Curated playlist

20th-century Roman Catholics

Alfred HitchcockAt age five, Alfred Hitchcock was sent to a police station with a note and locked in a cell.
John F. KennedyJohn F. Kennedy spent hours in the water towing a burned crewman after a destroyer cut his boat in half.
F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott Fitzgerald died in 1940 believing his work was forgotten. The Great Gatsby later sold millions.
Frank SinatraFrank Sinatra was dropped by his record label in 1952. A movie role then brought him back to the top.
J. R. R. TolkienOn his 21st birthday, Tolkien proposed by letter to a woman who was already engaged.
Antonin ScaliaAntonin Scalia won confirmation to the United States Supreme Court on the 17th of September 1986 by a vote of 98-0. Not one senator voted no. Later, Joe Biden, a committee member who became a president, said he regretted not opposing…
Bruce SpringsteenBruce Springsteen threw the first acetate of his own album Born to Run into the swimming pool of his hotel in 1975. The record was being mastered while the band toured, and he was furious at what he heard. He briefly considered scrapping…
Kobe BryantKobe Bryant scored 81 points against Toronto in 2006, the second-highest NBA game total ever.
Nicole KidmanNicole Kidman was born on the 20th of June 1967 in Honolulu, Hawaii, and was given the Hawaiian name Hōkūlani, which means heavenly star. The inspiration for the name was a baby elephant born around the same time at the Honolulu Zoo. Since…
Stephen ColbertAt a 2006 dinner, Stephen Colbert roasted President Bush to a cold room. His show's ratings jumped 37% the next week.
Gonzague de ReynoldGonzague de Reynold wrote more than thirty books, yet his name has largely vanished from English-language memory.
Ferdinand MarcosFerdinand Marcos was convicted of murder as a law student, then rose to president.
Lionel MessiLionel Messi's first Barcelona contract was written on a paper napkin. He was 13 at the time.
James ComeyJames Comey was addressing agents at the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office on the 9th of May 2017. Television news reports flashed word that President Donald Trump had fired him. He was the seventh director in the bureau's history, and fewer…
Martin SheenMartin Sheen was born Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez. In a 2009 speech at Oxford University, he said he had been arrested 66 times. The human rights activist Craig Kielburger gave that tally a memorable comparison. He said Sheen had "a rap…
AaliyahAaliyah signed her first record deal at twelve. By 22 she had three albums and two films behind her.
Ryan ReynoldsRyan Reynolds gave up his usual fee so the Deadpool film would get made.
Felipe VIFelipe VI, King of Spain, stands 1.97 metres tall, or 6 feet 5 and a half inches. That height earned him a Guinness World Record as the tallest reigning monarch in the world. It is a small fact about a man whose public life has been shaped…
Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer)Hours before the 1998 World Cup final, Ronaldo suffered a convulsive fit. He was dropped, then reinstated.
Konrad AdenauerObservers said Konrad Adenauer became West Germany's first chancellor by one vote, his own. He was 73.
Sepp BlatterSepp Blatter announced his resignation as FIFA president six days after the U.S. indicted FIFA officials.
John von NeumannJohn von Neumann's father asked Theodore von Kármán to talk his son out of mathematics.
Megyn KellyMegyn Kelly stood on a rally stage in Pittsburgh on the 4th of November 2024, one day before the presidential election, and endorsed Donald Trump. She told the crowd he would be a "protector" of women. Afterward she posted a selfie with…
Melania TrumpMelania Trump holds a set of firsts that no earlier first lady of the United States shares. She is the first naturalized citizen to hold the title. She is also the first first lady whose native language is not English. Other names mark…
Cesar ChavezCesar Chavez was born Cesario Estrada Chavez on the 31st of March 1927 and died on the 23rd of April 1993. Many Mexican Americans came to speak of him as a "folk saint." California farm owners saw something else entirely, a communist…
Gwen StefaniGwen Stefani had a hit in 2005 that changed how Americans bought music. Her single “Hollaback Girl” rose to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It also became the first song downloaded one million times in the United States. The woman…
Joseph CampbellGeorge Lucas said Joseph Campbell's book helped shape Star Wars. They met only in 1984.
Francisco FrancoFrancisco Franco was shot in the abdomen at 23 and was not expected to live. He ruled Spain from 1939 to 1975.
Cristiano RonaldoCristiano Ronaldo's mother wanted to abort him, but her doctor refused. He became football's top goalscorer.
Marjorie Taylor GreeneMarjorie Taylor Greene walked onto the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on her first day in office wearing a face mask that read “Trump Won.” Donald Trump had lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden. The mask told…
Mark WahlbergMark Wahlberg was 13 years old when he became an original member of a boy band, and he quit after only a few months. The group carried on without him and became famous. Wahlberg took a very different road. He first became known as a rapper…
Pablo EscobarPablo Escobar's funeral in Medellín drew more than 25,000 people. Many came from the city's poor neighborhoods, and some of them still pray to him as a saint. A priest known as Father Elkin described Escobar as a profoundly devout man who…
Padraic ColumPadraic Colum was born Patrick Columb in a County Longford workhouse, where his father held a job. That was the 8th of December 1881. He died on the 11th of January 1972, aged 90. By then he had published 61 books, not counting his plays.…
Vincent CroninVincent Cronin's history books sold well, but scholars did not always welcome them.
Daniel Patrick MoynihanDaniel Patrick Moynihan once shined shoes in Penn Station, which now has a train hall named for him.
Peter DebyeA unit of measurement, a lunar crater and a minor planet all carry Peter Debye's name.
Gabriel BatistutaGabriel Batistuta, Argentina's top scorer, once asked a doctor to amputate his legs.