What It Takes

Sidney Poitier changed America’s view of black men. And he changed Hollywood. The star of “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “The Defiant Ones,” and “In The Heat of the Night” became, in 1964, the first African-American to win an Academy Award (for “Lillies of the Field”). He was a leading man and box office sensation throughout the 1950’s and 60’s, portraying a huge array of characters with a dignity, courage and humanity that was radical for its time. Sidney Poitier died on Thursday, January 6th, at the age of 94.  In his honor, we are reposting this episode from 2016. In it, Poitier talks about his remarkable life, and he describes how his childhood on a tiny island in the Bahamas made all the difference in his view of himself, and in the choices he made throughout his career as an actor.

Desmond Tutu was the moral force that helped bring down Apartheid in South Africa. As a young priest, he was not very political, despite the fact that he’d grown up under the most brutal form of segregation. But his theology evolved, he says, and he realized it was a divine calling to fight for justice. Archbishop Tutu died on December 26th, 2021.  In his honor, we are replaying this episode from December of 2015. In it, you’ll hear Archbishop Tutu describe his personal, spiritual and political journey -- including the Nobel Peace Prize and chairmanship of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. You’ll also hear his passionate explanation of why humans are essentially good, no matter how often the facts seem to suggest otherwise. 

Edna O'Brien's first novel, "The Country Girls," was banned in Ireland, and burned in her own home parish.  The year was 1960, and young Irish women of that era were NOT supposed to reflect on their lot in life, or harbor sexual desires. But Edna O'Brien had one goal as a young writer - to tell the truth. Decades later, her compatriots finally came to view her the way the rest of the world did: as a trailblazer, and as one of Ireland's greatest living writers. Forty plus books and plays later, truth-telling is still Edna O'Brien's goal. She talks here, at age 91, about her life and her love of words. 

Steven Spielberg hired Janusz Kaminski as the cinematographer for "Schindler's List” twenty-five years ago, and they have worked together, hand-in-glove, ever since. Their collaboration has produced "Saving Private Ryan," "Bridge of Spies," "Lincoln," and many others, including the new, eagerly-awaited "West Side Story,"  which opens December 10th.  In this episode, which originally posted in 2016, both filmmakers tell how they fell in love with the movies and learned to make them. Spielberg talks about his first camera and trusting his instincts, and Kaminski talks about how growing up in 1970's Poland gave him an unusual eye on the world.

He grew up next door to Oscar Hammerstein and became his greatest protege. In 1957, he wrote the lyrics for "West Side Story," and for the next 60 years dominated the world of musical theater, and transformed it.  His songs managed to express the most complex and vital human emotions, and touched generations of theatergoers.  Stephen Sondheim was still writing and composing at 91, until Thanksgiving night, when he died suddenly, hours after dining with a group of friends.  The shows he leaves behind include "West Side Story," "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." In this episode, which originally posted in 2018, he pulls back the curtain on his life and work, giving fascinating insights into some of the greatest Broadway collaborations of all time, and into the process of writing a song for the stage.

While listening to this episode, we dare you to NOT sing out loud. Carole King and Hal David were each one half of a legendary songwriting duo, and each responsible for many of the greatest songs of the 1960’s and 70’s (too many to start mentioning here, but we packed as many as we could into the podcast). If you like a medley, you’re in the right place. Carole King worked with (and was married to) Gerry Goffin. Hal David worked with Burt Bacharach. They all worked in New York City’s Brill Building early in their careers, surrounded by record label execs, music publishers, radio promoters, and pianos. Lots and lots of pianos. The impact they had on music in the second half of the 20th century is undisputed.  This episode originally posted in 2016. We present this encore version in honor of Carole King's 2021 induction into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame. 

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 millions of tourists to visit Egypt, with his many books and television documentaries.  He wears a signature hat, and is famous for his outsized personality.  Kent Weeks is a more professorial type.  He is retired now, but for 60 years lived and breathed the life of the Pharaohs.  He created what many consider the most important preservation effort ever undertaken in Egypt: The Theban Mapping Project.  It catalogued every tomb and every shard of pottery unearthed in The Valley of the Kings.  We hear just what motivated each of them to spend their lives unearthing the secrets of a 5,000 year old civilization.

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 possibility for the son of working class Jamaican immigrants to aspire much higher. In this episode, which originally posted in September of 2017, you'll hear Powell's stories about his journey from the South Bronx, to the jungles of Vietnam, to the Jim Crow South, to the highest reaches of government, and about the decades of American history he helped shape.

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 considerable personal obstacles and turned his failures into the stepping stones to success. He also talks about the first music he remembers, the voice teacher who advised him to stop taking lessons, and the source of his creativity.

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-human heart transplant, Willem Kolff invented dialysis and is considered the father of artificial organs, and William DeVries was the first surgeon to implant a permanent artificial heart in a dying patient.  They tell the stories here of what led them to the forefront of their field, and describe the rewards of a career spent saving lives.  

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 nothing to do with fame and fortune.  *This episode was originally published in 2015.

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 job at CNN, when it was still a fledgling network, and the circumstances that led to her becoming a foreign correspondent, at a time when there were still huge barriers for women in television news.  She tells stories of some of the most important and horrifying world events that she witnessed up close. And she explains why her mantra in journalism is "truthful, not neutral." 

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 hear here. Karzai was filled with hope and optimism for Afghanistan that day, and spoke of his vision for the country's future. Those dreams, of course, were shattered this past week, as the Taliban retook the country, and thousands flooded The Hamid Karzai International Airport, desperate to flee. 

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 World War II. The book that came of that experience was "Tales of the South Pacific," which earned him a Pulitzer, and later became the Broadway hit and movie: “South Pacific.” Michener also describes what he calls some of the “differential experiences” in his life, like the very moment he decided he would live his life as if he were a great man. And he extols all of us to look out for unexpected opportunities and grab them. This episode originally posted in November of 2015.

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 the sea in a submersible, and he was the first to begin mapping its geography. He later helped discover the existence of hydro-thermal vents, holes in the ocean floor where the water circulates through the planet’s interior. Over the decades he has pioneered new and better ways for oceanographers to explore and document - in manned vehicles and robotic ones. At 79, he continues to innovate and to educate new generations of ocean scientists. On this episode we’ll also hear from one of his proteges, Allison Fundis, who is making her own significant contributions to our understanding of the oceans that sustain us.

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, also South African and an outspoken critic of Apartheid, received the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2011.  His most famous plays include "Master Harold and the Boys" and "The Blood Knot". The third writer we'll hear from is Elie Wiesel, the legendary Auschwitz survivor who wrote many novels and non-fiction books about the horrors of the Holocaust, but always with a sense of hope for humankind.  He was also an unrelenting advocate for human rights around the world, and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.  All three writers speak here about their lives and give profound advice to young people about how to li

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 years developing his own unique approach to training - one that allowed him to very gradually improve speed, while leaving time for his studies. He talks here about his childhood in wartime England, and about daring to dream the impossible.  This episode was originally published in 2016. 

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 created what is considered the first "crossover" piece, combining ballet and modern dance, but she says she is not interested in categories; dance is dance. Justin Peck, at 33, is still in the early days of his career, but he is already choreographer-in-residence at the New York City Ballet and choreographer for the new film version of "West Side Story," directed by Steven Spielberg (coming out in December, 2021).  They both talk here about how their childhoods shaped their intense passion for movement and music, and they both describe beautifully how it feels when they are dancing.

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 ran in 2015. Coach K's began developing his unbeatable recipe for leadership and inspiration when he was a kid, growing up in a working class part of Chicago. There were no little leagues in his neighborhood, so whenever groups of kids gathered on the basketball courts, he says, “somebody had to organize it, and it was always me."  

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 ancestors evolved, grew bigger brains, and started walking on two legs. We hear the fascinating tales of their discoveries, but we also learn their personal origin stories, and what led each of them to try to solve some of humankind's greatest mysteries.