Wgtd's The Morning Show With Greg Berg

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."

I speak with Dr. Kevin Crosby, Professor of Physics, Astronomy and Computer Science and director of the Space Sciences program at Carthage College, about the NASA-underwritten research in which he and a number of Carthage students are engaged. Joining him are four Carthage students: seniors Teagan Steineke and Semaje Farmer, junior Juliana Alvarez, and sophomore Owen Bonnett. Professor Crosby is also Director of the NASA Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium and is working as a senior scientist at NASA. He is also the Donald Hedberg Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship at Cartahge.

From 2002- Dr. Kathryn Stewart talks about her book "Helping a Child with Non-Verbal Learning Disorder or Asperger's Disorder: A Parent's Guide." Please note- in recent years there has been some movement away from discussing Asperger's as a 'disorder' versus a 'syndrome.' Many people working in this field now prefer to refer to someone with Asperger's as a person who needs to be understood rather than having a problem that needs to be fixed.

Keanon Lowe, author of "Hometown Victory: A Coach's Story of Football, Fate and Coming Home." The author was working for the San Francisco' 49ers when he decided to return to his hometown to assist with the football team at his old high school. That decision was propitious because it meant that he was in the school in May of 2019 on a day when a 19-year-old student entered the school with a gun. Lowe is the person who disarmed the gunman and then pulled him into a bear hug. This remarkable book is a memoir about all of that and more.

We talk with Joseph Tenuta, the Rogers Palmer Distinguished Professor in Business at Carthage College, about the Biz Starts Kenosha program that will begin at the Kenosha Innovation Neighborhood on Saturday, October 18th. This is a program designed to assist aspiring entrepreneurs; it includes 6 Saturday morning sessions with Carthage business faculty followed several months of followup and mentorship. The program explores such crucial matters as developing a viable business concept, designing a profit model, and successfully setting up operations. It's designed to give aspiring entrepreneurs the background, resources, and connections to successfully launch and sustain their new business.

We talk with Brian Gill - a member of the theater faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside - about their next theatrical production: an intriguing play by Anne Washburn titled "Mr. Burns: a Post-Electric Play." In this black comedy, the earth has been devastated by a catastrophe that has, among other things, destroyed the planet's power grid. The play imagines a small group of people deciding to re-enact an episode of "The Simpsons" - and how those re-enactments might change over time.

We explore the vast, exciting and disconcerting landscape of A.I. with David Eliot, author of "Artificially Intelligent: The Very Human Story of A.I."