What It Takes®

The COVID-19 vaccine came out at warp speed because of the work of these two scientists.  For many years they had been investigating 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 2022

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 The Fugees, and soon after released a solo album, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”. It was a phenomenon, and swept the Grammys. But then Ms. Hill pretty much vanished from music and public life, in an internal battle between fame, family and faith. On this episode you’ll hear the incomparable and enigmatic Lauryn Hill, speaking in 2000, just as she had begun her retreat. She’s open, honest, raw and very funny about the transformation she was undergoing. This episode originally posted in 2016. We're bringing it back to usher in summer! (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2016-2022

Norman Mineta spent three years in a internment  camp for Japanese-Americans when he was a child. But this shameful period in American history did not deter him from becoming a celebrated civil servant, one who broke racial barriers to become a 10-term U.S. Congressman from California and the first Asian-American member of the Cabinet.  In honor of Norm Mineta, who died last week at the age of 90,  and in celebration of Asian-American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we invite you to take a second listen to our episode from 2020. It also features  the story of long-serving U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, a veteran of the most decorated regiment in US history, the 442nd. The 442nd was a segregated Japanese-American unit that fought in Europe after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  These two stories stand in stark contrast, and reflect some of the worst - and best - impulses in America. And they are a testament to the triumph of the human spirit.(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2020-2022

As a tribute to Naomi Judd, who died suddenly on Saturday night at the age of 76, we are re-posting our episode from 2017.  Ms. Judd's life and storied career had more ups and downs than a rollercoaster, as she talked about here. For eight glorious years, she and her daughter Wynonna were the biggest country music sensation of the 1980's, with fourteen number one hits, sold-out stadium tours, and too many rhinestones to count. But Naomi's life before and after was far from glamorous. Her early years in a small-town Kentucky were tumultuous and at times traumatic. She struggled as a young single mom on welfare. But singing transformed her relationship with Wynonna, and took them to the heights of the music industry. As she shared in this conversation, however, a devastating case of Hepatitis brought it all crashing down, then eventually led her to a place of tremendous insight and gratitude.  Naomi Judd died just one night before she and Wynonna were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Her death was announced by her daughter, actress Ashley Judd, who wrote on Twitter: “We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness.” (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2017-2022

Only four women have ever received the Nobel Prize in Physics. This episode features two of them! Andrea Ghez unlocked a secret of the universe when she figured out how to prove the existence of a super-massive black hole in the center of our galaxy.  Donna Strickland devised a way of producing far more intense and precise lasers. Those lasers have changed manufacturing, cancer treatments, and eye surgeries, and promise to offer insights into the fundamental principles of physics. Both Ghez and Strickland talk here about their lives and about becoming world-class scientists at a time when women were under-represented, under-appreciated, and often unrecognized for their achievements.  (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2022

Explore the life of Edward Teller, a Hungarian math prodigy pivotal in developing the hydrogen bomb and Reagan's Star Wars initiative. Delve into Teller's reflections on early years, his influence on the nuclear arms race, and the ethical implications of the atomic bomb. Witness the personal relationships and scientific rivalries of the Manhattan Project era, and ponder Teller's controversial legacy and the uncertain future of nuclear war.

The Tuskegee Airmen were some of the bravest and best pilots to ever fly for the United States Armed Forces.  One of the last surviving members of the pioneering African-American fighting force, is Lieutenant Colonel James Harvey. He faced tremendous discrimination during his career, but he became the very first winner of the Top Gun competition. The success of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II led to the desegregation of the military. And that opened a path for fighter pilot Charles Q. Brown, the current Chief of Staff for the U.S Air Force, and the first African-American to lead any branch of the military.  Both men share their extraordinary stories, and talk about how they persevered against the odds. (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2022

During March Madness, can you think of anything more satisfying to do between games than listen to an interview with legendary UCLA coach John Wooden?!  Wooden led his team to more NCAA championships than any other coach in history, and he did it with a quiet, old-fashioned approach that challenged notions of what it takes to win. Even if you're not a sports fan, you can find lessons and inspiration from Coach Wooden's leadership. In this episode, which originally posted in 2016, Wooden talks about his fatherly love for the players, his famous pyramid of success, and the difference between reputation and character.  He also explains why basketball is the greatest spectator sport there is. (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2016-2022

Last week, a shocking photograph was seen around the world. It showed a Ukrainian mother and her two children - lying dead on the street - killed by Russian mortar fire. The picture was taken by Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario. Addario has covered wars and humanitarian crises in 70 countries, including Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and now Ukraine.  She has been kidnapped twice and has been badly injured on the job, but she is determined to open our eyes to the state of the world and the human toll of violence, no matter the risk. This episode originally posted in 2018, but is just as timely today.  Lynsey Addario is a lively storyteller who brings emotion and humor to every tale, whether she’s describing growing up the child of hairdressers, the harrowing details of her kidnapping in Libya, or the heartbreaking work of documenting women who die in childbirth.(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2018-2022

Andrew Young has worn many hats: pastor, congressman, ambassador & mayor, but his first role in public service was as Martin Luther King Jr’s strategist and negotiator. He was at King’s side for many of the biggest battles of the civil rights movement, and he helped draft and secure the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In this encore episode (originally published in 2016), Young shares his unique, personal stories about that turbulent period in our country’s history - from the center of the storm. He pays tribute to the women who were the often unacknowledged backbone of the civil rights struggle. And he recounts his fascinating life story, from his youngest days growing up in New Orleans, where his father taught him to fight racism with brains and heart, to his spiritual revelation at the top of a mountain.  Our next episode will feature a brand new interview with Andrew Young, as he turns 90 years old, and reflects on the state of democracy, race & politics in America. (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2016-2022