Curated playlist
American people of German-Jewish descent
- Marx BrothersThe Marx Brothers became a comedy act because of a runaway mule.
- J. Robert OppenheimerJ. Robert Oppenheimer gripped a post to steady himself as the first nuclear bomb went off.
- Mel BrooksMel Brooks was 14 years old when he climbed onto a diving board at the Butler Lodge, a second-rate hotel in the Borscht Belt. He worked there as a pool-side tummler, an entertainer hired to keep the guests amused. On this day he wore a…
- Irving ThalbergIrving Thalberg ran MGM's production, yet his name never appeared on screen while he lived.
- George AkerlofGeorge Akerlof showed why good used cars can vanish from a market.
- Linda McCartneyLinda McCartney was the first woman to put a photograph on the cover of Rolling Stone.
- Carl LaemmleCarl Laemmle paid to bring hundreds of Jews out of Nazi Germany.
- Billy JoelWilliam Martin Joel, better known as Billy Joel, left Hicksville High School in 1967 without a diploma. He had missed a crucial English exam after playing a late-night gig at a piano bar, where he earned money to help support his mother…
- Hans Albert EinsteinAlbert Einstein's son Hans Albert became a river engineer, not a physicist. He studied how rivers carry sediment.
- Carly SimonCarly Simon, an American singer, songwriter and author, recorded a line that strangers still sing back at her: "You're so vain, I bet you think this song is about you." Listeners have argued about the target of that accusation ever since.…
- Herbert A. SimonHerbert Simon argued that people don't pick the best option, they settle for good enough. He called it satisficing.
- Jake PaulOn the 15th of November 2024, Jake Paul climbed into a boxing ring in Texas and beat Mike Tyson by unanimous decision. Tyson had once been the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. The judges scored the fight 80-72, 79-73 and 79-73…
- D. B. WeissA petition with over 1.5 million signatures demanded a remake of Game of Thrones season eight.
- Walter Kaufmann (philosopher)At eleven, Walter Kaufmann converted from Lutheranism to Judaism. He later learned all four grandparents were Jewish.
- Chris WeitzChris Weitz sent a studio an unrequested 40-page plan to win the job of directing The Golden Compass. He got it in 2003.
- Richard D. WolffRichard D. Wolff's father was a lawyer in Cologne, but his degree was worthless in America.
- Lawrence KleinLawrence Klein's model correctly predicted a postwar boom when many expected a depression.
- Walter LippmannJournalist Walter Lippmann gave us the word stereotype. He also named the Cold War in a 1947 book.
- Bernard BaruchBernard Baruch refused a 1929 pool to prop up the falling stock market. He had already moved into bonds, cash and gold.
- Erwin PanofskyIn 1934, Erwin Panofsky argued a famous Flemish painting was really a legal contract.
- Leopold and LoebLeopold and Loeb, two University of Chicago students, killed 14-year-old Bobby Franks on the 21st of May 1924. Nathan Leopold was 19, and Richard Loeb was 18. Afterward Leopold described his state of mind to a psychiatrist with a single…