What It Takes®

About What It Takes®

Revealing, intimate conversations with visionaries and leaders in the arts, science, technology, public service, sports and business. These engaging personal stories are drawn from interviews with the American Academy of Achievement, and offer insights you’ll want to apply to your own life.

Publisher

Academy of Achievement

Category

arts · science · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

3 Aug 2015

Latest episode

20 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

5 of 228 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   20 Jul 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Katie Ledecky: The Call Of The Water

   Host Michael Strahan interviews Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky about her unique approach to competition and her deep connection to the water.

2. 

   13 Apr 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Cindy Sherman: Illusions of Identity

   Cindy Sherman, one of the world's most renowned contemporary art photographers, started posing for her own photos in the 1970's, long before the advent of selfies. But she says her images are not self-portraits. Instead, she uses sets, costumes and makeup to create an elaborate array of characters. In this introspective interview about her journey as an individual and an artist, Cindy Sherman reveals how and why she hides herself from view.

3. 

   27 Nov 2025TRANSCRIPT

   Tara VanDerveer: A Vision for Victory

   She is one of the greatest basketball coaches in history, and an inspiration to generations of young women. Tara VanDerveer was head coach of the Stanford Women's Basketball team for 38 seasons. She led her team to three NCAA Championships. She also led the national women's basketball team to a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. Here she talks eloquently about her lifelong love for the game and about her frustrations early in life, before Title IX, when there were no women's teams available to her. She also talks in detail about her unique and winning approach to coaching, and describes the ways she finds basketball metaphors in everything she does!

Inside a recent episode

Katie Ledecky: The Call Of The Water

Published 20 Jul 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] The woman that won gold in the 800 meters in 1984 was also an American, Tiffany Cohen. Her record-setting time was 8 minutes, 24 seconds and change. That is a 20-second gap between her achievement 40 years ago and yours. It seems like the world is getting faster. Yeah, swimming has gotten faster every year. I think especially over even my career, my years in the sport, I think almost every event has gotten faster. Maybe not necessarily every world record has been broken once, but the depth of fast swimming worldwide has definitely improved. And so the competition is faster. I think just with technological changes, with social media, with regular media, I think just being able to see what your competitors are doing worldwide so instantaneously, I think has driven young swimmers to Learn, learn from each other, see how people are swimming, watch video of swimmers from all over the world, things like that. […]

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

9,302,239

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.7 / 5

938 ratings

Spotify

4.6 / 5

30 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 79 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

93

Social presence

0

YouTube

93

Engagement

67

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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