What It Takes®

From the time she was nine years old, she knew she wanted to be on Broadway, but Audra McDonald has succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. She has earned six Tony Awards, more than any other actor. She stars in movies and television shows and operas. She tours as a singer, and has a recording career.  She may be the most versatile performer of her generation. But McDonald has had her struggles. She talks here about her incredible career, and about she's always carved a path forward by choosing the projects that scare her the most. (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2021

In the past few weeks, the U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp honoring playwright August Wilson, and Netflix released a film version of Wilson's celebrated play, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."  It stars Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman, in his final role.  That is why we were inspired to revisit this episode, which originally posted in 2017. It tells the story of two giants of American theater: Wilson, and his longtime collaborator, director Lloyd Richards. Together they brought many award-winning plays to Broadway - not only "Ma Rainey," but also "Fences," "The Piano Lesson" and others.  Wilson started out as a poet, but he turned to writing plays to bring stories of African-American life to the stage.  It was Lloyd Richards who recognized his talent and helped him shape it. Richards was already an icon in the theater world, for directing "A Raisin in the Sun." In this episode you'll hear him tell the story behind that ground-breaking production, and  you'll  hear both these theater legends describe how they came to meet and have one of the most successful artistic collaborations in history.(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2017-2021

No one could shmooze quite like Larry King. He turned it into an art, and turned himself into a legendary broadcaster.  He often didn't prepare for his interviews (more than 50,000 over the course of his career), instead engaging in curious, casual conversation that got his guests telling stories. But here you get to hear his stories... hilarious stories about growing up in Brooklyn, and about his earliest days breaking into radio and television.  (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2021

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 persevered through poverty, segregation, racism, and threats on his life.  He talks here about joining the Negro Leagues, about playing through a period of transformation in America, and about helping to change the world by doing what he did best - swinging that bat. Mr. Aaron died on Friday, at the age of 86. This episode was originally posted in July of 2019. We are replaying it in his honor. (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2019-2021 

These two brave reporters risked their lives and their reputations during the war in Vietnam, to reveal the truth to the American people about what was happening there. Both describe here - how and when they realized the United States government was lying about the causes and the scope of the war.  And both eloquently explain their views on the role of the journalist as a witness and an adversary of government.  Neil Sheehan, who died earlier this month, also talks about his role in exposing the Pentagon Papers in the pages of the New York Times. And he details why he was driven to spend over 13 years writing a definitive history of the war, called "A Bright Shining Lie," which won the Pulitzer Prize.  Mr. Halberstam, who won the Pulitzer during the war, went on to write one of the other most important accounts of U.S. involvement in Vietnam: "The Best and the Brightest."(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2021

Most Americans simply could not believe their eyes this week, when a violent mob staged an insurrection in the US Capitol. It was the kind of thing that happens in other countries - where the transfer of power isn't peaceful, and where democracy does not hold. Well that reminded us of one of our first episodes, featuring Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan.  Bhutto descended from a political dynasty. Her father was ousted as prime minister, and killed in a coup - in 1977. She survived a coup attempt years later, when she became prime minister. In the end, she paid the ultimate price for her belief in democracy and human rights. Seven years after this interview, she was assassinated, as she campaigned for her third term as prime minister.   We certainly don’t mean to overstate comparisons between the United States and Pakistan, or any other country.  But we are re-posting this episode from 2015, as a reminder of what we have, and what we have to lose.(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2015-2021 

He's one of the greatest all-time directors of Shakespeare, and has directed every one of the Bard's plays. But he's also directed 34  shows on Broadway, including "Cats" and "Les Miserables", and more yet on London's West End.  Trevor Nunn has been the Artistic Director of both the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the National Theatre. And at 80, this British cultural icon of the theater is still going strong.  He talks here about his mysterious infatuation with theater at a very early age, in a working class family where there were no books. He pays tribute to a teacher who changed his life. And he waxes oh-so-passionately about Shakespeare and the power of theater. Oh, and he also talks about how it is he came to write the lyrics of "Memory", one of the most famous songs ever from a musical! (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2020

There's no mistaking Judy Collins' voice. She sang us through the 1960's and '70's, and hasn't stopped since. Today at 81, her voice is still strong and gorgeous. It reveals no signs of the struggles she has survived: depression, alcoholism, polio, tuberculosis, threatening injuries to her vocal chords and hands, and the suicide of her son. In this interview she talks frankly about how she carried on through these tragedies, and she eloquently describes how she knows when a song is right for her.  (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2020

Three remarkable novelists, from very different backgrounds, peel back the curtain on how they write, why they write, and what they write.  Arthur Golden is the author of Memoirs of a Geisha, the only book he's written, and a longtime bestseller. He describes why he rewrote the book three times before he got it right, and explains how he successfully gave voice to a character so unlike himself.  Carol Shields is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Stone Diaries, and many other novels and plays. She talks about why she chose to write almost exclusively about the domestic lives of ordinary women, illuminating their struggles and triumphs.  And Shelby Foote is the noted author of novels about the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement, including Shiloh.  He became best-known for his three volume history of the Civil War, and his appearance throughout Ken Burns' documentary on the same subject, but he always considered himself a novelist first and foremost. He talks here about his tumultuous life in the Mississippi Delta, and how adversity shaped him as a writer. (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2020

In celebration of painter Wayne Thiebaud's 100th birthday, we feature a conversation with the artist and with one of his most renowned students, Fritz Scholder. Thiebaud's paintings of pies, cupcakes, donuts, pinball machines and bowties - are some of the most vivid and well-known in American art.  His San Francisco cityscapes are also rich in color and enchanting.  Scholder is best known for his unconventional portraits of Native Americans, which represented them in their full humanity, and led to the "New American Indian Art Movement."   (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2020