Coursera manager Brandon Iljas saw his 30th birthday approaching from a distance, and decided to make a key change, courtesy of Berklee Online.

Don Letts introduced punks in the 1970s UK scene to reggae, kind of. He was a good friend of Bob Marley, sort of. He is the embodiment of punk’s ethos of empowerment, freedom, and individuality, totally!

You know Butch Vig as the drummer and producer of Garbage, or the producer of mammoth 1990s recordings from Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins. But there is a lot more to him than that. For one, he has been playing with most of the people he makes music with for nearly 40 years.

If you’ve heard any reggae music in your entire life then you’ve heard Sly Dunbar’s drumming, or at the very least, his influence. As one half of Sly and Robbie, Sly says he’s probably played on a million songs.

Anna Bulbrook began studying violin at four. She quit at the age of 21, but then changed the terms of the relationship after a gig with Kanye West, and went on to become a founding member of the Airborne Toxic Event.

Hailu Mergia is an accordionist, keyboardist, and bandleader from Ethiopia, where he played with Walias Band and Dahlak Band before defecting to the US.

Margo Nahas and Jay Vigon are partners in life, love, and business, and have designed classic album covers by iconic acts like Fleetwood Mac and Prince. The pair discuss what it was like to work with these artists as well as how they met, why they moved from LA to Iowa, and the secret to a long-lasting partnership.

Huey Lewis: Some of his lies are true, including the ones about stowing away on a plane to Europe, playing soccer with Black Sabbath and Ozzy, and being dressed by Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy. He also touches upon his meteoric rise to fame in the 1980s and his struggles with Ménière’s disease.

Steven Wilson may be best known for his solo work and the progressive rock he made with Porcupine Tree, but he’s been a key part of over a dozen projects.