Frederick Douglass on Abraham Lincoln." The book is a comprehensive collection of essays, speeches and letters in which Douglass speaks of Lincoln and reveals his feelings for the man - feelings which evolved from frustration and near disdain to deep respect, reverence and even affection. For Part two, we replay a portion of a 2008 interview with John Stauffer about his dual biography "Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln."