We preview an Independent Lens documentary airing tomorrow night titled "Free For All," which chronicles the history of public libraries in the United States and highlights some of the people who have figured most prominently in that history. The film also celebrates the many ways in which public libraries have been called upon to transform themsel…

For National Autism Awareness Month, we replay this 2007 conversation with J. Elder Robison, talking about his memoir "Look me in the eye: My Life with Aspberger's."

From 2010- W. B ruce Cameron talks about his best-selling novel "A Dog's Purpose

We preview three different musical events happening this weekend: the University of Wisconsin-Parkside orchestra concert Saturday afternoon .... the Racine Symphony Orchestra Saturday night ..... and the musical "Head over Heels" at Carthage College.

For Holocaust Remembrance Day.... here is my complete interview with Alexandra Zapruder, author and editor of "Salvaged Pages: Young Persons' Diaries from the Holocaust."

For Holocaust Remembrance Day - here is a portion of my 2002 interview with Alexandra Zapruder, author and editor of "Salvaged Pages: Young Persons' Diaries from the Holocaust." The book presents 15 diaries that are somewhat comparable to the famous diary of Anne Frank. Each of them offers a unique and compelling account of what it was like to live…

Ross Benes talks about his newest book, "1999: The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarted our Bizarre Times." The book examines the dramatic emergence of the Jerry Springer Show, Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation, the video game Grand Theft Auto, and other examples of what Benes refers to as 'low culture.'…

In honor of Earth Day ..... Part One: (from 2022) Carole Douglis, co-author (with Peter Fiekowsky) of "Climate Restoration: The Only Future That Will Sustain The Human Race." Part Two: (from 2024) Eric Schaeffer, founder and director of the Environmental Integrity Project, which monitors the work of the EPA.…

From 2012 - artist Christian Patchell talks about his book "I put the 'Can' in Cancer."

From 2015 ---- We speak with Gary Stamm, a well-known local actor in community theater productions both in Racine and Kenosha, and a frequent guest on the Morning Show. In this instance, we spoke with Gary Stamm about the experience of being a contestant on the Food Network program "Chopped" - a special episode in which all of the contestants were …

From 2001- We speak with Dan Schowalter, a former member of the religion faculty at Carthage College- and three distinguished theology professors who came to Southeastern Wisconsin for an event titled "Ancient Gospels and the Modern Church" ..... J. Andrew Overman (Macalester College), Stephen Patterson (Willamette University), and Helmut Koester (…

From 1999 - A conversation about the American Boy Choir, which at the time was one of the premiere choral organizations in the country. The guest, Greg Lyne, was a former member of the ensemble. (At the time of this interview, Mr. Lyne was on the staff of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America - …

In honor of National Poetry Month, we are replaying a 2001 interview with Rebecca Presson Mosby, one of the editors of "Poetry Speaks" (from Source Books in Naperville, IL)- which includes a companion compact disk recording in which one can hear historic recordings of famous poets of the last century reciting their own poetry. (We play excerpts fro…

Dr. Ron Cronovich, Professor of Economics at Carthage College, talks about Tariffs: What are they? How do they work? Are they good or bad? (Is that the right question to ask?) What is the primary motivation behind President Trump's policy on tariffs? What does it mean to have a Trade Deficit with another nation? Is that good or bad? What are the in…

Dr. Art Cyr, a member of the faculty of Carthage College - and a monthly visitor to the Morning Show - joins us to share his perspective on a variety of topics and concerns. In this particular conversation, we discuss President Trump and his tariff proposals .... Senator Chuck Schumer and his decision to work with Republicans to pass the stopgap sp…

Ronald Gruner talks about his fascinating new book COVID Wars: America's Struggle Over Public Health and Personal Freedom," which examines the painful divide in the American public over the COVID-19 pandemic and our national response to it. The book also examines how that same divisiveness was evident to varying degrees in past epidemics and pandem…

From 2003- A discussion of the book "Who's Buried in Grant's Tomb: A Tour of Presidential Gravesites" with Richard Norton Smith, one of the contributors to the book.

From 2013 .... Lori Hartwell discusses her book "Chronically Happy: Joyful Living in Spite of Chronic Living." Hartwell has lived for most of her life with chronic kidney disease. She is the founder and president of the Renal Support Network .... and co-host of "KidneyTalk," a biweekly webcast centered on issues related to CKD.…

We speak with Amy Greil, executive director of the Kenosha Community Foundation, about the ongoing work of the KCF. Also in the conversation is John Kuehl, great nephew of local philanthropist Grace Kolakowski. Kuehl worked with Greil to set up a fund within the KCF to support the Kenosha Symphony Orchestra.…

Today's Morning Show began with Nakeyda Haymer, Racine County Violent Crime Reduction Coordinator- and Wisconsin lead for the group Voices of Black Mothers United, which is comprised primarily of women who have lost children (or in the case of Ms. Haymer, her beloved brother) to gun violence. Haymer talks, among other things, about an event happeni…

For Kailyn Palomares's April visit to the Morning Show, we discuss the Pike River Restoration Project with Samanthan Kerkman, Kenosha County Executive .... Daniel Gashke, Vice Chair of the Kenosha County Board .... and Dave Giordano, Executive Director of Root Pike WIN.

BONUS - We speak with two musical theater graduate students at Carthage College, Lucas Burr and Chynna Chung, who are part of a production of the musical "Next to Normal" that is being performed this coming weekend at the Rhode Center for the Arts in downtown Kenosha. Lucas is the music director, Chynna is the costume designer, and both of them are…

Leslie Ehm talks about her book "Swagger: Unleash Everything You Are and Become Everything You Want." She is using the word 'swagger' a bit differently than we tend to use it in everyday speech. She sees it as an essential quality for making our way through the world successfully and joyously.

Jason and Erica Redman talk about their book "Mission: Invincible Marriage- A Battle-Tested Guide to an Enduring Relationship." Jason Redman is a former Navy SEAL who was seriously injured during his deployment in Iraq. Their marriage endured through that incredibly difficult period.

From 2011- paralegal and environmental activist Erin Brockovich talks about the novel "Hot Water" that she co-authored with C.J. Lyons.

From 2017 - best-selling author Don Winslow talks about his novel "The Force."

We began today's Morning Show with Tyler August, Wisconsin State Representative for the 31st Assembly District (in Walworth County) and the current Majority Leader for the State Assembly. Our interview includes a conversation about Governor Evers's proposed state budget and the republicans' response to it.…

From 2012 - Benjamin and Christopher Wagner talk about their documentary film about Fred Rogers, "Mr. Rogers and Me."

From 2019- Sarah Steward Holland and Beth Silvers, co-hosts of the podcast "Pantsuit Politics" and author of "I think you're wrong- but I'm listening: A Guide to Grace-filled Political Conversation." These two friends are from opposite sides of the country's political divide but have found a way to be respectful of each other's political views.…

We speak with writer Samuel Ashworth about his novel "The Life and Death of August Sweeney." The title character is a famous (and infamous) TV chef .... the other main character is the doctor who is performing his autopsy and seeking to learn more about how he died- and, more importantly, how he lived. The story lines of these two character interse…

Dr. Thomas Carr (Carthage College) , who is co-Poet Laureate for Racine, talks about the Poetry for Dinosaurs program he created in January. With him is Andrew Goebel, a volunteer assistant, and Nick Ramsey, who is part of the steering committee for the Poets Laureate project for Kenosha and Racine.

Today's program features both a newly-recorded interview and an interview from the archives- both concerning the so-called Red Scare in the years following World War Two. First is New York Times reporter Clay Risen talking about his book "Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America." The book examines the nature of the Red …

From 2009- Andrei Cherny discusses his book "The Candy Bombers: The Untold Story of the Berlin Airlift and America's Finest Hour." The book chronicles the extraordinary and inspiring story of how a small group of Americans planned and carried out the airlift to the beleaguered citizens of West Berlin during the Soviet blockade of that city.…

My guest is Scott Coey, who is a social studies teacher at Bradford High School in Kenosha - and a member of the school board for the Racine Unified School District. We talk about the operational referendum that is going before Racine voters on Tuesday, April 1st- and then talk about his career in education, what led him to become a teacher, and th…

In an interview dating all the way back to the late 1990s, I speak with a sensational local basketball player by the name of Sonja Henning - a graduate of Racine's Horlick High School - who was at the time the all-time leading scorer among Wisconsin high school girls basketball players. She went on to play professionally. She is now a practicing at…

From 2019 - Dave Cullen talks about his book "Parkland: Birth of a Movement." His book chronicles how a number of students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida responded to the horrific mass shooting at their school by creating #Never Again MSD .... and eventually March For Our Lives. It was their way of working through the …

Part 1 of today's Morning Show is a newly recorded interview with Hope Larson in which she talks about "Very Bad at Math- a Very Graphic Novel." Her main character is an otherwise successful high school student who struggles terribly with math. It turns out that she - like the author- suffers from a condition called Dyscalculia (similar to Dyslexia…

We preview the Kenosha Unified School District's pilot production of the musical "The Prince of Egypt" with Kristen Singer, who is both the stage director and the costume designer for this production. The performances are this weekend.

We preview this weekend's performances of "Terminal Exhale," the latest iteration of Carthage's Verbatim Theater Project. This particular production shares stories from frontline healthcare workers and what it is like for them to interact with victims of gun violence. (There is also an event happening at Carthage Saturday afternoon called "Healing …

From 2013 - Maggie Stuckey talks about her book "Soup Night: Recipes for Creating Community Around a Pot of Soup."

We preview the next installment in the PBS documentary series AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: "Change, not Charity- the Americans with Disabilities Act." Our guest, Chana Gazit, is the writer and producer of the film, which airs tonight (Tuesday the 25th of March) on PBS stations across the country, including channel 10 in Milwaukee.…

For Women's History Month- from 2012, we talk with Virginia Scharff, Professor of History at the University of New Mexico, who was one of the participants in an American Experience documentary about Annie Oakley, one of the most remarkable American women of the 19th century and one of the most famous figures out of the Old West.…

Jeffrey Toobin, author of "The Pardon: The Politics of Presidential Mercy." Toobin explores why the founding fathers gave the U.S. president such sweeping powers to extend pardons - and how this authority has been used over the years.

This interview is undated but was recorded more than fifteen years ago. It features two noteworthy women from Kenosha .... acclaimed children's author Florence Parry Heide and renowned artist Nan Pollard.

From 2008 - Diane Ackerman talks about her book "The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story" - an amazing but true resistance story from World War II.

From 2016- Susan Quinn discusses her bestselling book "Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair that Shaped a First Lady." The book is an illuminating examination of the close and intimate friendship between Eleanor Roosevelt and journalist Lorena Hickok. (for Women's History Month.)

For Kailyn Palomares's March visit to the Morning Show, we speak with Brandon Gross, president of the Root River Chapter of Wild Ones, a national organization that encourages the creation of native habitats and the growing of native plants. The local chapter's Native Plant Sale is currently underway (the deadline for placing orders is April 1st.)…

We remember sportswriter John Feinstein, who passed away last week at the age of 69. A long-time sports commentator for NPR, Feinstein also authored 44 books. It was my pleasure to speak with Mr. Feinstein on eight different occasions over the course of more than 20 years. Here are two of those interviews. Part One: "The Ancient Eight: College Foot…

My guest is Wayne Gustave Johnson, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, talking about his memoir "The Iowa That Was: Memories of an Iowa Boy Turned Philosopher." Johnson grew up in rural Iowa in the 1930s in a farmhouse without electricity or running water. The book is an illuminating look at a bygone era.…

We spend most of the program with State Representative Tip McGuire, who represents the 64th assembly district. We finish out the hour with Tom Segev (2007) talking about his book "1967: Israel, the War, and the Year that Transformed the Middle East."