Curated playlist

1955 births

Coke La RockCoke La Rock quit hip-hop after DJ Kool Herc was stabbed at a party. He said murder had become part of the game.
Peter Hedström (sociologist)Sociologist Peter Hedström argues social patterns need explaining by the mechanisms underneath them.
Bruce WillisBruce Willis received the 2,321st star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on the 16th of October 2006. It sits at 6915 Hollywood Boulevard. At the reception, he told the crowd he used to come down and look at the stars. Then came the…
Bill GatesBill Gates and Paul Allen wrote software for a computer they did not have. Their Altair demo worked the first time.
Eric SchmidtEric Schmidt ran Google while taking a base salary of just $1 a year. That pay lasted from 2004 through 2010.
J. K. SimmonsFor decades, audiences knew J. K. Simmons's face and voice but could not name him. Whiplash in 2014 changed that.
John GrishamJohn Grisham hid in a restroom during a gunfight at 17. That scare pushed him toward college, law and novels.
Moses MaloneMoses Malone predicted his 76ers would sweep the playoffs, and they went 12-1.
Reba McEntireReba McEntire, later known as the Queen of Country, nearly missed her Grand Ole Opry debut on the 17th of September 1977. A guard at the gate overlooked her name on the list of performers. Her parents and her older sister Alice had driven…
Warren JeffsWarren Jeffs was in the red 2007 Cadillac Escalade that highway trooper Eddie Dutchover stopped on Interstate 15 in Clark County, Nevada. It was around 9 p.m. on the 28th of August 2006. The reason for the stop was minor. The temporary…
K. T. S. SaraoA Buddhist Studies professor also served as an army cadet captain. K. T. S. Sarao did so from 1981 to 1993.
Dawood IbrahimDawood Ibrahim Kaskar has a bounty of US$25 million on his head, offered by the United States. In August 2015, an Indian television channel, Times Now, phoned a home in Karachi. His wife answered and confirmed that he was there. The…
Akira ToriyamaAkira Toriyama, the Japanese manga artist behind Dragon Ball, made his final contribution to that story by changing one drawing. In chapter 103 of Dragon Ball Super, the warrior Piccolo is shown departing. Toriyama instructed his…
DJ Kool HercDJ Kool Herc played two copies of one record to stretch a drum break. He debuted the trick at a Bronx party in 1973.
David ChaumDavid Chaum's 1982 dissertation held nearly every idea behind the blockchain.
Rowan AtkinsonRowan Atkinson played one synthesizer note, over and over, at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The moment came during a performance of "Chariots of Fire". Atkinson appeared as Mr. Bean, and the single note soon…
Pope Leo XIVBefore the 2025 conclave, the future Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, explained his chances to a friend by text message. "I'm an American, I can't be elected," he wrote. He was elected anyway. This documentary follows a path…
Billy Bob ThorntonBilly Bob Thornton was working as a waiter at an industry event in Los Angeles when he found himself serving the film director Billy Wilder. Thornton struck up a conversation with him. Wilder's advice was simple: think about becoming a…
Kelsey GrammerKelsey Grammer was meant to play Frasier Crane for only six episodes. He kept the role for 20 years across two shows.
Roland EmmerichWatching Star Wars made Roland Emmerich quit set design for directing. He later became Hollywood's "master of disaster."
Jeremy Black (historian)Historian Jeremy Black wrote a book on Sherlock Holmes and another on Poirot in 2022.
Mark David ChapmanMark David Chapman, who killed John Lennon, was once a beloved summer camp counselor nicknamed "Nemo."
James S. ShapiroJames S. Shapiro wrote Contested Will to debunk the Oxfordian theory of who wrote Shakespeare's plays.
Raymond BensonRaymond Benson became the first non-British author to write James Bond novels.
Maria DowlingMaria Dowling's book argued that ideas mattered at Henry VIII's court, not merely power.
Lee SmolinLee Smolin dropped out of high school and took up Einstein's unfinished work. He called it his mission.
Michel PlatiniMichel Platini scored nine goals in five matches at the 1984 European Championship. That record stood for 37 years.
Vladimir SorokinRussian writer Vladimir Sorokin trained as an engineer, not a writer. His books were banned in the Soviet era.