Wgtd's The Morning Show With Greg Berg

In memory of Lois Van Dahm, who passed away earlier this month: This is a conversation that Lois and her husband Tom wanted to have with me about how they were taken in by somebody who - over the phone - pretended to be their grandson, begging for emergency financial assistance. They thought that by sharing their story, it might serve as a helpful cautionary tale for others. It struck me as an extraordinarily generous thing for them to do. (Part two of today's program featured an excerpt from a 2001 interview with the late Norm McPhee, longtime director of the Racine Theater Guild. That interview was shared in its entirety on the podcast this past Saturday, November 16th.)

From 2006 - David M. Oshinsky, author of "Polio: An American Story"

Norm McPhee, managing and artistic director of the Racine Theater Guild from 1969 to 2001, passed away on November 3rd at the age of 88. In his memory, we are replaying this Morning Show conversation recorded in the spring of 2001, right around the time of his retirement. Later this month, we will be airing a tribute to Norm McPhee in which a number of people who collaborated with him at the guild will share reminiscences about him.

Acclaimed sportswriter John Feinstein talks about his most recent book, "The Ancient Eight: College Football's Ivy League and the Game They Play Today." Also, from the archives, Don Snyer talks about his memoir "Walking with Jack: A Father's Journey to Become His Son's Caddie."

Kailyn Palomares's November visit to the Morning Show features Marty Johnson from the Wisconsin DNR. He is senior wildlife biologist at Richard Bong State Recreational Area in Kansasville. We talk about hunting in Wisconsin - the ways in which hunting is regulated - how hunting is an important means for managing wildlife populations - and other related topics.

Simon Parkin, author of "The Forbidden Garden- The Botanists of Besieged Leningrad and their Impossible Choice." This is an amazing story from World War Two concerning the Plant Institute in Leningrad and how the staff there valiantly safeguarded the archive of seeds from being plundered during the Siege of Leningrad. We follow up with Curzio Caravati, founder of KUFI Farm. (KUFI stands for Kenosha Urban Farming Institute.)

For Veteran's Day- I am sharing an interview that I recorded back in December 2003 with Craig Birkholz, a corporal in the U.S. Army who at the time was stationed in Iraq as a member of the military police ... and his mother, Gay Birkholz. Corporal Birkholz survived his deployment in the Middle East, but tragically, he was killed in the line of duty as a police officer in Fond du Lac in 2011. This interview is being shared on the podcast with the kind and generous permission of his mother.

From 2017 - Michael Leahy, author of "The Last Innocents: The Collison of the Turbulent Sixties and the Los Angeles Dodgers."

From 2010 - Stefan Klein, author of "Leonard's Legacy: How Da Vinci Reimagined the World."

From the archives: Jeff Pearlman, author of "Football for a Buck: The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise of the USFL." By the way, Donald Trump figures in this story.

Gary E. Parker talks about his newest novel "The Playbook" - which tells the story of a woman who is a high school football coach - and the intriguing and unlikely friendship that develops between two quarterbacks on the team.

We talk politics and recap the results of the presidential election with Dr. Jeffrey Roberg, Professor of Political Science at Carthage College .... and two students in his Campaigns and Elections course, Kaeleen Smith and Lorin Bucur.

From 2018- Historian and best-selling author Jon Meachem talks about his book "The Soul of America: The Battle for our Better Angels." It is tempting to say that America has never been more divided than it is right now- but in the book, he discusses how bitterly divided our nation has been at many points in its history.... and that division and conflict have been a part of our democracy right from the beginning.

We speak with Larry Ruttman, a 93-year-old attorney based in Boston who has developed a great love of classical music. His latest book is "Intimate Conversations: Face-to-Face with Matchless Musicians," a collection of interviews he was privileged to conduct with an array of fine performers, composers and conductors such as violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, mezzo soprano Susan Graham, and composer Matthew Aucoin.

Investigative reporter David Tereshchuk discusses his deeply personal memoir "A Question of Paternity: My Life as an Unaffiliated Reporter." The book is actually about his quest to learn the identity of his father.

From 2011- Erin Morgenstern, author of "Night Circus: A Novel."

From 2015- Mark Crispin Miller, a professor of media at NYU, talks about his internet project through Open Media called The Forbidden Bookshelf, which makes availability an array of controversial books that have either been suppressed or banned outright. The conversation includes a thought-provoking discussion about the notion of free expression of ideas and how limited it often is.

We talk about the Racine Theater Guild's production of "Little Women" with Lisa Kornetsky, the guest director of the production - which opened last weekend and runs for the next two weekends.

We talk with Rev. Debbie Hartfield and Dr. Richard Sjoerdsma about the 150th anniversary of Saint Mary's Lutheran Church in Kenosha - and preview a celebratory concert coming up on Sunday afternoon that will feature all of the church's music ensembles.

We preview Friday evening's concert by the Racine Symphony Orchestra with its artistic director and conductor, Pasqual Laurino.