What It Takes®

Much of what we've learned over the past half-century about the ancient Egyptians, we've learned from these two archaeologists. They've both made major discoveries and have played a crucial role in protecting the pyramids and burial sites for future generations. Zahi Hawass is a National Geographic explorer, and once oversaw all of antiquities Egyptian government. But beyond that, he has drawn mil...

Colin Powell, who died on October 18, 2021, wore many hats during his distinguished career in public service, among them: Secretary of State, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and National Security Advisor. And he was the first African-American to hold each of those positions. When he joined the Army in the 1950's, though, his only ambition was to be a good soldier. It was beyond the realm of...

He had a voice that could make a mountain quake. And his impact on the world of music is legendary. As fans prepare to celebrate the arrival of a new Johnny Cash album -- recorded live in 1968 but never released -- we take a second listen to the very first episode of What It Takes.  You'll hear the deeply introspective Cash near the end of his career (1993). He reflects on how he overcame consider...

The 1960's, 70's and 80's brought about a revolution in the treatment of heart and kidney disease.  Dialysis, organ transplants, coronary bypass, open heart surgery and many other procedures that we think of as almost routine today - were created during those decades. Meet three of the important innovators who, between them, have saved millions of lives.  Denton Cooley performed the first human-to...

George Lucas’s only dream as a teenager was to race cars, but he went on to create the most popular films in motion picture history.  Along the way, while writing and directing Star Wars, Indiana Jones and American Graffiti, he learned life-changing lessons about humility, generosity, and the inestimable value of friendship…. as well as the secret to happiness.  A not-too-subtle hint here: it has...

She is one of the most recognized, respected and admired journalists in the world. Christiane Amanpour has covered just about every war and conflict of the past four decades and she has never shied from danger.  She talks here about the forces that shaped her: an unusual childhood in Iran, and the revolution that upended her family's life.  She describes the hard work and luck that landed her a jo...

Two decades ago, he rode into Afghanistan on a motorcycle with just three compatriots, hoping to overthrow the brutal Taliban regime. Against all odds, Hamid Karzai succeeded, and became president of his country for the next 14 years.  Just before he was formally chosen as president, he made an appearance at the Academy of Achievement's International Summit, and told the miraculous tale you'll hea...

James Michener was born to tell stories. He was one of the most popular and best-selling American novelists of all time… able to merge equal parts fiction, history, geography and culture into a perfect, page-turning blend. Here, he tells his own dramatic and mysterious life story, and he describes his very first venture into writing fiction, when he was stationed on an island in the Pacific during...

He’s a modern-day Captain Nemo - the person responsible for much of what we’ve learned about the Earth’s oceans over the past sixty years. He’s best-known as the person who discovered the Titanic and other historic shipwrecks. But his contributions to science and his dedication to exploration are what he’s proudest of. In the 1970’s Bob Ballard was one of the first people to explore the bottom of...

These three writers used the power of their pens to expose and explore man's inhumanity to man.  You'll hear the presentations they gave at the Academy of Achievement's International Summits.  South African novelist and anti-Apartheid activist Nadine Gordimer was the author of "Burger's Daughter" and "July's People", and she received the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature.  Playwright Athol Fugard, al...

On the morning of May 6th, 1954, Roger Bannister achieved what most people believed was not humanly possible: he ran a mile in  under four minutes. It is considered one of the greatest athletic achievements of all time, alongside Sir Edmund Hillary's ascent of Mt. Everest. Bannister was a medical student at the time. He had already been to the Olympics, two years before.  And he had spent eight ye...

These two choreographers have pushed dance in bold new directions and brought it to a much wider audience. Both Twyla Tharp and Justin Peck are classically-trained dancers who have created works for the ballet, for Broadway, and for the movies. Twyla Tharp, who is about to turn 80, is an icon of the dance world. She has spent six decades challenging ideas about how the body can move. In 1973 she c...

Coach K, as Mike Krzyzewski is best known, has had more wins than any other men's basketball coach in the NCAA... by a long shot.  He's also the proud owner of three Olympic Gold Medals, from his time caching the  USA Men’s National Team. Well, Coach K has announced that he is retiring, after four decades with the Duke University Blue Devils. And so we are revisiting this episode, which originally...

What makes us human? And how did we get here? It's only human to want to know. These two renowned paleo-anthropologists have unlocked enormous gaps in our origin story. Each of them discovered some of the most significant prehistoric bones ever found in east Africa. For Donald Johanson it was Lucy. For Richard Leakey it was Turkana Boy. These skeletons helped explain how, why and when our ape ance...

When the NBA playoffs come around each year, it's always worth revisiting the story of Bill Russell.  Russell was the force behind the most astonishing winning streak in the history of sports. His team, the Boston Celtics, won eleven NBA championships between 1957 and 1969, eight of those in a row. Russell changed the game of basketball, with his incredible speed, and his ability to block shots as...

A stunning assemblage of filmmakers who shaped cinema in the late 20th century: Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro and Robert Zemeckis. Their personal journeys are inspiring, unlikely, and at times - painful. They tell the stories here of how they fell in love with the movies as children, and how they single-mindedly pursued transforming that love into a career, often at the expe...

Willie Mays was featured in one of our very first episodes. We're taking a second listen today, to celebrate the legendary center fielder's 90th birthday (on May 4th). Baseball fans may argue to this day about which was the best of Willie Mays’ many spectacular catches, but nearly all agree — he was one of the most versatile, virtuosic players of all time. In this episode, featuring an intimate in...

There are only a handful of people who've won four Pulitzer Prizes. One of them is photo-journalist Carol Guzy. She has spent most of her life using her compassionate and creative eye to document the stories of people affected by violence, war and disaster in places such as Haiti, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Syria and Iraq.  But she's paid a steep personal price for doing her work. In this revealing epi...

Khan Academy may be the most revolutionary tool created for learning since the advent of pencil and paper. It is a critical educational equalizer - providing  1,000's of free online lessons in math, science, reading, economics and more, accessible to anyone, anywhere. During the pandemic school closures, it has become even more of a lifeline for millions of kids and teachers across the globe. Sal...

One of these tycoons changed the way businesses collect and use data.  The other transformed television and created the 24 hour news cycle. One was born the son of a successful businessman.  The other was born the son of a single teen mother, who gave him up for adoption.  One became a liberal activist and philanthropist. The other became a backer of conservative political candidates. One made bil...

Much of what we know about the universe, we've learned in the past 25 years. These three astrophysicists, all Nobel laureates, were key to unlocking some of its greatest mysteries, including that the universe is expanding at an ever-faster rate. (For decades, scientists were certain it was slowing down.)  Now they are poised to help us learn a whole lot more... starting this year, with the launch...

From the time she was nine years old, she knew she wanted to be on Broadway, but Audra McDonald has succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. She has earned six Tony Awards, more than any other actor. She stars in movies and television shows and operas. She tours as a singer, and has a recording career.  She may be the most versatile performer of her generation. But McDonald has had her struggles. She...

In the past few weeks, the U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp honoring playwright August Wilson, and Netflix released a film version of Wilson's celebrated play, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."  It stars Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman, in his final role.  That is why we were inspired to revisit this episode, which originally posted in 2017. It tells the story of two giants of American theater: Wilso...

No one could shmooze quite like Larry King. He turned it into an art, and turned himself into a legendary broadcaster.  He often didn't prepare for his interviews (more than 50,000 over the course of his career), instead engaging in curious, casual conversation that got his guests telling stories. But here you get to hear his stories... hilarious stories about growing up in Brooklyn, and about his...

Babe Ruth's home run record held for almost four decades.  But then Hank Aaron came along and smashed it.  On the way to making baseball history, Aaron persevered through poverty, segregation, racism, and threats on his life.  He talks here about joining the Negro Leagues, about playing through a period of transformation in America, and about helping to change the world by doing what he did best -...