Curated playlist
21st-century Roman Catholics
- 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.
- Lionel MessiLionel Messi's first Barcelona contract was written on a paper napkin. He was 13 at the time.
- 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.
- JD VanceJD Vance once called Donald Trump reprehensible, then became his running mate.
- Sepp BlatterSepp Blatter announced his resignation as FIFA president six days after the U.S. indicted FIFA officials.
- Lamar Hunt Jr.Lamar Hunt Jr. once played second flute in the Kansas City Symphony. He now owns the Kansas City Mavericks hockey team.
- 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…
- 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…
- Cristiano RonaldoCristiano Ronaldo's mother wanted to abort him, but her doctor refused. He became football's top goalscorer.
- Nick FuentesNicholas Joseph Fuentes, born on the 18th of August 1998, is an American far-right commentator and live streamer. In October 2025 Tucker Carlson interviewed him and opened by predicting the backlash. "I don't think Fuentes is going away,"…
- 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…
- Steve BannonSteve Bannon still earns money every time Seinfeld airs. His bank took a stake in five shows instead of a fee.
- 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…
- Simone BilesA day-care field trip first brought six-year-old Simone Biles into a gymnastics gym. She now has 11 Olympic medals.
- 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.
- Gabriel BatistutaGabriel Batistuta, Argentina's top scorer, once asked a doctor to amputate his legs.