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.
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She sent shockwaves through the world of competitive swimming, when she won a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics, beating out the favorites by a wide margin. She was 15 years old. Katie Ledecky is now training for her fifth Olympics, and is indisputably the greatest female swimmer of all time. She talks here about her unusual views on competition and about why she loves long distance races the best.…
Cindy Sherman, one of the world's most renowned contemporary art photographers, started posing for her own photos in the 1970's, long before the advent of selfies. But she says her images are not self-portraits. Instead, she uses sets, costumes and makeup to create an elaborate array of characters. In this introspective interview about her journey as an individual and an artist, Cindy Sherman…
She is one of the greatest basketball coaches in history, and an inspiration to generations of young women. Tara VanDerveer was head coach of the Stanford Women's Basketball team for 38 seasons. She led her team to three NCAA Championships. She also led the national women's basketball team to a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. Here she talks eloquently about her lifelong love for the game and…
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 equal opportunity for women in the game. She founded the Women’s Tennis Association and was the first woman named Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated Magazine. She captivated the world when she won "The Battle of the Sexes".against Bobby Riggs. Now 81…
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, to observe the wild chimpanzees at Gombe Stream Park. As she describes in this episode, other scientists did not believe that a young woman could survive alone in the bush, but Jane Goodall did more than survive. Her work revolutionized the field of…
Ozempic is one of the most important new medications in a generation. The driving force behind it is the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, which has been invested in GLP-1 research since the early 1990s. The leading scientist in this domain, a self-described "nerd," who grew up on a farm in Denmark and has no interest in the limelight. Lotte Knudsen started her career working on laundry…
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…
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…
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…
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 -…
