Best-selling author Michael Perry. (He is appearing at the Racine Theater Guild on Saturday evening, Michael Perry.)

We speak with Dr. Jeffrey Weiss, superintendent of the Kenosha Unified School District, about the referendum on which Kenoshans will be voting on February 18th.

From 2007 - Dana Buchman, author of "A Special Education: One Family's Journey Through the Maze of Learning Disabilities."

From 2006- one of my favorite author interviews- David Standish, author of "Hollow Earth: The Long and Curious History of Imagining Strange Lands, Fantastical Creatures, Advanced Civilizations, and Marvelous Machines Below the Earth's Surface."

We introduce you to the new Poets Laureate of Kenosha and Racine ....... Nico Moore, poet laureate for Kenosha, and Mary Skillings and Thomas Carr, co-poets laureate for Racine. They will be meeting the public in an event coming up on February 22nd at Vintage & Modern Books in downtown Racine at 6:30 pm.…

Dr. Art Cyr - a monthly visitor to the Morning Show for more than twenty years- pays his first visit to the program in 2025. We discuss the closing days of the Biden administration and his decision to pardon members of his family .... the opening days of President Trump's second term, with an array of executive orders .... the legacy of former pres…

From 2003 - renowned science-fiction author Ben Bova talks about his novel "Saturn," which was part of his Grant Tour series, which depicted the human colonization of the solar system in the late 21st century.

From 2008- Jonathan Kozol, author of "Letters to a Young Teacher."

Alexis Fernandez-Preiksa, author of "How to Chase Change: Thirty Days to Master your Mindset."

Our guest is Dr. Dana Oswald, Professor of English, and Chair of the Department of Literatures and Languages at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. She is about to teach a free community course on Homer's "The Iliad." We talk about this iconic work - who may have written it and why - and what sort of lessons it teaches us all these years later.…

In honor of Martin Luther King Day: From 2014 or 2015 ..... Todd Purdum discusses his book "An Idea Whose Time Has Come: Two Presidents, Two Parties, and the Battle for the Civil Rights Act of 1964."

From 2009- Nancy Garfinkel, co-author of "The Recipe Club: A Tale of Food and Friendship."

In light of the catastrophic fires in southern California, we are re-sharing this interview with Daniel James Brown from 2006 in which he discusses his book "Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894." This was one of the most destructive fires in American history up until that point.…

We speak today with Wisconsin State Senator Robert Wirch, who has represented the 22nd senate district since 1997. We touch on a number of different issues, including funding for education , gerrymandering, and what to do with the largest monetary surplus in Wisconsin history.

For Kailyn Palomares's monthly visit to the program, she is joined by two fellow alumni from the environmental studies program at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside .... Tiffany Wagner and Maddy Kammerer .... for a discussion about what each of them is doing now.

One of our most noteworthy interviews from 2024: Craig Unger, author of "Den of Spies: Reagan, Carter, and the Secret History of the Treason that Stole the White House."

Carthage grad Mike Stoehrmann talks about the experience of being a contestant on WHEEL OF FORTUNE. (Mike's episode was telecast on New Year's Eve.) Mike is a high school science teacher in Romeoville, Illinois.

From 2012- Chris Paine talks about his documentary film "Revenge of the Electric Car," which examines the work of several different trailblazers .... including Elon Musk .... toiling tirelessly to bring electric cars into the mainstream. The interview was done just as the film was about to air on the PBS series Independent Lens. The film can now be…

Part One: - In celebration of what would have been Rod Serling's 100th birthday on December 25th, 2024, we speak with Anne Serling, author of "As I Knew Him: My Dad Rod Serling." Joining her is Marc Scott Zicree, author of "The Twilight Zone Companion," which has just been re-released in its third edition. Part Two: From 2020... Award-winning write…

From 2011= Susan Spangler, author and illustrator of the graphic novel "The Year of the Bird- True Stories in Pictures and Words."

One of our favorite interviews from 2024- Aime Alley Card, author of "The Tigerbelles: Olympic Legends from Tennessee State." The book chronicles the rise of the women's track team at Tennessee State in the 1950s, culminating in the spectacular successes of runners like Wilma Rudolph at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.…

We remember renowned folk singer and composer Peter Yarrow, who passed away earlier this week, by replaying a 2012 interview about his children's book based on his song "Puff, the Magic Dragon."

Part One: Beth Bush is the guest director of the Racine Theater Guild's newest production, Joe Di Pietro's "Over the river and through the woods," which opens this coming weekend. Part Two: (one of our favorite interviews from 2024)- We talk about the Cameron Boyce Foundation, created in memory of the child actor who died several years ago from com…

(Rescheduled) - This is a preview of next week's 3rd annual Carthage Arts Symposium, titled "Peace, Parity, a New Cold War?" which takes place next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday - January 14, 15, and 16. This is an interview with four Carthage faculty who are participating: Leslie Brothers, Visiting Assistant Professor and the current manager of …

One of our favorite interviews from 2024 (originally airing during Banned Books Week) ..... Karl Weber, author and editor of "Why Books Still Matter: Honoring Joyce Meskis: Essays on Books, Bookselling, and Publishing." Joyce Meskis was the founder of the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver, CO - one of the most famous independent bookstores in the …

(one of our favorite interviews from 2024) - David Lapp, co-founder of the group Braver Angels (originally known as "Better Angels) - which seeks to help people from different sides of the political divide to find ways to communicate with each other and come to a more thoughtful understanding of each other's perspectives. He came to Southeastern Wi…

(one of our favorite interviews of 2024) - Award-winning lyricist Sir Tim Rice (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Evita, Aida, etc.) The interview came right before the opening of a production of "From Here to Eternity" in Milwaukee.

(One of our favorite interviews from 2024) - Gerry Cooney, author of "Gentleman Gerry: A Contender in the Ring, a Champion in Recovery."

In memory of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who died on December 29th at the age of 100, we replay my 2005 conversation in which we talk about his book "Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis," which examines the importance of the separation of church and state. After that, we replay a 2021 conversation with Chuck Dalaklis, executive pr…

One of our favorite Morning Show interviews from 2024: Alexander R. Brash talks about his book"A Whaler at Twilight: A True Account of Whaling and Redemption." The book is based in large measure on a long-forgotten account written by his great-grandfather about his own experiences as a whaler.

From 2004 - Best-selling author of columnist Anna Quindlen talks about her book "Loud and Clear.

From 2010, journalist Jim Moret talks about his deeply personal book "The Last Day of my Life."

From 2013- actor and writer Eric Pierpoint talks about his book "The Last Ride of Caleb O'Toole."

From 2002- Deep sea photographer Paul Skerry talks about his book "Lost Subs: from the Hunley to the Kursk, the greatest submarines ever lost - and found."

From 2012- In another followup to Thursday's program, which featured a reunion of young men who had performed the title role of Menotti's Christmas opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors" with the Choral Arts Society over the years, we replay the 2012 interview with Nathan Engstrom, recorded just before he undertook the role. Also in the interview is …

In a follow-up to yesterday's Amahl reunion, we replay a 2002 conversation with one of those past Amahls - Michael Weideberg - along with Beth Bush, who portrayed his mother in that production, and Jeri Smith, who was the producer of the production.

From 2017 - a preview of what was a very special performance of Gian Carlo Menotti's Christmas opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors" by the Choral Arts Society - in which three past performers of the role of Amahl - Brett Angel, Michael Weideberg, and Nathan Engstrom - were invited to return to Racine for a special audience Q&A. All three participat…

From the archives: Bruce Littlefield, author of "Merry Christmas, America: Mega-watt Displays across the U.S.A."

From 2017- Martha Brockenbrough talks about her delightful children's book "Love, Santa - The Beautiful Truth About Santa."

From 2004 .... Catherine Scott-Clark talks about her book "The Amber Room: The Fate of the World's Greatest Lost Treasure."

In the wake of a tragic school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin, we are re-sharing a 2005 conversation with Katherine Newman, author of "Rampage: The Social Roots of School Shootings."

We remember John Stewig, who had a long and distinguished career in the field of library science with a specialty in children's literature. He helped to create the Center for Children's Literature at Carthage's Hedburg Library and served as director of the center from 2004 to 2014. This is a rebroadcast of our first conversation.…

We replay a 2013 conversation with Dr. Thomas Noer, long time history professor at Carthage, who passed away earlier this year. Carthage has created a special fund in memory of Professor Noer. In this interview, Professor Noer reflects on the legacy of John F. Kennedy.

From 2018- Curt Smith, author of "The Presidents and the Pastime: The History of Baseball and the White House." Smith's professional resume includes a stint as a presidential speech writer.

From the archives: Andrew Roberts, author of "Napoleon: A Life."

From 2022 - We speak with Dr. Laura Gellott, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, about her book Helen Perry Curtis and the European Trip of a Lifetime." Ms. Curtis was the author of "Jean and Me," which once upon a time was an extremely popular book for young readers- and a book that Professor Gellott dearly loved…

From 2021 - Livia Blackburne talks about her beautiful children's book "I Dream of Popo."

We speak with Eddie Williams III, a corps officer and pastor with the Salvation Army Racine Chapter and Community Center, about their famous Red Kettle Campaign. We also learn a little about the history of the Salvation Army.

From 2023- April Genevieve Tucholke talks about her children's book "Merry and Hark: A Christmas Story." It's based on the true story of a small owl that accidentally traveled into New York City with that year's Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.

In a startling role reversal, Gregory Berg is the guest .... interviewed by his longtime colleague Dave McGrath, WGTD news director - talking about the next Signature Spotlight Concert at the Racine Theater Guild which is co-hosted by Greg and his wife Kathy ..... called a Berg Christmas Special. Some family members as well as some of Greg's former…