What It Takes®

Academy of Achievement
  • 4.7 (929)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE

Revealing, intimate conversations with visionaries and leaders in the arts, science, technology, public service, sports and business. These engaging personal stories are drawn from interviews with the American Academy of Achievement, and offer insights you’ll want to apply to your own life.

  1. FEB 22

    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. He immediately became one of the world's most beloved figures in classical music. He's collaborated with pop stars (including Billie Eilish, Nas and Christina Aguilera). He's played the Super Bowl half-time show. He even the model for the main character in the hit tv series "Mozart in the Jungle". Sixteen years later, after making an enormous mark on the LA Phil and the city of LA, Gustavo Dudamel is preparing to move east, as music director and artistic director of the New York Philharmonic. He talks here about coming up as a musician and a budding conductor in "El Sistema", Venezuela's classical music training ground for children of all backgrounds. He describes conducting his toy figurines while listening to the world's greatest orchestras, before he even understood what conductors actually do. And he shares his love of music - all music - and his work to erase boundaries between audiences.

    51 min

  2. 09/28/2024

    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 tall bronze statue of the singer, guitarist and humanitarian was unveiled at the United States Capitol Visitor's Center. It was donated by the state of Arkansas and it is the first-ever statue of a musician in the collection. To celebrate, we invite you to take a new 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.

    20 min
  3. In Memoriam_James Earl Jones: The Voice of Triumph

    09/10/2024

    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. It reverberated so deeply that you could feel it in your chest. No one was better suited to give voice to Darth Vader. For 60 years, Jones captivated audiences with that voice and with his commanding presence -- on stage and on screen. In this episode, which originally posted in 2017, he talked about how he overcame a stutter that silenced him for years. He explained how the radicalism of the 1960's changed the world of acting, and opened the door to his success. And he described how growing up on a humble farm taught him to treasure contentment over happiness. The theme music for What It Takes is written and performed by KaraSquare.com. (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2017

    33 min
  4. In Memoriam_Edna O'Brien: Love, Loss and Literature

    07/30/2024

    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, "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 writers. Forty plus books and plays later, truth-telling was still Edna O'Brien's goal when we talked to her, at the age of 91, about her life and her love of words. (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2024

    50 min
  5. Pete Townshend: Who I Am

    07/20/2024

    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, guitarist and songwriter for The Who, now 79 years old, describes the band’s formation in high school and the tension in his relationship with frontman Roger Daltrey. He recounts how he became the original smasher of guitars. He openly discusses the emotional and sexual abuse he suffered as a child, and considers how it affected his life as an artist. And he speculates on why his rock opera “Tommy” connects today with audiences, 50 years on (it has to do with COVID). Oh, and he drops plenty of f-bombs! Hey, it’s rock n’ roll.

    59 min
  6. Willie Mays: For the Love of the Game_In Memoriam

    06/21/2024

    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 about his life on this episode. It was one of the first episodes of "What It Takes," and it remains one of our all-time favorites: 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, and winning over racist baseball fans soon after he became the first African-American player on his team. He recalls the day he got the call to move up to the majors, and describes in delightful terms how he never had to actually work at being a great athlete. He also talks about the catch he swears was better than “The Catch.” Hearing his voice, you’re reminded why Willie Mays was one of America’s most beloved baseball players, as well as one of its greatest. (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2015-2024

    26 min
  7. Jeff Koons: Contemporary Art Phenomenon

    02/12/2024

    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 worldwide, and sometimes a bit of controversy as well. His iconic pop art sculptures include a giant pink rabbit that looks so remarkably like a shiny mylar inflatable, it's hard to believe it is made of metal. His balloon dog, the type you'd see at a child's birthday party, likewise demands a second look. In this recent interview, Koons describes his lifelong love of gazing balls, like the ones he saw growing up in York, Pennsylvania, and how he came to incorporate them (and other reflective surfaces) into his art. He talks about his days as a young, aspiring artist, and his unlikely meeting with Salvador Dalí. And he talks about what's next, as he prepares to launch his latest pieces into space.

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

    10/02/2023

    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 Physiology or Medicine. In celebration, we are re-posting our episode about Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman. For many, many years they investigated the secrets of messenger RNA (mRNA). And when the pandemic began, their research was ready and waiting. On this episode you’ll hear Katalin Karikó talk about her humble beginnings in Hungary, and the forces that enabled her to persevere, even though for decades people thought her ideas about mRNA were laughable. She was denied grants, lost jobs and wasn’t taken seriously, but she never wavered. Fortunately, she met Drew Weissman one day at a copy machine, where they both worked at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Weissman was an immunologist, working on a vaccine for HIV. He was interested in Karikó’s work and they began to collaborate. Even when they made major discoveries, they could not get support for their work… until the Corona Virus appeared. Now the scientific world sees the potential that Karikó and Weissman saw all along: that mRNA may open the door to many other vaccines and to therapeutic treatment for a host of illnesses, from Cancer to Sickle Cell Anemia to Heart Disease. (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2023

    58 min
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    4.7
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    About

    Revealing, intimate conversations with visionaries and leaders in the arts, science, technology, public service, sports and business. These engaging personal stories are drawn from interviews with the American Academy of Achievement, and offer insights you’ll want to apply to your own life.

    Information

    • Creator
      Academy of Achievement
    • Years Active
      2015 - 2025
    • Episodes
      223
    • Rating
      Explicit
    • Copyright
      © American Academy of Achievement 2015-2025
    • Show Website
      What It Takes®

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