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What It Takes

Academy of Achievement

Revealing, intimate conversations with visionaries and leaders in the arts, science, technology, public service, sports and business. These engaging personal stories are drawn from interview...

Episodes

20 of 230 episodes

Ashley Gorley: 12 Note Genius

He has written more #1 songs than anyone... 83 of them to be precise... most of them country. Ashley Gorley's songs have been recorded by ma...

00:47:02Oct 26, 2026

Katie Ledecky: The Call Of The Water

She sent shockwaves through the world of competitive swimming, when she won a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics, beating out the favorites by...

00:53:20Jul 20, 2026

Cindy Sherman: Illusions of Identity

Cindy Sherman, one of the world's most renowned contemporary art photographers, started posing for her own photos in the 1970's, long before...

00:42:14Apr 13, 2026

Tara VanDerveer: A Vision for Victory

She is one of the greatest basketball coaches in history, and an inspiration to generations of young women. Tara VanDerveer was head coach o...

00:50:26Nov 27, 2025

Billie Jean King: Racquet Revolutionary

She is a sports icon and a trailblazer for women. She won 39 Grand Slam tennis titles during her career, and she fought for equal pay and eq...

00:50:41Oct 27, 2025

Jane Goodall In Memoriam: A Dedicated Pursuit

As a girl in England, Jane Goodall dreamed of traveling to Africa to study animals in the wild. In 1960, that dream brought her to Tanzania,...

00:34:37Oct 2, 2025

Lotte Bjerre Knudsen: Shivering with Curiosity

Ozempic is one of the most important new medications in a generation. The driving force behind it is the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo...

00:59:20Jun 29, 2025

Gustavo Dudamel: The Power of Music

When he was just 26 years old, Gustavo Dudamel arrived from Venezuela to become conductor and music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic...

00:50:49Feb 22, 2025

BestOf(2024)_Johnny Cash: True To His Own Voice

Johnny Cash had a voice that could make a mountain quake. And his impact on the world of music is so legendary that this week a new 11 feet...

00:19:45Sep 28, 2024

In Memoriam_James Earl Jones: The Voice of Triumph

In honor of James Earl Jones, who has died at the age of 93, we bring you this encore episode. James Earl Jones had a voice like no other. I...

00:33:00Sep 10, 2024

In Memoriam_Edna O'Brien: Love, Loss and Literature

In honor of Edna O'Brien, who died this week at 93, we invite you to listen to this re-broadcast of our episode. Edna O'Brien's first novel,...

00:49:31Jul 30, 2024

Pete Townshend: Who I Am

One of the greatest and most admired rock n’ rollers of all time talks about his long and fascinating life in music. Pete Townshend, guitari...

00:58:38Jul 20, 2024

Willie Mays: For the Love of the Game_In Memoriam

We invite you to honor and celebrate the great Willie Mays, who died this week at the age of 93, by taking a listen to the stories he told a...

00:26:20Jun 21, 2024

Jeff Koons: Contemporary Art Phenomenon

Jeff Koons is one of the most successful artists of our time. For 40+ years, his iconic works have brought a sense of playfulness to museums...

00:44:52Feb 12, 2024

Best of (Nobel Prize Edition) - Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman: The Vaccine Revolution

The COVID-19 vaccine came out at warp speed because of the work of these two scientists. This week, they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Phy...

00:57:48Oct 2, 2023

Best Of - Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind

Gordon Lightfoot has died, at the age of 84. He spoke with the Academy of Achievement last year, and we featured that interview in an episod...

00:42:03May 2, 2023

T.J. Stiles and David Blight: The Epic Life

These two Pulitzer Prize-winning biographers have spent their careers delving into the lives of Americans who changed the course of U.S. his...

00:59:26Mar 27, 2023

Best of - Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding: Jazz Invention

Wayne Shorter was a legendary saxophonist and composer whose career began in the 1950's and spanned the development of modern jazz. Mr. Shor...

01:09:30Mar 3, 2023

Best Of - Neil Sheehan and David Halberstam: Truth Seekers

Fifty years ago today (January 27, 1973), the United States' military involvement in the Vietnam War came to an end, with the signing of the...

00:58:54Jan 27, 2023

Best Of - Maya Angelou (Part 2): In the Spirit of Martin

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we treat you to a re-broadcast of this episode from 2017. Maya Angelou and Martin Luther King Jr. we...

00:32:57Jan 16, 2023