The Very Hollywood Rehabilitation Of Robert Downey Jr.

“For nearly a decade, from the mid-’90s until the early 2000s, Downey was the biggest disaster in Hollywood – excruciating to watch because he had so much potential on screen and was such a mess in life. … Now Downey is the biggest film star on Earth. Last year, he earned $50 million just for his appearance in The Avengers – and he isn’t shy about admitting that the size of the paycheck is a major motivation.”

When Nobody Liked Kierkegaard

“His contemporaries saw him as a troublesome, quarrelsome figure. … The satirical weekly Corsair published nasty caricatures of him and mocked his writing and pseudonymous disguises. He was gossiped about when he broke his engagement to the 18-year-old Regine Olsen, and was feared by his targets, among them, Hans Christian Andersen.”

The Secret Of Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me‘s Success

Peter Sagal: “There was a temptation, when we first started doing the show … it was very competitive, and somewhat serious. … And it was unpleasant! We made a really conscious decision not to give a flying fig if the quiz was serious or if you won anything. I really do trace the success of our show to that decision: Nobody cares who wins or loses.”

What’s The Best Way To Argue With An Extremist? Get Him To Argue With Himself

“When people anywhere on the political spectrum hold extreme policy opinions, merely asking them to explain how the policies work leads them to moderate their views. That, at least, is the finding of [an] interesting new study, which finds that extremism is fueled by a lack of understanding, or perhaps a failure to think through just how things work in the real world.”