What It Takes®
Episodes
Carole King and Hal David: More Than Beautiful
04 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
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 ea...
Olivia de Havilland: The Last Belle of Cinema
20 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
There is only one surviving superstar from the Golden Age of Hollywood: Olivia de Havilland. The actress who portrayed Melanie Hamilton in "Gone With ...
Steven Spielberg and Janusz Kaminski: Images of the Imagination
06 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Steven Spielberg hired Janusz Kaminski as the cinematographer for "Schindler's List” twenty-five years ago, and they have worked together, hand-in-g...
Quincy Jones: The Music Man
23 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Quincy Jones’s fingerprints are all over America’s popular music. If you like Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Count Basie, Sarah Vaughan, Aretha Frank...
Ray Dalio: Maestro of the Markets
09 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
How do you become a multi-billionaire, and the most successful hedge fund manager ever? Ray Dalio attributes his success to transcendental meditation ...
Barry Scheck: The Innocence Project
25 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The Innocence Project has freed 1000’s of people serving time in prison for crimes they did not commit.Thousands. People who were misidentified by e...
Carol Burnett: Laughter and Reflection
11 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Whether you grew up watching The Carol Burnett Show, or your parents did, this comedian, actress, singer and writer is someone you want to get to know...
Coach John Wooden: Character for Life
28 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
During March Madness, can you think of anything more satisfying to do between games than listen to an interview with legendary coach John Wooden?! Woo...
Steve Jobs and Tony Fadell: Inventing the Future
14 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, an intimate history of two pocket-sized devices that changed the world, and the two men who created them: Steve Jobs and Tony Fadell....
Sidney Poitier: Trailblazing Screen Legend
27 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Sidney Poitier changed America’s view of black men. And he changed Hollywood (though the change is far from over, given the issues of diversity at t...
Lauryn Hill: Family, Faith & Hip-Hop
15 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Lauryn Hill has had an outsized impact on the world of hip-hop, soul and R&B. She entered the music world in the mid-1990’s as one third of the band...
Andrew Young: My Life, My Destiny
01 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Andrew Young has worn many hats: pastor, congressman, ambassador & mayor, but his first role in public service was as Martin Luther King Jr’s strate...
Coretta Scott King: The Courage to Dream
18 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
As Mrs. King says, she wasn’t just married to Martin Luther King Jr., she was married to the cause. Their partnership in life, in faith, and in the ...
Lee Berger: In the Footsteps of Eve
04 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Lee Berger has made two extraordinary scientific breakthroughs that are transforming our understanding of human evolution. Berger is a trailblazing pa...
Archbishop Desmond Tutu: The Power of Faith
21 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
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...
George Lucas: The Force Will Be With You
07 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
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, ...
William McRaven: A Life of Service
23 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
"There are some things in life you control. I don't know that you control the sweeping hands of destiny." Admiral William "Bill" McRaven's destiny was...
James Michener: Master Storyteller
09 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
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 f...
Mike (Coach K) Krzyzewski: Inspiring Greatness
26 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Coach K, as Mike Krzyzewski is best known, has more wins than any other men's basketball coach in the NCAA. He’s placed his team - the Duke Universi...
B.B. King: King of the Blues
12 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
BB King began life as a humble Mississippi cotton farmer, and ended up one of the most influential guitarists and singers of the past century. Jimi He...
Benazir Bhutto: Paying the Ultimate Price
28 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in 2007, just after she returned from exile in the hopes of becoming Prime Minister of Pakistan for the third time. Sh...
Jonas Salk: Vanquisher of Polio
21 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Before Jonas Salk created the Polio vaccine, thousands of children died every year or were left paralyzed by the virus (adults too). In 1952 alone, th...
Oprah Winfrey, Part 2: A Vision for Success
07 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Oprah Winfrey’s career in broadcasting started when she won Nashville’s Miss Fire Prevention Contest. She was 17.Part Two of our Oprah conversatio...
Oprah Winfrey: The Queen of Talk… and Determination
31 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
“Fourth grade is when I first began to believe in myself… I felt I could control the world.”On this episode of “What It Takes,” Oprah Winfre...
Willie Mays: For the Love of the Game
24 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
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 mo...
Johnny Cash: True To His Own Voice
17 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Johnny Cash had a voice that could make a mountain quake. His impact on the world of music is legendary. On this episode, you'll hear the deeply intro...
This is.... What It Takes
03 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In this brief introductory episode we explain what the podcast is all about (rare & revealing conversations with history-making, game-changing, courag...