Curated playlist
American writers with disabilities
- Steven SpielbergSteven Spielberg walked into Universal Studios without a pass, and the guard waved him in.
- Roger EbertRoger Ebert typed his last blog post two days before he died. He signed off with "I'll see you at the movies."
- Tina TurnerTina Turner crossed a Texas freeway on foot on the 1st of July 1976 with 36 cents and a Mobil credit card in her pocket. She had slipped out of a hotel suite in Dallas after a fight, while her husband slept. Her destination was a nearby…
- Salman RushdieA fatwa ordering Salman Rushdie's execution was broadcast on Radio Tehran on Valentine's Day 1989.
- Truman CapoteOn the 23rd of August 1984, Truman Capote boarded a flight from New York to Los Angeles with a granny-square baby blanket. A relative he called Sook had made it for him when he was small. Friends said he was seldom without it, even when he…
- Charles J. GuiteauCharles Julius Guiteau was marched to a police station a few blocks from a Washington railroad depot, repeating one line over and over. "I am a Stalwart of the Stalwarts.... Arthur is president now!" The man he had just shot was James A.…
- Joe WalshJoe Walsh ran for President of the United States in 1980 on a platform of "Free Gas For Everyone." He promised that if he won, "Life's Been Good" would become the new national anthem. He was only 32, three years short of the 35 the office…
- Halsey (singer)Halsey, the stage name of Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, once looked at a bank account holding nine dollars. She spent it on a four-pack of Red Bull. The caffeine kept her awake for two or three days, because she judged sleeping somewhere…
- Anthony BourdainAnthony Bourdain was filming an episode of his series No Reservations in Beirut in July 2006 when a war cut the shoot short. The Israel-Lebanon conflict broke out after his crew had recorded only a few hours of footage. What the producers…
- Billy CorganRolling Stone once called Billy Corgan and his Smashing Pumpkins bandmates "ruthless virtuosos." Corgan was born William Patrick Corgan Jr. in Chicago on the 17th of March 1967. He is the singer, lead guitarist and chief songwriter of the…
- Kevin MitnickKevin Mitnick was twelve years old when he asked a Los Angeles bus driver where he could buy a ticket punch. His stated reason was "a school project." The driver told him. Then a dumpster beside the bus company garage supplied the rest, a…