Alex K

Few names in American science communication carry the warmth and recognisability of Bill Nye. For a generation of children who grew up in the 1990s, his bow-tied, energetic presence on Bill Nye the Science Guy made chemistry, biology, and physics genuinely exciting rather than obligatory. His subsequent career in public science advocacy, climate communication, and … Read more

In the vast mythology of professional wrestling, The Undertaker occupies a singular position. The character of Mark William Calaway, the dead man who walked slowly to the ring to the toll of a funeral bell, who sat up after being defeated, who never seemed entirely human, is one of the most successful long-term creative constructions … Read more

Howie Long is one of the most recognisable figures in American football. His eight Pro Bowl selections, his Hall of Fame induction in 2000, his decades as a Fox Sports analyst, and his film and advertising work have kept him in the public consciousness long past his retirement from professional play. Behind that sustained public … Read more

Few parent-child relationships in Hollywood history have generated as much public discussion as the one between Drew Barrymore and her mother, Jaid Barrymore. The story is well-known in outline: a child thrust into fame at seven, nightclub visits with her mother at twelve, drug rehabilitation at thirteen, emancipation from her parents at fourteen. These facts … Read more

Melika Payne’s name appears most often in two contexts. The first is as the wife of Carl Anthony Payne II, the actor who brought Cole Brown to life in the beloved 1990s sitcom Martin and also played Walter Cockroach Bradley in The Cosby Show. The second is as the former partner of Bobby Brown, the … Read more

American political history is full of powerful families. The Kennedys. The Bushes. The Clintons. In Tennessee, particularly in Memphis, one name held comparable weight for decades: the Fords. Harold Ford Sr. served for twenty-two years in the United States House of Representatives, becoming the first African American congressman from Tennessee since the Reconstruction era. His … Read more

In an entertainment culture that routinely pulls the relatives of famous people toward cameras, interviews, and monetisable proximity to celebrity, Michael Levonchuck has done something quietly remarkable: he has spent more than four decades as the father of one of America’s most recognisable media personalities and has remained essentially invisible to the public throughout. No … Read more