The Omaha Beach sequence was filmed in County Wexford, Ireland, with 500 actual Irish Army soldiers. Special effects crews planted hidden air mortars under tiny flags on the sand — then removed the flags. Hanks describes wandering blind, wet, cold, while stuntmen caught fire and flew 40 feet into the air.
Where this was said
At 15:35 · chapter starts 12:24
With Jason gently prodding Sean to actually host, Sean asks the question he's wanted to ask for years: why is Tom Hanks so obsessed with war? Tom's answer is precise and personal. Every caregiver and adult figure in his childhood spoke about 'the war' in three phases — before, during, and after — as though it were a Black Plague walking among them. They had no certainty about the future and lived inside a historical moment of total existential uncertainty. The second driver is moral: the bad guys lost. Tom invokes Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell's Power of Myth to describe the rarity of a world quest that defeated people who were 'undeniably evil.' He contrasts it with the present day, where 'there is no shame left anymore' and truth has become malleable. It's the episode's most thoughtful stretch, with Hanks moving fluidly between personal memory and cultural analysis.
Every adult in Hanks's childhood spoke about World War II as the great dividing line of their lives — before, during, and after, like a Black Plague walking among them. Add the moral clarity that the bad guys lost, and you have a storytelling well he keeps returning to.
The Omaha Beach sequence in Saving Private Ryan was filmed at County Wexford, Ireland, using 500 actual members of the Irish Army as extras.
Robby Hoffman isn't fearless — she's terrified all the time. The difference is she does it anyway, because not doing it feels worse than the fear itself.
John Mulaney texted Robby Hoffman out of nowhere saying he'd been a fan for a while and wanted to make a Netflix special with her. Robby called it 'shocking, horrifying, anxiety-inducing, surreal and thrilling' — and said yes.
Mulaney is buttoned-up, suit-wearing, classy. Robby is gritty, raw, and undefined. Together they made the collab nobody expected. Batman and Robin. Eminem and Dido.
Music had Pope Gregory forcing notation. Comedy has had 'magical thinking' — he's just got funny bones. But jokes work through discoverable, teachable mechanics. Writing down the rules doesn't kill the magic; it gives more people access to it.
Howard Ashman had one insight nobody else had: animated Disney films should be Broadway musicals. The third song of every great musical is the character sitting alone explaining what they want. That's 'Part of Your World.' That structure — combined with Alan Menken's compositions — generated Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King, and turned Disney Animation into the most profitable creative engine in entertainment history.
The Lion King musical has been running for 30 years across Broadway, London's West End, and global touring companies. It has grossed over $11 billion in total revenue — more than Avatar, more than Avengers: Endgame, more than any album, more than any video game. It generates an average of $350 million in revenue every single year. Disney owns it outright.
The anonymous French artist Invader has hidden 1,500 pixelated mosaic artworks across Paris alone, with thousands more scattered across 80+ cities — affixed to the Eiffel Tower, the Hollywood sign, and even sent to the International Space Station. He might be even busier than Banksy.
The Flash Invaders app turns city streets into a treasure hunt, letting players scan Invader's hidden mosaics for points. Players have collectively logged over 47 million flashes. Unlike most mobile games that glue you to a screen, this one forces you to look up and engage with your surroundings.
New York draws thousands of young, talented performers every year chasing Broadway stardom — but the hard truth is that most of them never make it. Zelig Williams was one of the rare exceptions.
We use essential and analytics cookies to run Vuci. To understand how the site is used: Privacy Policy.
Install Vuci on your phone
Add it to your home screen for a faster, app-like experience.
Install Vuci on your phone
Tap the Share button, then “Add to Home Screen”.
A new version is available
Reload to get the latest Vuci.