Farai Chideya (; born July 27, 1969, in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, Maryland, United States) is an American novelist,
multimedia
Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradit ...
journalist, and radio host. She produced and hosted ''Pop and Politics with Farai Chideya'', a series of radio specials on politics for 15 years. She is the creator and host of the podcast ''Our Body Politic'', which launched in September 2020.
Additionally, since 2012 Chideya has held the position of distinguished writer in residence at the
Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
, where she teaches courses in radio production and media economics.
Early life
Chideya was born on July 27, 1969, in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, Maryland. Her mother is from Baltimore, and her father is from
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
.
Chideya holds a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
. She graduated from Harvard in 1990, ''
magna cum laude''.
Career
Chideya was a member of the improv comedy troupe
The Immediate Gratification Players. In 2000, she was distinguished as the most honored alumna from Harvard. Her academic life includes being a professional in residence at the Graduate School of Journalism at the
University of California at Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...
and a visiting professor at the Annenberg School of Communication at the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8.1 ...
, in addition to her current position as distinguished writer in residence at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University.
Chideya is also the founder and president of one of the earliest pop culture blogs in the US, ''PopandPolitics.com''. During the 15 years of its existence, ''PopandPolitics.com'' was a training ground for young arts and culture journalists. In addition to her radio, video and online journalism, Chideya appears as a political analyst on
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
,
MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...
,
CNBC
CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...
,
ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
,
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
,
BET
Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...
and
HBO. She began working as a senior writer for the website ''
FiveThirtyEight
''FiveThirtyEight'', sometimes rendered as ''538'', is an American website that focuses on opinion poll analysis, politics, economics, and sports blogging in the United States. The website, which takes its name from the number of electors in th ...
'' in 2015, covering issues including the 2016 presidential election.
In May 2009,
Atria Books published Chideya's first novel, ''Kiss the Sky'', which details the life of a black female rock musician making a career comeback in New York. The book takes place just months before
9/11 and is rooted in the ethos of the Black rock movement and the New York club scene. Chideya is also part of The Finish Party writing group, and is the author of three non-fiction books about race and politics: ''Don't Believe the Hype'', ''The Color of Our Future'' and ''Trust: Reaching the 100 Million Missing Voters''.
Prior to 2009, Chideya was the host of the
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 other ...
radio program ''
News & Notes
''News & Notes'' was a National Public Radio program focusing on issues affecting African-Americans and African diaspora communities. The listenership was multiracial and international. The program aired for one hour each weekday and was hosted b ...
''. Before that, she hosted ''
Your Call'', a daily radio call-in show on San Francisco, California's
KALW
KALW (91.7 MHz) is an educational FM public radio station, licensed to the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), which serves the San Francisco Bay Area. Its studios are located at Phillip and Sala Burton Academic High School off ...
public radio. She got her start in journalism working for ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
'' magazine,
MTV News, the
Oxygen
Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as ...
network and the non-profit community news website,
The Beehive. She has subsequently written pieces for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', the
''Los Angeles Times'' Syndicate, the
Chicago Tribune Syndicate
Tribune Content Agency (TCA) is a syndication company owned by Tribune Publishing. TCA had previously been known as the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (CTNYNS), Tribune Company Syndicate, and Tribune Media S ...
, ''
The American Prospect
''The American Prospect'' is a daily online and bimonthly print American political and public policy magazine dedicated to American modern liberalism and progressivism. Based in Washington, D.C., ''The American Prospect'' says it "is devoted t ...
'', the ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...
'', ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'', ''
O, The Oprah Magazine
''O, The Oprah Magazine'', also known simply as ''O'', is an American monthly magazine founded by talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Communications.
Overview
It was first published on April 19, 2000. , its average paid circulation was ...
'', ''
Vibe
''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down producti ...
'', ''
Spin'' and ''
Glamour''.
From 2014 to 2015, Chideya produced and hosted ''One with Farai'', a podcast for
Public Radio International (PRI), in which she interviewed distinguished individuals with a range of stories and opinions, including
Melissa Harris-Perry
Melissa Victoria Harris-Perry (born October 2, 1973), formerly known as Melissa Victoria Harris-Lacewell, is an American writer, professor, television host, and political commentator with a focus on African-American politics. Harris-Perry hoste ...
,
Urvashi Vaid
Urvashi ( sa, उर्वशी, Urvaśī}) is the most prominent apsara (celestial nymph) in Hindu mythology, considered to be the most beautiful of all the apsaras, and an expert dancer. She is mentioned in both ''Vedic'' and ''Puranic'' scr ...
, and
Alec Ross.
Chideya is the recipient of a Foreign Press Center fellowship that took her to Japan in 2002, a
Knight Foundation fellowship based at
Stanford University in 2001 and a Freedom Forum Media Studies Center fellowship in 1996.
She has won various awards for her work: a special award from the Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for AIDS reporting in 2008; an Enterprise reporting award from the
National Association of Black Journalists
The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is an organization of African-American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 1975 in Washington, D.C., by 44 journalists, the NABJ's stated purpose is to provide quality p ...
for a piece on Skid Row in 2007; a North Star Award for covering communities of color in 2006; a distinguished honoree award from the Black Entertainment and Telecommunications Association in 2004; a MOBE IT Innovator Award and an Alternet New Media Hero award for ''PopandPolitics.com'' in 2001;
New York Public Library's Best Books for Teens for ''The Color of Our Future'' in 2000; a WIN Young Women of Achievement Award in 1996; a
GLAAD Award from ''
Spin'' in 1995; and a National Education Reporting Award and an EdPress award for education reporting done for ''Newsweek'' in 1994.
Her speeches on civic engagement, electoral politics, digital media, hip-hop, race and politics have taken her around the world—from India to South Africa to Alaska.
Syracuse University, the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8.1 ...
, the
California African-American Museum in Los Angeles,
M.I.T., the
University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
, Stanford University, the University of California at Berkeley,
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
, De Anza Community College, the
University of Alaska at Fairbanks,
Wellesley College,
Chicago State University
Chicago State University (CSU) is a predominantly black public university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1867 as the Cook County Normal School, it was an innovative teachers college. Eventually the Chicago Public Schools assumed control of t ...
,
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
and
Smith College are just some of the places where she has spoken.
Bibliography
* ''Don't Believe the Hype: Fighting Cultural Misinformation About African Americans'' (1995)
* ''The Color of Our Future'' (1999)
* ''Trust: Reaching the 100 Million Missing Voters'' (2004)
* ''Kiss the Sky'' (2009)
* ''Innovating Women: The Changing Face of Technology'' (2014)
* ''The Episodic Career: How to Thrive at Work in the Age of Disruption''
(2016)
References
External links
Farai.comFarai Chideya's Twitter account*
*
Video (with mp3 available) of interview/discussion with Chideyaand
John McWhorter
John Hamilton McWhorter V (; born October 6, 1965) is an American linguist with a specialty in creole languages, sociolects, and Black English. He is currently associate professor of linguistics at Columbia University, where he also teaches Amer ...
on
Bloggingheads.tv
Bloggingheads.tv (sometimes abbreviated "bhtv") is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast on ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chideya, Farai
1969 births
Living people
American women journalists
NPR personalities
American podcasters
American people of Zimbabwean descent
African-American journalists
African-American radio personalities
African-American writers
African-American academics
Harvard College alumni
Harvard Institute of Politics
Place of birth missing (living people)
American women podcasters
21st-century African-American people
21st-century African-American women
20th-century African-American people
20th-century African-American women