Wgtd's The Morning Show With Greg Berg

Martin Puchner's book is "The Written World: The Power of Stories to Shape People, History, Civilization."  Puchner examines the critical role that language- and particularly written language- has played in human development and in human history.

KAFASI stands for the Kenosha Aging and Family Services Inc., a non-profit agency that offers an array of 16 different services through its professional staff and a not-so-small army of 600+ volunteers.   The agency is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.   Their services include Meals on Wheels, Transportation Assistance, Daybreak Respite Services (that helps caregivers caring for people with dementia) and other offerings for the elderly- as well as Parenting Classes,  Anger Management Seminars, Family Restoration and much, much more. 

Today's Morning Show is a special treat- a walking tour through the Kenosha Public Museum's spectacular new exhibit "From Curiosity to Science" with KPM executive director Dan Joyce and retired Director of Interpretation Nancy Matthews (who had a major hand in the mounting of the exhibit.)  The exhibit demonstrates how the so-called Curiosity Cabinets and Curiosity Rooms of the 16th and 17th centuries helped pave the way for the emergence of modern science.  In a special treat, the hour ends with a 2006 interview with Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computers, talking about his much-discussed memoir "iWoz."  

This is a conversation with best-selling author Earl Swift, whose latest book is titled "Chesapeake Requiem:  A Year with the Water Men of Vanishing Tangier Island."  This small island - located in the middle of some of the richest fishing waters in the world - is being rapidly engulfed by rising sea levels.  Swift got to know some of the hearty souls who still live there.

Frederic Law Olmsted is the gifted American who was responsible for designing New York City's Central Park as well as significant and beautiful parks across the country.   Justin Martin's illuminating book about him is titled "Genius of Place:  The Life of Frederic Law Olmsted."  

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Mark Obmascik's newest book is "The Storm on our Shores: One Island, Two Soldiers, and the Forgotten Battle of World War Two."  The island in question was Attu, one of the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska - and Japan's takeover of this remote island was the first time a foreign power had seized American territory since the War of 1812.  The book examines the island,  Japan's invasion,  and America's retaking of the island- coupled with the personal stories of two men caught on opposite sides of the conflict: an American soldier and a Japanese medical doctor. 

This interview is with Jacqueline Novogratz, author of "The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World."  She is the founder and CEO of the Acumen Fund,  a non-profit global venture fund that takes an entrepreneurial approach to solving the problems of poverty in Third World countries. 

This is an interview from 2010 with comedy legend Carl Reiner.  The occasion of this conversation was the publication of Reiner's children's book "Tell me a Scary Story .... but Not Too Scary!"   But the conversation covers every facet of Reiner's amazing career in show business.  

We celebrate the 150th anniversary of PEO - the Philanthropic Education Organization - which began inauspiciously in 1869 with seven women in Mount Pleasant, Iowa who wanted to help other interested women gain the educational opportunities that they themselves had experienced.  PEO has grown to become an organization with 6,000 chapters across the United States.  

Nan Calvert co-hosts a thorough discussion about Biochar,  which is actually an ancient process receiving new attention in which biomass (wood based waste) is converted by heat into a material that resembles charcoal but which has properties that allow it to dramatically improve soil, enhance crop yield, and even have a positive effect on reducing global warming.  The special guest for this program is Tom Marrero, co-owner of Wakefield Biochar.  

Dr. Art Cyr, Clausen Distinguished Professor of Political Economy and World Business and Director of the Clausen Center at Carthage College, pays his monthly visit to the program to offer his analysis on a number of current events and issues, including Brexit, the Mueller Report, the recent mayoral election in Chicago, and more. 

Dr. Mark Petering, Associate Professor of Music at Carthage College, talks about his career as a composer- and about his newest work "Cityscape," which receives its world premiere this Saturday night in a performance by the Kenosha Symphony Orchestra.   

Psychologist Laurie Helgoe's new book is called "Fragile Bully: Understanding our Destructive Affair with Narcissism in the Age of Trump."  In her book, Dr. Helgoe explains how narcissism can be manifested in many different ways- how all of us have some degree of narcissism in our personalities, and how at least a little bit of narcissism is a healthy and necessary thing-  and the many ways in which narcissism can become a terrible problem.  She even explores the notion of Collective Narcissism, in which narcissistic tendencies are not just felt and expressed by individuals- but also by large groups of people. 

Madeleine May Kunin served the state of Vermont for three terms as governor and was the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland during the Clinton administration.   Her newest book is titled "Coming of Age: My Journey to the Eighties."  

 Steven Solomon's book "Water: the Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization" examines the crucial role that access to water has played in the  rise, fall and ongoing fortunes of civilizations and cultures through history,  from Ancient Egypt to Ancient China - and how rising concerns about the world's clean water supply are raising vexing political and social questions all around the world.   This interview was recorded in 2009.  Solomon has written for Forbes, Esquire and Business Week and has been a commentator for NPR's Marketplace. 

From the archives comes an interview recorded in 2005 with Bob Cowser, an English professor at St. Lawrence University who also loves football - and returned to the game in middle age.  His book about that experience is titled "Dream Season: A Professor Joins America's Oldest Semi-Pro Football Team."  The book is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at semi-professional football, which fields hundreds of teams across the country.

Steven Brill's provocative book "Tailspin: The People and Forces Behind America's 50-Year Fall and Those Fighting to Reverse it" paints a picture of the United States in decline and divided not by left and right but rather by the protected and unprotected.   He also argues that certain shifts in American society in the 1960's have led to a deeply entrenched new aristocracy.  

Part One is a conversation about the Racine Heritage Museum and all that they offer- and about their upcoming fundraiser event called "Swing into Spring."  Part Two features Dr. James Kinchen, director of choral activities at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside,  talking about performances coming up on the next two Monday evenings - Schubert's Mass in G on April 8th and Faure's Requiem on April 15th.  

This is an interview with Pulitzer-Prize winning writer Matt Richtel,   author of "An Elegant Defense:  The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System:  A Take in Four Lives."   The book explores the nearly miraculous capacity of our body's immune system to ward off all sorts of threats - but also how difficult life can be when the immune system, in one way or another, goes awry.

My guest is Christy Wopat, author of a disarmingly honest and open memoir titled "Almost a Mother:  Love, loss, and finding your people when your baby dies."   She and her husband experienced the heartache of giving birth to premature twins that both died very shortly thereafter.   She chronicles her struggles to emerge from such a deep sorrow.   Wopat also writes a blog called "Um, You Guys."