Oprah’s Master Class: The Podcast

Actor, producer, writer and director Tyler Perry discusses his difficult childhood, his struggles as a playwright and his path to becoming a media mogul. Despite enduring emotional, physical and sexual abuse as a child, Tyler says he always knew he would grow up to be somebody. Tyler credits God and his mother’s love for guiding him along the way, and discusses his rocky relationship with the man he calls his father, despite lifelong suspicions that he isn’t Tyler's biological dad. Tyler also talks about becoming a parent at the age of 44 and how fatherhood has shifted his life forever.

Award-winning journalist and news anchor Diane Sawyer opens up about her career, her tireless curiosity and what fuels her passion. Diane talks about the biggest lesson her father taught her and what she learned from working in the Nixon White House during his resignation. She also shares an idea that she says can truly spark lasting change.

The late poet, author, icon and activist Dr. Maya Angelou speaks about her creative process, the power of words and how she overcame a traumatic childhood. Dr. Angelou says that in order to be the best human being you can be, you must follow one simple directive: "Just do right." She also discusses what it felt like to stand side-by-side with leaders of the civil rights movement. Dr. Angelou’s most notable work, “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings,” in on TIME magazine’s list of the “100 Best Non-Fiction Books of All Time.”

Berry Gordy Jr. forever changed the music scene with a new sound he called Motown Records. Under Berry’s guidance, the Motown record label pumped out #1 hits for The Jackson 5, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Four Tops and Smokey Robinson. Berry talks about his childhood growing up in Detroit, his love affair with Diana Ross and how he turned $800 and a small Detroit studio into Motown's first headquarters.

Motown legend and seven-time Grammy winner Gladys Knight reflects on coming of age in the music business, the harsh reality of touring during the 1950s in the segregated South, and finding her own voice late in her career. Gladys also explains how she's finally come to understand now, with her fourth husband, what marriage truly means. In 1996, Gladys Knight & the Pips were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Gladys is on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time.”

R&B superstar Usher Raymond IV catapulted from breakout teen performer to multi-platinum music sensation. Usher details how he dealt with fame at a young age and the role that family has played in shaping his career and life along the way. Usher is an eight-time Grammy winner and has seen his albums go platinum more than 65 times over the course of 20+ years. Usher shares why he reconnected with the father he barely knew only a short time before his unfortunate death. He discusses what it meant for him to work with his mother as his manager and why they amicably parted ways. Usher shares what he learned from both his marriages and reflects on the dangers of being a young black man in today's world. Usher says that unconditional love and doing something you're passionate about are the real secrets to a lifetime of happiness.

In Part 2 of Oprah Winfrey’s “Master Class” discussion, she shares how “The Oprah Winfrey Show” started and how it healed her. Oprah also explains why she believes she was cast in the movie “The Color Purple.” Oprah offers spiritual lessons she’s learned about finding your purpose, listening to the universe and why our lives matter.

In Part 1 of Oprah Winfrey’s “Master Class” discussion, Oprah traces her extraordinary life story, from her tumultuous childhood through her early days in television. Oprah offers spiritual lessons she’s learned along the way about finding your purpose, listening to the universe and why our lives matter.

Academy Award-nominated and Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actress Sharon Stone opens up about her illustrious career, fighting to survive a brain aneurysm and the valuable lessons she's learned along the way. Sharon is known for her iconic beauty and indelible roles in "Basic Instinct" and Martin Scorsese’s "Casino." Sharon shares her thoughts on aging in Hollywood: “I don't believe that being 19 or 20 or 25 or 30 or 35, that any of these moments are 'the moment' of ultimate beauty," she says. In 2001, Sharon was knocked over with a pain so severe, she felt as if she had been shot in the head. After surviving the brain aneurysm, Sharon had to relearn how to walk, talk, hear and write. She says she lost her career, marriage and custody of her child in the process. Though it was the darkest period in her life, Sharon believes that starting over actually made her life richer and showed her how to stay in a place of gratitude.

Before he became a U.S. congressman, John Lewis was one of the pioneers of the civil rights movement. John reflects on his life of activism, his friendship with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and offers wisdom for the ongoing fight for justice and equality. By the time he was 18, John was participating in lunch-counter sit-ins to protest segregation. Eventually, John rode with the brave Freedom Riders on buses through the deep South, spoke at the famous March on Washington, led the historic Selma to Montgomery march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge and was in the room when President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Today, John is a congressman from Georgia who continues his fight for civil rights, most recently leading sit-ins on the House of Representatives floor in favor of immigration reform and gun control. John says he still believes in non-violence, and says it is his obligation to pass on this tradition to a new generation of young activists, so that we may never go backward and repeat the mistakes of the past.