What It Takes®

Gertrude Elion and Baruch Blumberg: Vaccine Hunters

20 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Millions of lives are saved each year with the vaccines developed by these two Nobel Prize recipients.  Their discoveries were some of the  greatest...

Best Of - Anthony Fauci: From Aristotle to AIDS

13 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

If Anthony Fauci was not on your radar before the Covid-19 pandemic, he certainly is now. Dr. Fauci is a lead member of the White House Coronavirus T...

Milton Friedman: Champion of Capitalism

06 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

He was an outspoken proponent of the free market and small government, and one of the most influential economists of all time. Milton Friedman's ideas...

James Allison: Immune to Failure

23 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There’s one person who can claim to have played harmonica with Willie Nelson AND been awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine… and that's James (Jim) ...

Daniel Inouye and Norman Mineta: In Defense of Liberty

09 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The most decorated regiment in US history was the 442nd, a segregated Japanese-American unit that fought in Europe after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. ...

Buddy Guy: I’ve Got the Blues

24 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

For 50 years, he has carried the torch for the blues. Buddy Guy learned by listening to the greats that came before him, and then he made the blues hi...

Lynn Nottage and Suzan-Lori Parks: Drama Queens

10 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Two of the most daring and celebrated playwrights working today talk about their lives, their work, and why they love writing for the stage. Both Lynn...

John Lewis: The Spirit of History

27 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This son of a sharecropper tells the story of how he grew up to become a legendary leader of the Civil Rights Movement and a 17-term Congressman from ...

Bill Gates, Sergey Brin and Larry Page: Tech Titans

13 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

These three visionaries changed the way we live our daily lives. You'll hear remarkable archival recordings of each, when they were young successful e...

Vince Gill: Country Music Icon

30 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

He has won more Grammy Awards than any other male country singer, but Vince Gill never set out to be a star. He just wanted to play guitar and sing, a...

Andrew Lloyd Webber: Theatrical Impresario

16 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It’s undisputed: Andrew Lloyd Webber has written more blockbuster musicals than any composer alive. He talks here about falling in love with musical...

Martine Rothblatt: Transcending Boundaries

02 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

She is a Renaissance Person extraordinaire: a lawyer, an inventor, a biotech innovator, a futurist, a transgender activist, and one of the most succes...

Ian McEwan: Illuminating the Human Condition

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

He is one of the most compelling storytellers of our time... a novelist who addresses broad societal themes while plumbing the depths of intimate huma...

Wole Soyinka: The Literary Lion

04 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Africa's preeminent writer, and one of its greatest advocates for democracy and justice, talks here about the activism that landed him in solitary con...

Jennifer Doudna and Feng Zhang: The Code of Life

21 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most significant revolutions in science is underway, and yet most people haven't even heard of it. It's called CRISPR, and it is an easy, i...

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa: The Fairytale Diva

07 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

She was a Maori child from a working class family, who grew up by the sea in a remote New Zealand town... So how did Kiri Te Kanawa rise to become one...

Amy Tan: Discovering My Voice

23 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When Amy Tan wrote her first book, The Joy Luck Club, she was trying to portray the difficult relationship she had had with her mother, a Chinese immi...

Lord Norman Foster: Building the Future

09 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This is the story of a working class son of Manchester, England, who came to change skylines around the globe, envision a future for architecture that...

Toni Morrison and Harold Prince: Immortal Voices

26 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Toni Morrison was a novelist and Nobel Prize Winner, who carved a space for African-American women’s voices and stories. Hal Prince was a producer &...

Peter Jackson: Master of Film Fantasy

12 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Peter Jackson grew up in a country without any film industry or film schools, and yet, he only ever wanted to do one thing: make movies. The story of ...

Sylvia Earle and David Doubilet: The Living Oceans

29 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The ocean covers 70% of the earth. It regulates our climate and it provides most of the oxygen we breathe. And yet we still know very little about it....

Hank Aaron: Field of Dreams

15 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Anthony Romero: Guardian of Civil Liberties

01 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In honor of the 4th of July, we are featuring the foremost champion of civil liberties in America, and a man who embodies the American Dream. Anthony ...

Alice Waters: A Love Affair with Food

17 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Alice Waters has been called a food revolutionary. In 1971, she opened a cozy restaurant in Berkeley, California called Chez Panisse.  It showcased s...

General David Petraeus: The Perils of Victory

03 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

He is considered by many to be the greatest military strategist since Dwight D. Eisenhower. General David Petraeus was the man President George W. Bus...

Suzanne Farrell: Ballerina of the Century

20 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Ballet changed course on the day that George Balanchine met Suzanne Farrell. It was 1960. He was 56. She was 15, and had just arrived in New York from...

A. Scott Berg: Chronicler of The American Century

06 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This Pulitzer-Prize winning biographer began writing his first book when he was still in college (it earned the National Book Award), and he has devot...

Jimmy Carter: From Plains to the Presidency

22 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a remarkable American story: a poor peanut farmer from the Deep South becomes a nuclear naval officer, then governor of Georgia, and finally Pr...

Peter Gabriel: Genesis of a Rock Star

08 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

"Sledgehammer," "In Your Eyes," and "Red Rain" are some of the hits that made Peter Gabriel a rock superstar in the 1970's and 80's. Before he became ...

Brendan Sullivan: Standing Up to Power

25 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

If you're a senator, a military leader, or a business executive accused of wrongdoing, Brendan Sullivan is the lawyer you probably want to call. Sulli...

Susan Butcher: Call of the Wild

11 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This is the story of a true original... a woman who dominated the extreme sport of dog sled racing for years, was a four-time winner of the Iditarod (...

Frances Arnold: A Nobel Vision

25 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Thirty years ago, Dr. Arnold had an idea: to breed molecules in the laboratory the way we breed animals - to bring out the traits we want in them. The...

Michael Caine: An Accent on Life

11 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

He has been nominated for an Academy Award in every one of the past five decades, and won twice, for "Hannah And Her Sisters" and "The ...

John Updike: Dreams from My Mother

28 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

John Updike used his unique literary talents to peel back the layers of middle-class American life, exposing its less-than-placid exterior. He was one...

Chuck Yeager: The Right Stuff

14 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The man who broke the sound barrier in the experimental Bell X-1, and ushered in the era of manned spacecraft, never saw a plane when he was growing u...

Johnny Mathis: Timeless Voice of Romance

31 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

He is one of the romantic singers of all time... with a voice people often compare to satin, to silk or to velvet. It's hard to describe, but you sure...

Stephen Sondheim: Maestro of Broadway

17 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

He grew up next door to Oscar Hammerstein and became his greatest protege. In 1957, Sondheim wrote the lyrics for "West Side Story," and for the next ...

Rita Dove and W.S. Merwin: A Gift for Language

03 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Two of America's greatest poets - both former Poet Laureates and Pulitzer Prize winners - get to the heart of why poems speak to us when other forms o...

Sir Edmund Hillary and Reinhold Messner: King of the Mountain

19 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Man's relationship to mountain was forever changed by these two adventurers. Sir Edmund Hillary was the first person to reach the summit of Mt. Everes...

Lord Martin Rees: The Future of Humanity

05 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We have Lord Martin Rees to thank for much of what we understand about black holes, quasars, and other distant objects in the night sky. He is England...

Leymah Gbowee: A Call from God

22 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This story is a testament to the power of one person to change the world. When civil war broke out in Liberia, Leymah Gbowee was 17 years old. Over th...

Lynsey Addario: Portraits of Love and War

08 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist has covered wars and humanitarian crises in 70 countries, including Iraq, Libya & Afghanistan. She has bee...

Norman Schwarzkopf: Duty, Honor, Country

24 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The last time the United States had a grand military parade was in 1991, following the swift, crushing victory over Iraq in the Persian Gulf War. Gene...

Peyton Manning and Herschel Walker: Preparing to Win

09 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Inspiring tales and life lessons from two of the most legendary players in football history. One grew up the son of an NFL quarterback, and one the so...

Bernie Taupin: Lyrical Inspiration

27 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When Elton John and Bernie Taupin met as teenagers, they were each talented and full of potential, but together, they were unstoppable. For over 50 ye...

Khaled Hosseini, Scott Turow and Charles Krauthammer: Second Lives

13 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

If you’ve ever dreamed of reinventing yourself, take inspiration from these three writers. Each one followed a traditional career path before turnin...

Beverly and Dereck Joubert: Spirit of the Wild

30 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The look in a lion's eye, fixated on its prey... the sound of a hyena taking down a zebra foal... the tender ministrations of an elephant. For over 40...

Anthony Fauci: From Aristotle to AIDS

16 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This is the story of a remarkable doctor who, in 1981, became one of the first scientists to recognize that we were on the verge of a new and terrible...

Jessye Norman: Living My Life in Song

02 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This global icon of the concert stage was planning to become a doctor, but her voice was too powerful a force. Jessye Norman tells the story of fallin...

John Banville: Literary Confessions

18 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

A darkly funny conversation about writing, weather & Ireland. Banville, a Booker Prize-winning novelist and master wordsmith, explains why nothing in ...

Julie Andrews: An Angel on My Shoulder

04 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Who doesn’t love Julie Andrews? She has delighted generations of audiences, whether singing on the London Vaudeville circuit, in the Broadway produc...

Andrew Weil: The Healing Power of Nature

21 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Weil has been on a decades-long campaign to convince the medical establishment that the mind-body connection is real, and that many alternative fo...

Kazuo Ishiguro: Lyrical Tales of Emotion

07 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This Nobel Prize-winning writer — the author of “Remains of the Day” and “Never Let Me Go” — started out as a singer songwriter. He talks ...

Demis Hassabis: A.I. Mastermind

23 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Artificial Intelligence is already changing the course of society, and it’s only in its infancy. Hear one of the most innovative and successful thin...

Wallace Stegner and N. Scott Momaday: Chroniclers of the American West

11 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

These two great American writers reflect on their place in the landscape, the history and the culture of the West. One is Kiowa Indian, one is White. ...

Steve Schwarzman: King of Wall Street

26 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Take a peek into the mind of Stephen Schwarzman, the financier who established a little financial startup called Blackstone with $400,000 in seed capi...

Bartlett Sher: A Reason to Sing

12 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Going to see live theater, Bartlett Sher believes, is a unique experience... one that’s not just entertaining, but also has the power to change your...

Jeremy Irons: Thespian and Provocateur

26 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The star of theater, film and television talks about how acting has allowed him the life of a vagabond and the ability to challenge the status quo. He...

Dorothy Hamill and Scott Hamilton: The Price of Gold

12 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Two of the greatest figure skaters to ever grace Olympic ice explain why winning a gold medal was not the absolute triumph you might think. For both H...

Sue Grafton: The Alphabet Ends at Y

29 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Grafton wrote a mystery for every letter of the alphabet but one. When she died in December of 2017, she left her fans with the ultimate cliffhang...

Maya Lin: The Art of Remembrance

15 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When Maya Lin’s design was chosen for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1981, it sparked a political firestorm in Washington. The design was almost q...

Edward Teller: Destroyer of Worlds

01 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The "Father of the Hydrogen Bomb", the force behind Reagan's Star Wars initiative, and the model for "Dr. Strangelove" was a Hungarian math prodigy wh...

Anthony M. Kennedy: Principles of Freedom

18 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Justice Anthony Kennedy, often the deciding vote in critical Supreme Court cases - from abortion to campaign finance to same-sex marriage - talks abou...

Jimmy Page: Guitar Hero

04 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Jimmy Page’s plan all along was to transform rock n’ roll. And he did. The band he founded, Led Zeppelin, remains one of the most influential and ...

Itzhak Perlman: The Gift of Music

20 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

For the past 60 years - ever since he made his American debut at 13 - Itzhak Perlman has made classical music fans swoon. He is not only one of the gr...

Ernest J. Gaines: Letters of My Ancestors

06 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Ernest Gaines grew up in the 1930's and 40's on the same Louisiana plantation where his ancestors were once slaves. After he became a successful and c...

Esperanza Spalding and Wayne Shorter: Jazz Invention

23 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Esperanza Spalding - bass player, composer, lyricist and singer - is one of the most exciting artists in contemporary jazz. Wayne Shorter is a legenda...

Leon Panetta: Decisive Action

09 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The last time the budget of the United States was balanced - and even had a surplus - Leon Panetta was in charge of it, as Director of the Office of M...

James Earl Jones: The Voice of Triumph

25 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

When James Earl Jones speaks, his voice reverberates so deeply that you can almost feel it in your own chest. Think Darth Vader. For 60 years now, Jon...

General Colin Powell: My American Journey

11 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Colin Powell has worn many hats, among them: Secretary of State, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and National Security Advisor. He was the firs...

Barbra Streisand and Pat Conroy: The Way We Were

28 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Barbra Streisand is one of the greatest entertainers of all time. An American icon. In the early 1990's, she forged an unlikely friendship with noveli...

Jeff Bezos: Regret Minimization

14 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

When Jeff Bezos had the idea to start an online bookstore, he was working in a secure job on Wall Street. The internet was still young, and the averag...

Louise Glück: Revenge Against Circumstance

31 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Louise Glück uses simple, unsentimental language in her poems to evoke overwhelming emotions. That rare combination is what has distinguished her as ...

Naomi Judd: Dream Chaser

17 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Naomi Judd's life has had more ups and downs than a rollercoaster. For eight glorious years, she and her daughter Wynonna were the biggest country mus...

Rosa Parks and Judge Frank Johnson: Standing Up for Freedom

03 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In the fall of 1955, Rosa Parks refused to stand for a white passenger on the bus, Martin Luther King Jr. was chosen to lead the boycott that followed...

Robert Langer: Edison of Medicine

19 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Some of Robert Langer's inventions sound like the stuff of science fiction: "smart" pills that can release medicine by remote control... organs and bo...

Sally Ride and Eileen Collins: Wonder Women

05 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Sally Ride was the first American woman to rocket into space. Eileen Collins was the first woman to command the Space Shuttle. These two astronauts ch...

Frank McCourt: Teacher Man

22 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

No one could tell a story better than Frank McCourt. His first book, Angela's Ashes, remains one of the most compelling accounts of poverty, alcoholis...

Leslie Wexner: Victoria's Other Secret

08 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This is the story of Les Wexner's path, from a tiny, old-fashioned neighborhood store in Columbus, Ohio, owned by his immigrant father... to one of th...

Nora Ephron: Unstoppable Wit

24 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Nora Ephron knew just how to make people laugh and cry and kvell. But mostly laugh. She wrote some of the greatest romantic comedies of all time, incl...

Bill Russell: Giant of a Man

10 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Bill Russell was the force behind the most astonishing winning streak in the history of sports. His team, the Boston Celtics, won eleven NBA champions...

Sonia Sotomayor: Power of Words

27 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Justice Sonia Sotomayor tells the extraordinary story of her voyage from the most dangerous neighborhood in the United States, to the highest court in...

Sally Field: Embracing Fear

13 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Sally Field is one of the best actresses in America... on film, on television and on stage. She's won Emmy Awards and Academy Awards, and has had star...

Reid Hoffman: Silicon Valley Grandmaster

27 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

LinkedIn changed the way people navigate the world of work. It's hard to even remember the days (though not that long ago) when jobseekers opened the ...

August Wilson and Lloyd Richards: The Voice of Genius

13 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Meet two giants of the American theater: playwright August Wilson and director Lloyd Richards. Together they brought many award-winning plays to Broad...

Chuck Jones: The Fine Art of Laughter

30 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Pepé Le Pew were all brought to life in the hands of Chuck Jones. If there's a Loony Tunes or a Merrie Melodies cartoon t...

Jane Goodall: A Dedicated Pursuit

16 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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 observ...

Maya Angelou, Part 2: In the Spirit of Martin

02 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Maya Angelou was a civil rights activist and a friend of Martin Luther King Jr., years before she became known throughout the world for her memoir “...

Maya Angelou: Righteousness and Love

19 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Albie Sachs: Freedom Fighter

05 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Albie Sachs awoke one day in 1988 in a Mozambican hospital, with no remembrance of the car bomb that had maimed his body. But it hadn't broken his wil...

Thomas Keller: Recipe for Success

21 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

When Thomas Keller was a dishwasher, he learned all the basic lessons he'd need to become one of America's greatest chefs and restaurateurs. Keller ow...

Doris Kearns Goodwin: Presidential Ambitions

07 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

When Doris Kearns Goodwin was six years old, she used to carefully document the Brooklyn Dodgers' games. And that, she says, eventually led her to the...

Frank O. Gehry: Building the Inspiring Space

24 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

If you can name one living architect, it's probably Frank Gehry. Gehry has designed some of the world's most recognizable and beloved buildings... bui...

John Irving: A Literary Life

10 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

One of America's greatest living novelists begins every book by writing the the last sentence first. In this episode, John Irving, author of The World...

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Justice For All

26 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, you'll hear Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg tell the very personal story of her lifelong pursuit of justice and equality fo...

Wynton Marsalis: Philosopher King of Jazz

12 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Wynton Marsalis has been THE preeminent name in jazz for the past 30 years. The Louisiana-born trumpeter set out to bring jazz back from the brink of ...

Steven Rosenberg: Finding a Cure for Cancer

29 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

One of the greatest revolutions in the treatment of cancer is underway. It's called immunotherapy, and the revolutionary behind it is Dr. Steven Rosen...

Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush: The Freedom to Lead

15 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In the midst of this political season… here’s a chance to hear two former U.S. Presidents hold forth on their lives in public service. Bill Clinto...

Sir Roger Bannister: The Mile of the Century

01 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

When Englishman Roger Bannister was studying medicine at Oxford in the 1940's, he began to have great success as a member of the track team. He knew e...

Elie Wiesel: A Light in the Darkness

18 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

After World War II, when few survivors of the Holocaust were willing or able to describe what they’d been through, Elie Wiesel decided silence was n...