CNN was just a glimmer in my eye when I was growing up in Atlanta.

When either major stories break or something just really touches me, I initiate and pitch, then follow through. I will literally march across the newsroom and bang on the president of CNN's door. He knows when I'm coming.

I tend to gravitate toward gender- and race-related stories.

I want to help lift women's voices. And I realize, in doing that, I need to use my own.

The concentration of wealth in the hands of the few threatens the ability of ordinary people to raise their voices and have a say over how our societies are run.

I was associated with a woman who I was involved with and had a relationship with. She asked for money. I felt as though I was being blackmailed or there was some sort of extortion.

I could have took the easy way and just been a cowboy, looking good, trying to make my money off Hank Williams and being this clean-cut guy. But I always wanted to be myself and go against the grain.

I wanted to win the gold medal and then go home and further my education in college. I had no intentions whatsoever to become a professional fighter because I had heard horror stories about former boxers who made money but, in the end, ended up with nothing. I didn't want to be one of those guys.