Headlines

Two-time Olympic gold medalist, world champion many times over and APB speaker Kayla Harrison closed out 2019 with a bang! She clinched a major victory over challenger Larissa Pacheco in the Professional Fighters League women’s lightweight championship.

APB speaker David Epstein’s latest bestseller Range contradicts the conventional wisdom of “practice makes perfect” or, in career lingo, specialization. Epstein went on GPS with Fareed Zakaria on CNN to explain his data-driven bombshell theory. Epstein shares that it is generalists who thrive in a specialized world and offers two key reasons why this is so. Firstly, he draws on his encyclopedic knowledge of science, journalism, data, business and technology to assert that the world itself is becoming more specialized, which in turn demands big-picture thinkers to synthesize information and connect the dots. Secondly, as he puts it for Zakaria on air, “we learn who we are in practice, not in theory,” meaning that we maximize our potential by sampling many things.

Jeopardy! champion and APB speaker Ken Jennings is set to return to the Jeopardy! stage this January to compete against the other two top money winners in show history. The ultimate showdown, aptly called Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time, is set to debut at 8pm EST on January 7th, hosted by Alex Trebek. Already having won two games, the first of the three contestants to win three matches will take home $1 million (and a lifetime of bragging rights), while the two runners-up will win $250,000.

APB speaker Herman Boone, a beloved football coach, mentor, leader and motivator that touched the hearts of thousands, has passed away at the age of 84 in his home in Alexandria, Virginia. Boone is best known for uniting two racially diverse football teams in the '70s as newfound head coach of the T.C. Williams High School. The incredible story, including his journey with assistant Bill Yoast, was memorialized in the mega-hit film Remember the Titans, in which Boone was played by Denzel Washington to great acclaim. Coach Boone was a larger-than-life figure in the Alexandria community, and he became a symbol of steadfastness in the fight for racial integration and equality nationwide.

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LinkedIn has published its 5th annual “Top Voices” list, highlighting standout professionals from diverse industries who are breaking boundaries, building communities and starting conversations. APB’s Justin J. Shaifer, the founder and executive director of Fascinate, Inc., is featured on the prestigious Top 10 list for Technology, making 2019 a banner year for the young, science-loving firebrand.

Already a Top 10 New York Times best-selling book, Range, by APB speaker David Epstein has been named to multiple “Best of 2019” lists. These include Amazon’s Best Business and Leadership Books of 2019, Apple’s Best Audiobooks of 2019, Inc.’s Must-Read Books for Entrepreneurs in 2019, Bookpal’s Outstanding Works of Literature 2019 Longlist and Porchlight’s Business Book Awards Longlist. 

President and CEO of The Paley Center for Media and sought-after speaker Pat Mitchell launched the TEDWomen conference in 2010. Today, the conference is a blockbuster annual event recognizing the incredible work championed by women and girls in all fields. This year, not only will Mitchell be giving a keynote during the December 6th "Wayfinders" session, but fellow APB speaker and first female President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will be addressing the audience during the December 4th "Truth Tellers" session. 

Entrepreneur, investor and APB speaker Soraya Darabi is taking over the second season of Business Schooled, the hit podcast by Synchrony, as the new host and resident business expert. The eight-episode season features probing conversations with an up-and-coming generation of entrepreneurs from across the country. Darabi’s mission with this season of Business Schooled is to unpack why today’s generation of entrepreneurs are more successful across the board than in the prior three decades. She talks to business owners and founders that run the gamut of modern business, from the world of 3D printing in the heart of New York City to a backyard grilling guru in Louisville, Kentucky. This consistently top-ranked business podcast explores what it really takes to start and grow a business, from the financial to the personal.

Long known as “America’s Historian” for his beloved History Channel shows, and as the best-selling author of over 10 thrillers, APB’s Brad Meltzer put his literary and historical expertise to use to create the popular series of children’s books, Ordinary People Change the World, based around inspirational historical figures. Now, the series has been turned into a new show, Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum, airing at 9am EST weekdays on PBS Kids.