What It Takes®

He is considered by many to be the greatest military strategist since Dwight D. Eisenhower. General David Petraeus was the man President George W. Bush turned to, four years into the War in Iraq, when it was clear that the war was failing dismally. Petraeus took command of "The Surge," completely changed the U.S. military's approach, and turned the war around. He then moved on to the War in Afghan...

Ballet changed course on the day that George Balanchine met Suzanne Farrell. It was 1960. He was 56. She was 15, and had just arrived in New York from small-town Ohio, with dreams of becoming a professional dancer. Within a couple of years, she would become the greatest ballerina of her generation, and muse to the greatest choreographer in history. Their collaboration at the New York City Ballet c...

This Pulitzer-Prize winning biographer began writing his first book when he was still in college (it earned the National Book Award), and he has devoted each of the last five decades to telling the life story of one 20th Century American giant: Charles Lindbergh, Woodrow Wilson, Katharine Hepburn, Samuel Goldwyn and Maxwell Perkins. Scott Berg tells some of the most fascinating stories from his su...

It’s a remarkable American story: a poor peanut farmer from the Deep South becomes a nuclear naval officer, then governor of Georgia, and finally President of the United States. And what Jimmy Carter has done for peace and human rights in the 40 years since leaving office is just as remarkable. The 39th president talks here about his early life in rural Plains, Georgia, where his deeply-held belie...

"Sledgehammer," "In Your Eyes," and "Red Rain" are some of the hits that made Peter Gabriel a rock superstar in the 1970's and 80's. Before he became a solo artist, he was already a star -- as lead singer of the band Genesis. But somewhere along the way, Peter Gabriel also became a political activist, particularly after his song "Biko" became an anthem of the anti-Apartheid movement. Since then, h...

If you're a senator, a military leader, or a business executive accused of wrongdoing, Brendan Sullivan is the lawyer you probably want to call. Sullivan is considered one of the greatest trial lawyers in the country, and has represented some of the most high profile defendants of the past fifty years, including Oliver North, Ted Stevens, and the Duke lacrosse players. But he began his career defe...

This is the story of a true original... a woman who dominated the extreme sport of dog sled racing for years, was a four-time winner of the Iditarod (the grueling, thousand-mile race across Alaska). Susan Butcher, a legend of the Alaskan frontier, died at the age of 51 from Leukemia, but at the peak of her career as a racer, she gave this revealing interview. In it, she explains why she chose to l...

Thirty years ago, Dr. Arnold had an idea: to breed molecules in the laboratory the way we breed animals - to bring out the traits we want in them. The molecules she was particularly interested in were enzymes, which are essential to life, and which she knew could be used to make environmentally friendly materials, including bio-fuels, cleaning products, and pharmaceuticals. Her idea worked right a...

He has been nominated for an Academy Award in every one of the past five decades, and won twice, for "Hannah And Her Sisters" and "The Cider House Rules". Fifteen year olds think of him as Alfred, Batman’s butler In the Dark Knight Trilogy. 85 year olds think of him as Alfie, the shameless womanizer in the iconic 1960’s film by the same name. In between Michael Caine has been i...

John Updike used his unique literary talents to peel back the layers of middle-class American life, exposing its less-than-placid exterior. He was one of the most prolific and esteemed American writers of his generation, who won two Pulitzer Prizes for his "Rabbit" novels but was as well known for his stories and essays and works of literary criticism. He talks here about his very beginnings in a...

The man who broke the sound barrier in the experimental Bell X-1, and ushered in the era of manned spacecraft, never saw a plane when he was growing up in the hills of West Virginia. But he became an ace fighter pilot in World War II, and later - an absolutely fearless test pilot, who managed to survive the most harrowing mishaps, with an unflappable calm and sense of duty. (c ) American Academy o...

He is one of the romantic singers of all time... with a voice people often compare to satin, to silk or to velvet. It's hard to describe, but you sure know it when you hear it. Johnny Mathis talks here about signing with Columbia Records at the age of 19 and about his life in music over the past 60+ years. He pays tribute to the African-American artists who paved the way for him. And he tells the...

He grew up next door to Oscar Hammerstein and became his greatest protege. In 1957, Sondheim wrote the lyrics for "West Side Story," and for the next 60 years dominated the world of musical theater. His shows include "Gypsy", "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," "Company," "A Little Night Music," "Sweeney Todd," "Sunday in the Park with George," "Into the Woods," and "Assassins." He p...

Two of America's greatest poets - both former Poet Laureates and Pulitzer Prize winners - get to the heart of why poems speak to us when other forms of language fail. They also share stories about the people who inspired them to make a life in literature. And they read some great poems, of course! (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2018

Man's relationship to mountain was forever changed by these two adventurers. Sir Edmund Hillary was the first person to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. A generation later, Reinhold Messner became the first person to reach it solo, and without oxygen. They each tell remarkable stories here of what drove them to the top of the world, and how it felt to be there. (c ) American Academy of Achievement...

We have Lord Martin Rees to thank for much of what we understand about black holes, quasars, and other distant objects in the night sky. He is England’s Astronomer Royal, and has spent the past fifty years looking deep into the past, to understand the origins of the universe. But for the past two decades he’s also been asking the most difficult questions about the future of humankind, a future mad...

This story is a testament to the power of one person to change the world. When civil war broke out in Liberia, Leymah Gbowee was 17 years old. Over the next fourteen years it would become one of the most vicious, deadly wars in history (One tenth of the population was killed.). One night Gbowee had a dream: to organize women to pray for peace. That dream led to a mass women’s movement and to some...

This Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist has covered wars and humanitarian crises in 70 countries, including Iraq, Libya & Afghanistan. She has been kidnapped twice and she’s been badly injured on the job, but she is determined to open our eyes to the state of the world and the human condition, no matter the risk. Lynsey Addario is a lively storyteller who brings emotion and humor to every tale...

The last time the United States had a grand military parade was in 1991, following the swift, crushing victory over Iraq in the Persian Gulf War. General Schwarzkopf was the commander of that war, and he was widely credited as the person responsible for restoring America's military might and its reputation, 20 years after the war in Vietnam. The interview featured here was conducted shortly after...

Inspiring tales and life lessons from two of the most legendary players in football history. One grew up the son of an NFL quarterback, and one the son of a farmer, but for both, the key to living out their greatest dream was simple: work, work, and more work. (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2018

When Elton John and Bernie Taupin met as teenagers, they were each talented and full of potential, but together, they were unstoppable. For over 50 years, with Taupin as lyricist and John as composer, they have created many of the most enduring songs in pop and rock n' roll. Taupin describes his decision to leave farm life to pursue his love of poetry and music, and he tells the story of how he an...

If you’ve ever dreamed of reinventing yourself, take inspiration from these three writers. Each one followed a traditional career path before turning the page to pick up pen & paper. Khaled Hosseini, once a doctor, became author of international bestseller “The Kite Runner.” Scott Turow, attorney at law, became the master of legal thrillers such as “Presumed Innocent.” And psychiatrist Charles Kra...

The look in a lion's eye, fixated on its prey... the sound of a hyena taking down a zebra foal... the tender ministrations of an elephant. For over 40 years, the Jouberts (National Geographic Explorers) have lived in some of the most remote places in Africa, capturing on film what other humans have never seen. They are in love with each other, and with their mission: to save big cats and other wil...

This is the story of a remarkable doctor who, in 1981, became one of the first scientists to recognize that we were on the verge of a new and terrible epidemic - HIV/AIDS - and then devoted his career to finding treatments for it. Dr. Fauci has been at the forefront of HIV/AIDS research ever since. Along the way, he also became the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases,...

This global icon of the concert stage was planning to become a doctor, but her voice was too powerful a force. Jessye Norman tells the story of falling in love with opera on the radio, and hearing Marian Anderson’s voice for the first time on a neighbor’s record player. And she describes growing up in the segregated South, with parents and teachers who encouraged her passions and her talents. Norm...