25 min listen
Sidney Poitier: Trailblazing Screen Legend
FromWhat It Takes®
ratings:
Length:
53 minutes
Released:
Feb 27, 2016
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
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.
Released:
Feb 27, 2016
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Jonas Salk: Vanquisher of Polio: Before Jonas Salk created the Polio vaccine, thousands of children died every year or were left paralyzed by the virus (adults too). In 1952 alone, there were 58,000 cases in the United States. When news of the discovery was made public on April 12, 1955, Jonas Salk was hailed as a miracle worker. He further endeared himself to the public by refusing to patent the vaccine. He had no desire to profit personally from the discovery, but merely wished to see the vaccine disseminated as widely as possible. The interview with Dr. Salk featured in this episode was recorded in 1991. In it, Salk talks about being the child of uneducated immigrants, and carving his own path to medical school and eventually virology -- a specialty that didn't exist when he began as a researcher. He discusses the anti-semitic quotas he had to overcome, as well as the doubt and scorn of many of his peers. But he also describes the transformation and relief his polio vaccine brou by What It Takes®