American Achievers

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AMERICAN ACHIEVERS celebrates ambition, commitment to excellence, risk-taking and tenacity in pursuit of the American Dream. Author and documentary filmmaker Keith Dunnavant, the biographer of Paul ”Bear” Bryant, Joe Montana, and Bart Starr, goes deep wit

Keith Dunnavant


    • Dec 23, 2024 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekly NEW EPISODES
    • 58m AVG DURATION
    • 67 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from American Achievers

    Season 4, Episode 12: Franc D'Ambrosio

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2024 55:26


    Part 2 of 2: Franc D'Ambrosio talks about the sacrifices he made to chase his dreams, including routinely choosing between food and shelter, how dyslexia affected his career, how playing the Phantom changed his life, and the critical skill he learned from Barry Manilow.

    Season 4, Episode 11: Franc D'Ambrosio

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2024 56:45


    Part 1 of 2: Franc D'Ambrosio talks about walking away from the security of his family's bakery business to pursue a career as a singer and actor, the intense desire that drove him, landing the part of Anthony Corleone in THE GODFATHER PART III, and how he almost turned down the stage role that will always define him—the masked man in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.

    Season 4, Episode 10: Ulice Payne, Jr.

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2024 36:50


    Lawyer and former Major League Baseball executive Ulice Payne, Jr. talks about the formative values of his childhood in western Pennsylvania, landing a basketball scholarship to Marquette, where he played on the 1977 NCAA championship team, and the moment of heartbreak that opened the door to his future.

    Season 4, Episode 9: Jodie Markell

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2024 71:08


    Actress and director Jodie Markell, who recently starred in the satirical play LENI'S LAST LAMENT, talks about the moment when she first realized that performing stirred something deep in her soul and why she was driven to turn a long-forgotten Tennessee Williams screenplay into the independent film THE LOSS OF A TEARDROP DIAMOND.

    Season 4, Episode 8: Randall Atcheson

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 25, 2024 85:12


    Concert pianist Randall Atcheson talks about the talent that propelled him from small-town Alabama churches to Julliard and performance halls on five continents, how he keeps pushing himself to excel and connect with audiences, and the near-death experience that changed his life.

    Season 4, Episode 7: Bob Lilly

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2024 43:01


    Part 2 of 2: Bob Lilly talks about the mindset he brought to the field as a Hall of Fame defensive tackle for Tom Landry's Dallas Cowboys, how it felt to become the first honoree at Texas Stadium's Ring of Honor, and the gift that launched him on a different sort of adventure.

    Season 4, Episode 6: Bob Lilly

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 11, 2024 54:49


    Part 1 of 2: Bob Lilly talks about learning from his father's tenacity, the devastating drought that forced his family to leave Texas, how his life pivoted on landing a football scholarship to TCU, and becoming the first draft choice of the expansion Dallas Cowboys.

    Season 4, Episode 5: Richard Jadick

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 4, 2024 61:43


    Urologist Richard Jadick talks about the tragedy that rocked his upstate New York family, the television show that inspired his medical career, how he became the most decorated doctor of the Iraq War, and the battlefield memories that still haunt him.

    Season 4, Episode 4: Bob Tiffin

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2024 56:28


    Bob Tiffin talks about the lessons he learned around his father's home supply store, the leap he took to launch Tiffin Motorhomes, how he built the family operation into a leading RV manufacturer, and the power of a very big check.

    Season 4, Episode 3: Eileen Collins

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 21, 2024 78:13


    Part 2 of 2: Eileen Collins talks about the pressure she felt to measure up at NASA, becoming the first woman to pilot and command the Space Shuttle, how traveling to space affected her, and the tragic day when Columbia disintegrated on re-entry, killing seven of her colleagues.

    Season 4, Episode 2: Eileen Collins

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 14, 2024 56:42


    Part 1 of 2: Eileen Collins talks about her youthful fascination with flight, the stuttering that dented her confidence, negotiating the road from community-college math major to barrier-shattering U.S. Air Force pilot, and achieving her dream of becoming an astronaut.

    Season 4, Episode 1: Bill Hardgrave

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 7, 2024 69:03


    Bill Hardgrave talks about becoming the first person in his family to graduate from high school, using basketball to earn a college education, and how technology powered his unlikely journey into higher education—culminating with his appointment as president of the University of Memphis.

    Season 3, Episode 14: Gabe Kallos

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 9, 2023 50:05


    Gabe Kallos talks about the rise of antisemitism in his native Hungary and how it affected how he saw himself, somehow avoiding the gas chambers as a teenage slave laborer at the Auschwitz concentration camp, emigrating to the United States, and carving out a good life as a Southern California dentist.        

    Season 3, Episode 13: Paul Coffman

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 2, 2023 56:09


    Paul Coffman talks about being shaped by the values of a small Kansas farming community, walking onto the football team at Kansas State, where he eventually earned a scholarship and a starting position, and negotiating the arduous road from undrafted free agent to Pro Bowl tight end for the Green Bay Packers.

    Season 3, Episode 12: Norman Gaddis

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2023 47:23


    Part 2 of 2: Norman Gaddis talks about the day he was captured by the North Vietnamese, the torture he endured, how he survived 2,124 days at the infamous prison camp known as the Hanoi Hilton, and the joy he felt when he reunited with his family and resumed his Air Force career.  

    Season 3, Episode 11: Norman Gaddis

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2023 60:51


    Part 1 of 2: Retired Air Force General Norman Gaddis talks about the moment of initiative during World War II that changed his life, flying escorts in the Berlin Airlift, volunteering for duty as a fighter pilot in Vietnam, and the fateful day when his F-4 was blasted out of the sky.

    Season 3, Episode 10: Robert Finnigan

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 11, 2023 63:41


    Silicon Valley pioneer Robert Finnigan talks about losing his mother at age eight, gravitating to the then-nascent field of electronics after World War II, and betting his future on the commercial viability of the revolutionary quadrupole mass spectrometer.

    Season 3, Episode 9: Carol Bates Brown

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2023 65:14


    Carol Bates Brown talks about being affected by the radicalization of her college campus in the late 1960s, how she and a friend developed the popular bracelet that brought attention to the issue of Vietnam War POWs and MIAs, and how the cause took control of her life.

    Season 3, Episode 8: Randy Cross

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2023 50:06


    CBS Sports football analyst Randy Cross talks about the impact of his father's alcoholism, why his ambition to be a professional football player developed slowly, what he learned about chasing success from Bill Walsh, and how he leveraged his three Super Bowl rings with the San Francisco 49ers to achieve a long career in television.

    Season 3, Episode 7: Susie Scott Krabacher

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2023 49:19


    Part 2 of 2: Susie Scott Krabacher talks about struggling to find her way after PLAYBOY, meeting the love of her life, dealing with the lingering effects of her abuse, and the purpose she has found in leading a charity dedicated to nurturing and protecting Haiti's most vulnerable children.

    Season 3, Episode 6: Susie Scott Krabacher

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2023 48:36


    Part 1 of 2: Susie Scott Krabacher talks about the abuse she suffered as a child, a promise she made to God, her rocket ride to fame as a PLAYBOY centerfold, confronting the dark side of that world, and the marriage to a conman that eventually left her homeless.

    Season 3, Episode 5: Michael Cleveland

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2023 62:36


    Grammy-winning Bluegrass fiddler Michael Cleveland talks about battling against the limitations of blindness and hearing loss, a youthful encounter with Bill Monroe, the drinking that once dominated his life, and how he keeps pushing himself artistically.

    Season 3, Episode 4: Art Dunning

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2023 59:51


    Art Dunning talks about the love of learning that animated his youth in the segregated South and eventually led to a successful career in academia, the defining choice he faced while serving in the U.S. Air Force, and the fateful decision he made to help integrate the all-white University of Alabama football program.

    Season 3, Episode 3: Joe Kittinger

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2023 62:43


    Part 2 of 2: Joe Kittinger talks about reuniting with Dr. John Paul Stapp for Project Excelsior, jumping out of his balloon from a record altitude of 102,800 feet, being tortured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, and working with the Red Bull team to help Felix Baumgartner shatter his 52-year-old record.

    Season 3, Episode 2: Joe Kittinger

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2023 30:31


    Part 1 of 2: Fighter pilot and test pilot Joe Kittinger talks about the sense of independence and adventure instilled in him by his parents, the yearn to fly that led him into the U.S. Air Force in the early days of jets, his life-altering introduction to Dr. John Paul Stapp, and his pioneering high-altitude work with Project Manhigh, which took him toward the edge of space in the years before NASA.

    Season 3, Episode 1: Dave Kindred

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2023 90:57


    Sports columnist Dave Kindred talks about the enduring influence of small-town Midwestern values, the impact of a childhood gift, the memorable day he shared a bed with Muhammad Ali, and the late-in-life assignment that has given him purpose and fulfillment.

    Season 2, Episode 18: Dick Rutan

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 21, 2022 52:44


    Part 2 of 2: Dick Rutan talks about the obstacles he and his brother Burt faced in building the Rutan Voyager and how, over the course of a nine-day journey in 1986, battling through mechanical problems, violent weather and gathering fatigue, he and Jeana Yeager established an aviation milestone that many thought impossible: flying around the world without stopping or refueling.    

    Season 2, Episode 17: Dick Rutan

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2022 65:23


    Part 1 of 2: Dick Rutan talks about the airplane ride that changed his life, the admonition from his mother that altered his view of the world, the need for adventure that led him to become a decorated fighter pilot during the Vietnam War, and the origins of his historic flight around the world.      

    Season 2, Episode 16: Tito Echiburu

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 7, 2022 77:11


    Chilean-born banker Tito Echiburu talks about escaping an abusive father and political instability to chase success in the United States, the importance of goal-setting, drive and assimilation, and how he leveraged a tennis scholarship and a life-altering telegram to find happiness in a small Mississippi town.

    Season 2, Episode 15: Michael O'Neill

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 31, 2022 49:47


    Part 2 of 2: Michael O'Neill talks about his breakout performance as a Secret Service agent on THE WEST WING, the one part he lost that still bothers him, the most gut-wrenching role of his career, the importance of tenacity, and how some characters have burrowed deep into his soul.

    Season 2, Episode 14: Michael O'Neill

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 24, 2022 45:06


    Part 1 of 2: Television and film actor Michael O'Neill, best known for SEABISCUIT, THE WEST WING, and GREY'S ANATOMY, talks about the unlikely phone call that led him to Hollywood,  the lessons he learned from an aging star, and how he conquered a debilitating weakness.   

    Season 2, Episode 13: Archie Griffin

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 17, 2022 72:16


    Archie Griffin, the only two-time winner of college football's Heisman Trophy, talks about the powerful example set by his father, his memorable first meeting with coach Woody Hayes, his humbling first carry at Ohio State, and what he learned from his disappointing NFL career.

    Season 2, Episode 12: Gina Locklear

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2022 42:43


    Gina Locklear, the owner of the Zkano sock company, talks about why she quit her real estate job to return to her devastated hometown and how she has been tested by the various challenges of building a consumer brand in an industry buffeted by globalization.

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    Season 2, Episode 11: Robert Swan

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2022 44:04


    Part 2 of 2: Robert Swan talks about the bittersweet climax of his South Pole expedition and his treacherous journey to the North Pole, the alcohol problem that pushed him to the edge, how Jacques Cousteau inspired him to pursue a 50-year mission, why he emigrated to the United States, and what he is learning from the son now following in his footsteps.

    Season 2, Episode 10: Robert Swan

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 26, 2022 56:42


    Part 1 of 2: Robert Swan talks about the boyhood fascination with Robert Falcon Scott that grew into a burning ambition to follow in the doomed explorer's footsteps and how he overcame various obstacles to become the first person to walk to both the north and south poles.

    Season 2, Episode 9: Tom Johnson

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2022 93:59


    Tom Johnson, the former president of CNN and publisher of the LOS ANGELES TIMES, talks about the life-altering impact of one man's act of faith, the drive that propelled him to become one of the most powerful figures in American media—and the price he has paid for his raging ambition.

    Season 2, Episode 8: Flora Hyacinth

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 12, 2022 34:45


    Chiropractor Flora Hyacinth talks about growing up poor in a Caribbean fishing village, dreaming of a better life, the athletic scholarship that brought her to the United States, the memorable day she set a world record in the triple jump, and the injury she sustained while training for the Olympics that changed her life.

    Season 2, Episode 7: Homer Hickam

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 5, 2022 73:08


    Former NASA engineer Homer Hickam talks about growing up in West Virginia coal country, his complicated relationship with his father, the influence of a special teacher, and the inspirational story that resulted in the best-selling memoir ROCKET BOYS and the popular film OCTOBER SKY.

    Season 2, Episode 6: Jeff Miller

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 29, 2022 70:55


    Jeff Miller, who owns a dry cleaning business in Hendersonville, North Carolina, talks about the World War II veterans, including his father, who imbued his upbringing with patriotism and a sense of community, and the fateful spark that led him to co-found the Honor Flight Network.

    Season 2, Episode 5: Bill Rasmussen

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 22, 2022 52:19


    Part 2 of 2: Bill Rasmussen talks about the skepticism he and his partners faced in selling a 24-hour sports channel to cable operators, rights holders and advertisers, and the various financial, technological and logistical hurdles they overcame while founding a media brand that would fundamentally change the sports world and the television industry. 

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    Season 2, Episode 4: Bill Rasmussen

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2022 46:49


    Part 1 of 2: Bill Rasmussen talks about his formative years as a local broadcaster, being fired from his front-office job with hockey's New England Whalers, and how, working with his son, Scott, and insurance agent Ed Eagan, he began to develop the revolutionary idea that became the cable channel ESPN.

    espn bill rasmussen
    Season 2, Episode 3: Joe Galloway

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 8, 2022 72:24


    In an interview conducted two years before his death in 2021, war correspondent Joe Galloway talks about the pivotal event that led him to a life in journalism, covering the Kansas murder case immortalized by Truman Capote, the landmark Vietnam War battle that profoundly marked him, producing the best-selling book that was adapted into the Mel Gibson movie WE WERE SOLDIERS, and the surreal night he spent on the same battlefield 28 years later.

    Season 2, Episode 2: Spencer Tillman

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 1, 2022 81:18


    Fox Sports football analyst Spencer Tillman talks about the missionary mother who shaped his view of the world, the lessons he learned while playing football for Oklahoma and in the NFL, the keys to his long career in broadcasting, and the motivational power of rejection and pressure.    

    Season 2, Episode 1: Steve Justice

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2022 55:52


    Steve Justice, the former director of advanced systems development for Lockheed Martin's fabled Skunk Works, who recently came out of retirement to join Virgin Galactic, talks about the aircraft that captured his imagination, what he learned from his biggest failure, and the power of dreams, passion, risk, and thinking without artificial boundaries.

    Season 1, Episode 23: Chee-Yun

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 6, 2022 58:03


    Classical violinist Chee-Yun talks about the sibling rivalry that enabled her musical development in South Korea, how moving to America and studying at Julliard motivated her, the family crisis that kickstarted her professional career, and the special instrument with an intriguing heritage that brings her pleasure.

    Season 1, Episode 22: Ben Gilbert

    Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2022 63:25


    Ben Gilbert, one of the founders of Moe's Original Bar B Que, talks about why he quit his job to pursue his dream, the importance of a strong work ethic, and the lessons he has learned from turning one Colorado restaurant into a growing chain with locations in 14 states.

    Season 1, Episode 21: Steve Bartkowski

    Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2022 54:29


    Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Steve Bartkowski talks about being selected number one overall in the 1975 NFL Draft, why he began to second-guess his decision to choose football over baseball, how losing his starting job changed him, why a 1980 playoff loss to the Cowboys still haunts him, and the athletic lessons that he has applied to the rest of his life.

    nfl draft cowboys steve bartkowski
    Season 1, Episode 20: Adam Wright

    Play Episode Listen Later May 16, 2022 73:19


    Grammy-nominated songwriter Adam Wright talks about his early musical influences, the impact of his family legacy, the art of writing a country song, and how it feels to hear his work interpreted by artists including Lee Ann Womack, Trisha Yearwood and Alan Jackson.

    Season 1, Episode 19: Charles Bolden Jr.

    Play Episode Listen Later May 9, 2022 45:19


    Part 2 of 2: Charles Bolden Jr. talks about the mentor who encouraged him to apply for the astronaut program, how his four Space Shuttle missions affected his perspective, the problematic deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope, and his seven-year tenure as NASA Administrator.    

    Season 1, Episode 18: Charles Bolden Jr.

    Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2022 37:53


    Part 1 of 2: Retired General Charles Bolden Jr. talks about navigating around a cultural roadblock to win an appointment to the Naval Academy, the influence of his educator parents, and the lessons he learned as a Marine aviator and test pilot on the way to outer space.  

    Season 1, Episode 17: Jamil Dada

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2022 54:20


    Banker and civic leader Jamil Dada talks about his privileged childhood in Pakistan, why he defied his parents to pursue a new life in the United States, the defining life lesson he took from his grandfather, and what he has learned from battling stage four cancer.  

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