Wgtd's The Morning Show With Greg Berg

From 2004-  Ellis Cose discusses his book "Bone to Pick:  on Forgiveness, Reconciliation, Reparation and Revenge."   

Dr. Bryan Albrecht, the president of Gateway Technical College, pays his monthly visit to the program.  With him will be Mary Burgoon from Rockwell Automation,  which has just established an exciting new partnership with GTC.  

We speak with Tom Cooper, author of "Doing the Right Thing:  12 Portraits in Moral Courage."    Cooper celebrates the ethical integrity and courage of twelve people in history - from Marie Curie to John F. Kennedy - who faced difficult situations and managed somehow to do what was right.  

From 2009:  something special for fans of Tabasco fans..... Jeffrey Rothfeder, author of "McIlhenny's Gold: How a Louisiana Family Built the Tabasco Empire."   <The interview that aired today on the Morning Show - with Dr. Michael Hansen - was shared as a podcast back on Saturday, August 29th.> 

In this bonus podcast,  you'll hear my conversation with a talented young man named Nicholas Daly, born and raised in Kenosha and now a sophomore at the University of Michigan. He was recently named the grand prize winner of Playbill magazine's Search for a Star Contest, in which he triumphed over a field of 2,700 singers from across the country.  In the interview, Nick also shares about the experience of participating in the protests in Kenosha following the shooting of Jacob Blake.   

From 2014 comes an especially thought-provoking conversation about race and racism - and about the racist attitudes that many of us may be harboring without even knowing it.  Debby Irving's book is titled "Waking Up White- and Finding Myself in the Story of Race."  

From 2006-  Gary Pomerantz, author of "Wilt, 1962:  The Night of 100 Points and the Dawn of a new Era."   The book showcases the night of March 2, 1962 when the legendary Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single NBA game- an accomplishment that has never been equaled - and (almost certainly) never will be. 

This is the oldest interview in the Morning Show archives.  This conversation dates back to 1987,  in the days when WGTD was a free-standing affiliate of NPR - and responsible for doing its own fundraisers.   In those days,  nationally-known hosts from NPR would come to Kenosha to be part of our fundraisers.  In 1987,  we welcomed into our studios Bob Edwards,  the original host of NPR's Morning Edition.   Bill Guy was the original host of The Morning Show.

We talk with the co-creators of the new podcast Read More Plays, which drops its first episode on Monday, September 7th.   

CBS News Journalist Wesley Lowery talks about coming to Kenosha to speak with the family of Jacob Blake- and to do the first interview with Raysean White, the man who took the video recording of the shooting of Jacob Blake and shared it with the world.   The interview is part of the latest episode of "60 in 6," which streams on Quibi and is also available on Quibi's YouTube channel. 

In her book "Prisoners of the Empire: Inside Japanese POW Camps,"  author Sarah Kovner explores why many Allied prisoners of the Japanese were treated so brutally while many others were treated quite humanely.    Why the wide variance?   And when it came to those situations where POW's were treated brutally,  why was that the case?  It turns out that some of the reasons are surprising.  

Dr. Debra Ford,  Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, offers her thoughts on recent events in Kenosha ... UW-Parkside's ongoing efforts on anti-racism and inclusion .... and also talks about the school's efforts to open the fall semester with a combination of virtual and in-person learning as safely as possible during this time of COVID-19.    (Today is the first day of fall classes at Parkside.)   

Dr. John Swallow, the president of Carthage College, offers some thoughts on recent events in Kenosha-  outlines Carthage's Anti-Racism Plan of Action -  and also updates us on the school's plans for the fall semester and the precautions that are being taken to try and keep the students, staff and faculty safe from the threat of COVID-19.  (Classes begin tomorrow, September 2nd, but entirely virtual.) 

In the wake of recent events in Kenosha,  we are replaying this conversation from earlier this year with Margaret L. Anderson, author of "Getting Smart About Race:  An American Conversation."  Among other things,  Anderson's book explores some of the history of the very concept of race- some of the ways in which ideas and attitudes about race have been a complicating factor in our country's history-  and some of the challenges tied up in talking about race.   

We believe this interview from the archives dates back to 1997 or 1998.  At the time of this interview, Marla Greenspan (now Marla Polley) worked in Carthage's Advising Center.  (She left in the early 2000's but is now back at Carthage and teaching there.)  Much has changed in the world - and in the world of education - since this interview was recorded, but some of the pressures and challenges remain the same.  Because Marla shared such important and intriguing insights, and in her uniquely entertaining way, I decided to replay this interview as another college school year begins. 

Dr. Michael Hansen is a member of the Political Science faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.  In this conversation recorded on August 21st, Dr. Hansen talks about some of the intriguing research he is doing on the wide variation in how counties across Wisconsin share information with the public through their respective websites.   Back in late April, he studied the sharing of COVID information county-by-county throughout the nation.   <This interview was originally scheduled to be broadcast on Friday, August 28th- but was postponed because of events in Kenosha.>

We discuss this week's turmoil in Kenosha with Jennifer Cobbina, Professor of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University,  author of  "Hands up!  Don't Shoot!  Why the Protests in Ferguson and Baltimore Matter, and How They Have Changed America."  

Dr. Art Cyr, Clausen Distinguished Professor of Political Science/ World Economy and Director of the Clausen Center at Carthage College.

Part One of today's program features Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Jon Meacham, talking about his newest book-  "His Truth is Marching On:  John Lewis and the Power of Hope."   John Lewis, one of the most inspiring figures in the Civil Rights movement,  died on July 17th.  My conversation with Meacham was recorded on Tuesday with the city of Kenosha engulfed in unrest over the shooting of Jacob Blake.  

Today is the monthly visit of Bryan Albrecht, the president of Gateway Technical College, who begins by weighing in on the turmoil in Kenosha over the last several days.  His guest is Patrick Fennimore,  director of facilities for the Kenosha Unified School District.   They discuss the challenges being faced by KUSD as it prepares for the beginning of the fall semester - and how those preparations have had to change in the wake of the School Board's decision last week to shift from all-virtual to a hybrid of virtual and in-person learning.