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 no player had done before. When he took over as coach of the Celtics (while still playing on the tea...
May 17, 2021•35 min•Ep. 164
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 expense of their personal lives. (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2021
May 03, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 163
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 interview with Mays recorded in 1996, the Hall-of-Famer talks about growing up in segregated Alabama, ...
Apr 26, 2021•29 min•Ep. 162
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 episode, she talks candidly about the PTSD, depression and lung damage that she struggles with. She desc...
Apr 12, 2021•47 min•Ep. 161
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 Khan, the founder of Khan Academy, talks here about growing up in Louisiana as a first-generation Ame...
Mar 29, 2021•51 min•Ep. 160
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 billions. One made tens of billions. But what connects Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, and Ted Turner, f...
Mar 15, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 159
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 of the James Webb telescope. John Mather, Adam Reiss and Saul Perlmutter talk here about what drew th...
Mar 01, 2021•57 min•Ep. 158
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 talks here about her incredible career, and about she's always carved a path forward by choosing the ...
Feb 15, 2021•46 min•Ep. 157
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: Wilson, and his longtime collaborator, director Lloyd Richards. Together they brought many award-winning pl...
Feb 08, 2021•43 min•Ep. 156
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 earliest days breaking into radio and television. (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2021...
Feb 01, 2021•40 min•Ep. 155
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 - swinging that bat. Mr. Aaron died on Friday, at the age of 86. This episode was originally posted in J...
Jan 23, 2021•46 min•Ep. 154
These two brave reporters risked their lives and their reputations during the war in Vietnam, to reveal the truth to the American people about what was happening there. Both describe here - how and when they realized the United States government was lying about the causes and the scope of the war. And both eloquently explain their views on the role of the journalist as a witness and an adversary of government. Neil Sheehan, who died earlier this month, also talks about his role in exposing the P...
Jan 18, 2021•57 min•Ep. 153
Most Americans simply could not believe their eyes this week, when a violent mob staged an insurrection in the US Capitol. It was the kind of thing that happens in other countries - where the transfer of power isn't peaceful, and where democracy does not hold. Well that reminded us of one of our first episodes, featuring Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan. Bhutto descended from a political dynasty. Her father was ousted as prime minister, and killed in a coup - in 1977. She survived a coup attempt years...
Jan 11, 2021•31 min•Ep. 152
He's one of the greatest all-time directors of Shakespeare, and has directed every one of the Bard's plays. But he's also directed 34 shows on Broadway, including "Cats" and "Les Miserables", and more yet on London's West End. Trevor Nunn has been the Artistic Director of both the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the National Theatre. And at 80, this British cultural icon of the theater is still going strong. He talks here about his mysterious infatuation with theater at a very early age, in a work...
Dec 28, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 151
There's no mistaking Judy Collins' voice. She sang us through the 1960's and '70's, and hasn't stopped since. Today at 81, her voice is still strong and gorgeous. It reveals no signs of the struggles she has survived: depression, alcoholism, polio, tuberculosis, threatening injuries to her vocal chords and hands, and the suicide of her son. In this interview she talks frankly about how she carried on through these tragedies, and she eloquently describes how she knows when a song is right for her...
Dec 14, 2020•55 min•Ep. 150
Three remarkable novelists, from very different backgrounds, peel back the curtain on how they write, why they write, and what they write. Arthur Golden is the author of Memoirs of a Geisha , the only book he's written, and a longtime bestseller. He describes why he rewrote the book three times before he got it right, and explains how he successfully gave voice to a character so unlike himself. Carol Shields is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Stone Diaries , and many other novels and pl...
Dec 01, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 149
In celebration of painter Wayne Thiebaud's 100th birthday, we feature a conversation with the artist and with one of his most renowned students, Fritz Scholder. Thiebaud's paintings of pies, cupcakes, donuts, pinball machines and bowties - are some of the most vivid and well-known in American art. His San Francisco cityscapes are also rich in color and enchanting. Scholder is best known for his unconventional portraits of Native Americans, which represented them in their full humanity, and led t...
Nov 14, 2020•49 min•Ep. 148
No one could work a room like Willie Brown. He was the consummate politician and public servant, and a true American original. He started life in a small, segregated Texas town, worked as a shoeshine boy and a janitor, but went on to dominate California politics for more than 40 years -- as Speaker of the State Assembly and as two-term mayor of San Francisco (the city's first black mayor). He was a wheeler and dealer, and incredibly effective at getting things done, often with the support of Rep...
Nov 02, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 147
The best-known biographies of Presidents Lincoln, Adams, Eisenhower, Truman, Nixon were written by the three great historians featured here. They talk about their subjects as if they had gone back in time and arrived back, breathless, with stories to share about the people they met. Each one explains the how he discovered that history would be his life's work. For David Herbert Donald and Stephen Ambrose, the spark came from a college professor. For David McCullough, it was the desire to learn a...
Oct 19, 2020•52 min•Ep. 146
Louise Glück, winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize for Literature, uses simple, unsentimental language in her poems to evoke overwhelming emotions. That rare combination is what has distinguished her as one of America's greatest living poets for over half a century. In addition to the Nobel Prize, she has also been awarded the Pulitzer Prize, and is former Poet Laureate of the United States. In this episode, Glück (pronounced glick ) digs into the torment and uncertainty that has hounded her throughou...
Oct 09, 2020•43 min•Ep. 145
What do the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court, a comedic newspaper columnist and an Academy Award-winning actress have in common? On the face of it, not much. But these three trailblazing women, all from humble backgrounds, reflect here on the grit and determination that led them to create their own destinies, defying any rational probability of success. And each one talks about how her personal journey was shaped by generational experiences and constraints. (c ) American Academy of Achievem...
Sep 28, 2020•38 min•Ep. 144
In tribute to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has died at the age of 87, we are re-posting this episode. It originally aired in September of 2016. Justice Ginsburg tells the very personal story here of her lifelong pursuit of justice and equality for women. Her tale includes trips to the library with her mother, a sixty year romance with Marty Ginsburg, her struggles to become a lawyer in a field inhospitable to women, her surprising friendship with Justice Scalia, and even her days as an aspir...
Sep 19, 2020•57 min•Ep. 143
Show up. Be there for your team. Play your best. These are the values that Cal Ripken Jr. embodied - every single day of his career. His commitment to baseball was beyond compare. Ripken holds the record for the most consecutive games played in professional baseball: 2,632. He famously surpassed Lou Gehrig's long-standing record of 2130 games, 25 years ago this month, and then he just kept on going. Ripken reminisces here about his proud life as a Baltimore Oriole, and he talks about the importa...
Sep 14, 2020•47 min•Ep. 142
This is a story about two of the greatest and most prolific writers in post-WWII America, who grew up in dramatically different circumstances. Joyce Carol Oates was a hardworking farm girl from a small rural town. Gore Vidal was born into an elite political family. She is earnest, introspective & soft-spoken. He was supremely confident, sharp-tongued & provocative. Her novels (including Them, We Were the Mulvaneys, Blonde) are often about families and their struggles. His novels (includi...
Aug 31, 2020•47 min•Ep. 141
These two remarkable men, from opposite sides of the 30-year "Troubles" in Northern Ireland, bravely reached across the divide and waged peace. They were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998. John Hume, who died in August, 2020, was a Catholic civil rights and political leader. In a poll several years ago, he was voted the greatest person in Irish history. David Trimble was the leader of the Protestant pro-British Ulster Unionist Party. They talk here about the underpinnings of the brutal fight...
Aug 17, 2020•49 min•Ep. 140
Olivia de Havilland, who just passed away at the age of 104, was the last of the Hollywood's leading ladies from the Golden Age. She is best known for portraying Melanie Hamilton in "Gone With The Wind" (and admit it: you liked Melanie better than Scarlett, right?), but she had starring roles in dozens of films during the 1930's, 40's and 50's. This "best of" episode, which originally posted in June of 2016, features an extensive conversation with Ms. de Havilland about the early days of the Ame...
Aug 10, 2020•46 min•Ep. 139
He grew up on the tough streets of Miami in the 1980s, dealing drugs and learning how to survive. But this first generation Cuban-American took the stage name Pitbull, and became a wildly successful rapper and music producer, who has put out dance, pop & latin hits for the past twenty years. He calls himself a hustler, and talks here about how hard work and determination have been more important to his story than talent. And he describes the charter schools he helped start, to provide a bett...
Jul 27, 2020•57 min•Ep. 138
In honor of Congressman John Lewis, who died of pancreatic cancer on July 17th, we are re-posting this episode. It was originally published in January, 2020. Lewis spent his whole life trying to get our nation to live up to its own ideals. He maintained faith and optimism about the future, and was inspired by the new generation of activists for racial justice. He was the son of a sharecropper, and tells the story here of how he grew up to become a legendary leader of the Civil Rights Movement an...
Jul 19, 2020•49 min•Ep. 137
He has had one of the longest, most celebrated and careers in Hollywood history, and it's still on overdrive. As a director, Ron Howard has worked in almost every genre. His films include Solo: A Star Wars Story, A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Far and Away, Splash, and Cocoon. As an actor, he made his screen debut before the age of two, and then skyrocketed to fame at five, playing Opie on the Andy Griffith Show. As a teenager, he starred in the movie American Graffiti and the television show Happ...
Jul 13, 2020•40 min•Ep. 136
Maya Angelou took the harshest experiences in her life and turned them into words of triumph, justice and hope. Her memoirs and her poems told of her survival, and uplifted people around the world. Her first book, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," is a classic of American literature. Angelou's voice and the rhythm of her speech were absolutely unique. In this episode, which originally ran in December of 2016, you'll be reminded why she was one of the most inspiring figures of the past century, ...
Jul 06, 2020•35 min•Ep. 135
