Wgtd's The Morning Show With Greg Berg

In honor of the Olympics currently underway in Paris, France- we replay this 2007 interview with Kristin Espinasse, author of 'Words in a French Life: Lessons in Love and Language from the South of France."

Rocco Constantino talks about his book "Beyond Baseball's Color Barrier: The Story of African Americans in Major League Baseball- Past, Present and Future."

We speak with Sue Smith and Jayne Herring, two members of the Racine Art Guild, about the group's annual Starving Artist Fair, which is coming up this Sunday, 9 am to 4 pm, on the grounds of the DeKoven Center. Sue is president of the Racine Art Guild- Jayne is a member and the coordinator of the fair. 130 artists will be showing their work.

We talk about an amazing Carthage theater trip to NYC that occurred earlier this summer. We speak with Herschel Kruger and Maureen Kruger, two members of the theater faculty who chaperoned the trip- and Maria Romero and Lorelai Amborn, 2 of the 19 Carthage students who participated. The trip involved seeing an array of plays and musicals on Broadway- and the students also managed to visit some important tourist attractions.

Rachelle Winkle-Wagner talks about her newest book "The Chosen We: Black Women's Empowerment in Higher Education." She spoke with well over a hundred black women who graduated from college between 1954 and 2014, and asked them about how they were able to deal with some of the barriers and bigotry that was part of their experience. One of her previous books was "The Unchosen Me: Race, Gender and Identity among Black Women in College."

We discuss a new work titled "Toward Justice" which celebrates the Equal Protection Clause in the U.S. Constitution. It will be performed tomorrow (Tuesday) evening at the Civil War Museum in Kenosha. Julia Nowicki, a former attorney and judge, wrote the libretto for the work - and also plays cello in the Prairie String Quartet. Ben Woods, a talented young man who now works for the Kenosha Unified School District, is the work's narrator. We finish out the hour with an excerpt from a past interview with historian Donald C. White, talking about his book "Lincoln's Greatest Speech," a fascinating examination of his second inaugural (a portion of which is utilized in "Toward Justice.")

From 2018 - This is my memorable interview with writer Matthew Paul Turner - talking about the experience of finishing a beautiful children's picture book by Rachel Held Evans titled "What is God like?" after that renowned author unexpectedly died before she had completed what turned out to be her final book.

From 2018- Rachel Simmons, author of "Enough as she is: How to help girls move beyond impossible standards of success to live healthy, happy and fulfilling lives."

This is the unabridged 2021 interview excerpted on today's broadcast with former Olympian Jordan Windle (who placed 9th in the 10-meter platform at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics) and his father Jerry - who adopted Jordan from a Cambodian orphanage.

This is the full 2021 interview (excerpted on today's MS broadcast) with Jeremy Fuchs, author of "Total Olympics: Every Obscure, Hilarious, Dramatic, and Inspiring Tale Worth Knowing."

In honor of the Olympic Games in Paris, which officially open tonight, we are sharing excerpts from four archival interviews related to the Olympics. The first two interviews are with Olympic athletes. Part 1 is a conversation with diver Jordan Windle, who finished 9th in the 10-meter platform event at the 2020 Olympics. (His father Jerry is part of the interview as well.) Part 2 features the identical twin brothers Paul and Morgan Hamm, who were part of the U.S. men's gymnastics team that won silver at the 2004 Olympics - with Paul winning the all-around gold medal. The third interview is with filmmaker Margaret Grossi, talking about the American Experience film "The Boys of '36" which tells the amazing story of the American rowing team that won unexpected Gold in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The fourth and final interview is with Jeremy Fuchs, talking about his book "Total Olympics." (Several of these interviews will also be available in their entirety.)

Dr. Art Cyr, professor of political economy at Carthage College, pays his monthly visit to the program with a discussion that touches on President Biden's decision to withdraw from the current presidential race, the assassination attempt against former president Donald Trump, and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's fiery address to the U.S. Congress.

Randy Fertel is the author of "Winging It: Improv's Power and Perild in the Time of Trump." The book explores improvisation as it plays out not only on the theatrical stage or in the musical performance .... but in nearly every facet of our lives: in our romantic relationships and friendships, in the workplace, on the athletic field, and - quite dramatically - in the political arena.

Mike DeWitt is a former All-American race walker- former coach of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside- and current coach of Case High School in Racine. The top three race walkers in women's race-walking at the most recent Olympic Trials were all coached at one time by DeWitt. Sadly, the U.S. track team will not be participating in race walking in the upcoming Olympic Games ..... the first time this has happened since 1904. DeWitt explains the factors that led to this. We also talk about the sport of race-walking itself and its challenges.

We're joined by three guests from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside: library director Anna Stadick, associate biology professor Jessica Orlofske, and graduate student Skylar Johnson. The Parkside library is participating in the Great Lakes Great Read and also presenting Freshwater Fun Day at the Petrifying Springs Park Biergarten. The event will include a Touch Table in which people can have close encounters and learn about aquatic insects.

From 2006 - My conversation with the late, great Bob Newhart, who passed away this past Thursday at the age of 93.

From 2009- Jennifer 8 Lee talks about her book "The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food."

From 2008- Steven Landsburg, author of 'More Sex is Safer Sex: The Unconventional Wisdom of Economics." The book outlines what happens when he apply basic tenets of economics to various aspects of our daily lives and societal issues. Landsburg writes for Slate.

In a departure from our published schedule- we replay an archival interview with Ransom Jackson, who played major league baseball in the 1950s with the likes of Jackie Robinson and other immortals. Jackson's memoir is titled "Handsome Ransom Jackson: Accidental Big Leaguer."

Kailyn Palomares's July visit to the Morning Show was with Dr. Jim Stute, former research director at the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, part-time farmer, crop advisor, and member of the Board of Directors for the Watershed Protection Committee of Racine County. We talk with him about Regenerative Farming, which includes the utilization of cover crops, farming without tilling the soil, and more. He also talks about why it's important to talk about soil 'health' rather than soil 'quality.'