Alexandra "Alex" Cohen (born July 8, 1972) is an American radio and Emmy Award winning television journalist,

roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly in the United States. Game play consists of a series of short scrimmages (j ...

skater, and author.

Early life

Cohen was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

and moved to California at the age of two. She studied at

Interlochen Arts Academy Interlochen Center for the Arts is a non-profit corporation which operates arts education institutions and performance venues in northwest Michigan. It is situated on a campus in Interlochen, Michigan, roughly southwest of Traverse City. ...

in Michigan, Brown University ( B.A. in Eastern Religions, 1993), and University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism (Master of Journalism). Cohen is the daughter of Kip Cohen, a former American arts and entertainment executive, concert presenter, record company executive and God-daughter of American rock concert promoter Bill Graham. Her brother is musician Chris Cohen.

Career

Cohen began her radio career at

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from othe ...

in Washington, D.C. as producer and director for ''Weekly Edition'' and ''Weekend All Things Considered''. From 2000 to 2003, Cohen worked for San Francisco's

KQED KQED may refer to: * KQED (TV), a PBS member station in San Francisco * KQED-FM KQED-FM (88.5 MHz) is a NPR-member radio station in San Francisco, California. Its parent organization is KQED Inc., which also owns its television partners, both ...

first as a producer for the statewide radio program ''California Report'' and later as the Los Angeles bureau chief for the same program. Cohen has also reported for

American Public Media American Public Media (APM) is an American company that produces and distributes public radio programs in the United States, the second largest company of its type after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and o ...

's financial news program ''

Marketplace A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from the Arabic), '' ...

'' and served as host of the weekly APM program ''

Weekend America ''Weekend America'' was a weekly public radio program dealing with news, popular culture, the arts and more. The program was produced for American Public Media and hosted by John Moe in Saint Paul, Minnesota. ''Weekend America'' launched Saturday ...

''. She was a host and reporter for NPR's daily news program, '' Day to Day'' and moved to KPCC radio in Pasadena, California. Cohen was the afternoon host and reporter for "All Things Considered" from 2009-2012 before being named co-host of the 9-11 am morning program, "Take Two." In September 2018 Cohen was named morning news anchor and host for Spectrum Cable's all-news channel for Southern California. Cohen will also host a one-hour political program, "Inside the Issues." In July 2020, Cohen was part of the Spectrum News team recognized with an Emmy Award for the program “Under the Gun.”

Roller derby

From 2003-2010, Cohen was a member of the Los Angeles Derby Dolls, using the derby name "Axles of Evil", and

TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls Texas Roller Derby (TXRD), formerly known as Texas Lonestar Rollergirls, is a banked-track roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 am ...

, skating as "Smother Theresa". In 2009 Cohen was hired to work on the

Drew Barrymore Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, director, producer, talk show host and author. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a ...

-directed roller derby film, '' Whip It''. Cohen co-wrote an insider's guide to roller derby called ''Down and Derby'', published in 2010.

Personal life

In August 2007, Cohen, at age 35, married Richard Dean, then 41 and the technology director of a public radio station in Austin, Texas.

Filmography

*'' Whip It'' (2009, Fox Searchlight) as skate trainer, derby consultant, and herself.

Books

*''Down and Derby'' (2010, New York, Soft Skull Press) is her insider's account of the history and culture of the roller derby.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Alex American radio journalists Roller derby skaters American roller skaters Brown University alumni Interlochen Center for the Arts alumni UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism alumni Living people 1972 births Sportspeople from New York City