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. Jobs famously co-founded Apple. In the late 90’s, when the company was failing, he hired a young engineer and designer named Fadell, who created a little device that became known as the iPod. It not only turned Apple’s fortunes around, it transformed the music industry and the experience of listening. Fadell’s next assignment was the iPhone, which changed the nature of communication itself. After leaving Apple, Fadell went on to found Nest Labs, a company that has begun to alter the technology of the home. You’ll hear Tony Fadell’s fascinating personal story, told with all the passion and enthusiasm he brings to his game-changing inventions. And you’ll hear Steve Jobs, speaking as a young man (in 1982) about what it takes to innovate.

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2016

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 this year’s Oscars.). The star of “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “The Defiant Ones,” and “In The Heat of the Night” was the first African-American to win an Academy Award - for “Lillies of the Field” in 1964. He was a leading man and box office sensation throughout the 1950’s and 60’s, portraying a huge array of characters with a dignity, courage and humanity that was radical for its time. In this episode, featuring an interview with Poitier at 82, you’ll hear him discuss how his childhood on a tiny island in the Bahamas made all the difference in his view of himself, and in the choices he made throughout his career as an actor.

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2016

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.

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2016

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 episode, 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.

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2016

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 struggle for justice and human rights, changed the world. In this episode, Mrs. King describes her early aspirations in music, her courtship with Martin, her courage in the face of violence, and her discovery that a purposeful life is a happy life.

After you listen to the episode, check out “The Road to Civil Rights,” an eBook from the Academy of Achievement, free at iTunes University. http://apple.co/1Q3IeW0

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2016

Lee Berger has made two extraordinary scientific breakthroughs that are transforming our understanding of human evolution. Berger is a trailblazing paleoanthropologist. His most recent discovery involved a dramatic expedition through a 7-inch tunnel, deep inside the chamber of a South African cave. On the floor were thousands of bones, belonging to an unknown species of human relative that Berger has named “Homo naledi.” Berger explains why he believes that Homo naledi was intentionally disposing of its dead (a practice thought to be exclusively human), and he discusses his lifelong passion for adventure.

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2016

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 he’d grown up under the most brutal form of segregation. But his theology evolved, he says, and he realized it was a divine calling to fight for justice. In this episode you’ll hear Archbishop Tutu describe his personal, spiritual and political journey -- including the Nobel Peace Prize and chairmanship of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. You’ll also hear his passionate explanation of why humans are essentially good, no matter how often it may seem to the contrary.

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2015

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, while writing and directing Star Wars, Indiana Jones and American Graffiti, he learned life-changing lessons about humility, generosity, and the inestimable value of friendship…. as well as the secret to happiness. A not-too-subtle hint here: it has nothing to do with fame and fortune.

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2015

"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 to plan and oversee the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden. True, he may not have controlled the historical moment, but his intensive training and vast experience as a Navy Seal and a commander enabled him to carry out the precision operation and change history. In this episode you'll hear about what it means to be in Special Ops, but you'll also learn why the former Admiral - now Chancellor of the University of Texas - believes that sometimes it's the little things you do in life that may change the world the most.

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2015

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 fiction, history, geography and culture into a perfect, page-turning blend. But when you hear Michener’s voice in this episode, you’ll realize his enormous talent for storytelling was not limited to the page. He is sure to win you over in this 1991 interview, recorded when he was 85 years old and was looking back on his own dramatic life story. He talks about the unlikely approach he took to overcoming considerable obstacles, and about his very first venture into writing fiction, when he was stationed on an island in the Pacific during World War II. The book that emerged from that experience was "Tales of the South Pacific," which won him a Pulitzer, and later became the Broadway hit and movie: “South Pacific.” Michener also describes what he calls some of the “differential experiences” in his life, like the very moment he decided he would live his life as if he were a great man. And he extols all of us listening to look out for unexpected opportunities and grab them.

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2015