Author: Daniel Ross Goodman

When Loni Anderson sashayed into America’s living rooms as Jennifer Marlowe on WKRP in Cincinnati, she didn’t just steal the show. She redefined what a TV bombshell could be. With her platinum blonde hair, sparkling dimples, and a wit sharp enough to slice through the static of a flagging Ohio radio station, Anderson, who died this…

In a world of grandstanding and gavels, David Souter was a whisper — a Granite State recluse who slipped onto the Supreme Court in 1990 like a shadow through a side door, only to leave an indelible mark on American law and the politics of judicial selection. Appointed by President George H.W. Bush, Souter, who…

The White House, March 31, 2025. A surreal scene unfolds in the president’s private residence. Bill Maher, the acerbic comedian who has spent a decade roasting President Donald Trump as a narcissist, wannabe dictator, and threat to democracy, is breaking bread with the 47th president. Kid Rock, the MAGA maestro who brokered this unlikely summit,…

President Donald Trump has never been one to sit on the sidelines. Whether negotiating billion-dollar real estate deals, sparring with political rivals, or commanding the world’s most-watched television stage, he thrives in the spotlight. But in his second term, Trump has turned his attention to a new arena — one where sweat, grit, and glory…

We’ve all heard the saying “saved by the bell.” But some musicians might argue that we should also have an expression for when an artist is saved by a movie (or by TV). Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a song that was upstaged by the British band’s other hits such as “We Will Rock You” and…

“You like Peter, Paul and Mary?” Jack Byrnes (played by Robert De Niro) asks Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) in Meet the Parents, as “Puff the Magic Dragon” starts playing in Jack’s Buick. Greg hesitates, then says, “Sure. ‘Puff the Magic Dragon.’ You know, I actually wrote a paper about this song back in college? About…

The directive to “go West, young man” has been an American adage for almost 200 years. Many attribute it to the pre-Civil War-era New York newspaperman Horace Greeley, but it may be even older than that. The guidance gained legions of adherents after gold was discovered in Northern California in 1848. These four famous words…

“Thriller! Thriller night! And no one’s gonna save you from the beast about to strike! You know it’s thriller! Thriller night! You’re fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight.” If you grew up in the ’80s or ’90s, these words are probably ingrained somewhere in your mind next to where you’re storing other…