Curated playlist

American people of Swiss descent

Barack ObamaObama rejected a plan to bomb a compound in Pakistan and sent Navy SEALs instead. The 2011 raid killed Osama bin Laden.
Elon MuskIn 2001, Elon Musk traveled to Moscow twice to buy missiles, hoping to launch a plant greenhouse to Mars.
Elizabeth TaylorAfter Rock Hudson said he was dying of AIDS, Elizabeth Taylor helped found a research foundation in 1985.
Michelle PfeifferMichelle Pfeiffer was born on the 29th of April 1958 in Santa Ana, California, and by the early 1990s she ranked among the best-paid actresses in the world. Her start was far less certain. After her first leading role, in the 1982 musical…
Robert Downey Jr.Robert Downey Jr. was too big an insurance risk to hire until Mel Gibson paid his insurance bond.
Wright brothersThe Wright brothers' 1903 patent did not claim an airplane. It claimed a system for controlling one.
Ann DunhamStanley Ann Dunham grew up answering to a name that other children found funny. She kept using it through high school, "apologizing for it each time she introduced herself in a new town." By the time she reached college, she was going by…
Tucker CarlsonTucker Carlson ended his Friday broadcast on the 21st of April 2023 by telling Fox News viewers that he would "be back on Monday." He was not. On the morning of the 24th of April, the network dismissed him, along with the executive…
Renée ZellwegerRenée Zellweger was in the bathroom when her name was called at the Golden Globes for Nurse Betty. The man reading the winner's name was Hugh Grant, who would soon become her co-star. She later protested, "I had lipstick on my teeth!" Born…
Gary GygaxGary Gygax grew up hearing Wrigley Field crowds from his bedroom window. He later helped create Dungeons and Dragons.
Dennis RaderDennis Rader, the man who called himself BTK, made a strange request while police questioned him in February 2005. He asked an officer to write "BTK" on the lid of his cup before it went into the refrigerator, instead of his own name. The…