Maddow has received multipleEmmy Awards for her broadcasting work; in 2021, she also received aGrammy Award for the audiobook version ofBlowout (2019).
Maddow has said her family is "very, veryCatholic" and she grew up in a community that her mother has described as "very conservative".[7][8][9] Maddow was a competitive athlete and participated in high school volleyball, basketball, and swimming.[10]
Referring toJohn Hughes films, Maddow has described herself as being "a cross between the jock and the antisocial girl" in high school.[9] She is a graduate ofCastro Valley High School and attendedStanford University.[11] While a freshman, she wasouted as a lesbian by the college newspaper when an interview with her was published before she could tell her parents.[7]
She earned a degree inpublic policy at Stanford in 1994.[12] At graduation, she was awarded theJohn Gardner Fellowship.[13] She was the recipient of aRhodes Scholarship and began her postgraduate study in 1995 atLincoln College, Oxford. She had also been awarded aMarshall Scholarship the same year but turned it down in favor of the Rhodes.[14] This made her the first openly lesbian winner of the Rhodes Scholarship.[a][16] In 2001, she earned aDoctor of Philosophy (DPhil)[17] in politics at the University of Oxford.[18] Her thesis was titled "HIV/AIDS and Health Care Reform in British and American Prisons" and was supervised byLucia Zedner.[19]
Radio
Maddow's first job as a radio host was in 1999 atWRNX (100.9 FM) inHolyoke, Massachusetts, then home to "The Dave in the Morning Show". She entered and won a contest the station held to find a new second lead for the show's principal host,Dave Brinnel.[20] After the WRNX show, she hostedBig Breakfast onWRSI inNorthampton, Massachusetts, for two years, leaving in 2004 to join the newAir America radio network.[18] There she hostedUnfiltered along withChuck D (of thehip hop groupPublic Enemy) andLizz Winstead (co-creator ofThe Daily Show) until its cancellation in March 2005.[21]
Two weeks after the cancellation ofUnfiltered in April 2005, Maddow's weekday two-hour radio program,The Rachel Maddow Show, began airing; in March 2008 it gained a third hour, broadcasting from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.Eastern Time, withDavid Bender filling in the third hour for the call-in section, when Maddow was on TV assignment. In 2008, the show's length returned to two hours when Maddow began the nightly MSNBC television program, also calledThe Rachel Maddow Show. Early in 2009, after renewing her contract with Air America, Maddow's radio show was moved to a one-hour timeslot at 5:00 a.m. Eastern Time. This iteration of the show began with a short introduction from Maddow followed by a broadcast based on the audio from the previous night's MSNBC broadcast of Maddow's television show. Little explanation or warning was given for this shift except for Maddow's comments that doing two daily shows was far too taxing.[22][23] Maddow's radio show ended on January 21, 2010, when Air America ceased operations.[24]
In 2008, Maddow was the substitute host forCountdown with Keith Olbermann, her first time hosting a program on MSNBC. Maddow described herself on-air as "nervous".Keith Olbermann complimented her work, and she was brought back to hostCountdown the next month. The show she hosted was the highest-rated news program among people aged 25 to 54.[27] For her success, Olbermann ranked Maddow third in his show's segment "World's Best Persons".[28] In July 2008, Maddow filled in again for several broadcasts.[29] Maddow also filled in forDavid Gregory as host ofRace for the White House.[18]
Olbermann advocated for Maddow to host her own show at MSNBC, and he was eventually able to persuade Phil Griffin to give herDan Abrams' time slot.[32]
In August 2008, MSNBC announcedThe Rachel Maddow Show would replaceVerdict with Dan Abrams in the network's 9:00 p.m. slot the following month.[33][34] Following its debut, the show toppedCountdown as the highest-rated show on MSNBC on several occasions.[35][36] After being on air for more than a month, Maddow's program doubled the audience that hour.[37] This show made Maddow the first openly gay or lesbian host of a primetime news program in the United States.[38]
The initial reviews for the show were positive.Los Angeles Times journalistMatea Gold[39] wrote that Maddow "finds the right formula on MSNBC",[40] andThe Guardian wrote that Maddow had become the "star of America's cable news".[41]Associated Press columnist David Bauder saw her as "[Keith] Olbermann's political soul mate", and he described the Olbermann-Maddow shows as a "liberal two-hour block".[42]
Of her collegial relationship withRoger Ailes ofFox News, whom she sought out for technical advice, on camera angles, Maddow said she does not want to talk about it because "I don't want anybody else to use it. It was a nice thing that he did for me, and it's been valuable for me; it helped me get an advantage over my competitors."[43]
In mid-May 2017, amid multiple controversies surrounding the Trump administration, MSNBC surpassedCNN and Fox News in the news ratings. For the week of May 15,The Rachel Maddow Show was the No. 1 non-sports program on cable for the first time.[44] She has been called byRolling Stone as "America's wonkiest anchor" who "cut through the chaos of the Trump administration – and became the most trusted name in the news."[43] Maddow has argued that these issues "are the most serious scandals that any president has ever faced."[43]: 38
Maddow has stated that her show's mission is to "[i]ncrease the amount of useful information in the world".[45][43]: 56 She said her rule for covering the Trump administration is: "Don't pay attention to what they say, focus on what they do ... because it's easier to cover a fast-moving story when you're not distracted by whatever the White House denials are."[43]: 37
Maddow often begins a broadcast with a lengthy story, sometimes longer than 20 minutes, which she has referred to on-air as the "A-block." This often begins with film clips and other media from events in past years or decades which she eventually connects with the news of the day. About this process, she has said: "The thing that defines whether or not you're good at this work is whether you have something to say when it's time to say something. Because you're going to have to say something when that light goes on ... I want to have something to say that people don't already know every single night, every single segment, and that makes it hard to get the process right because that's the only thing I care about."[46]
Maddow was an outspoken advocate of vaccination during theCOVID-19 pandemic, especially during 2021.[47][48][49][50][51] She encouraged people to get vaccinated, for the benefit of themselves and others.[49]
Maddow took a hiatus from her show from February to April 2022 to coincide with production on the film adaptation ofBag Man.[52] As of May 2022, her show has moved to a weekly broadcast on Mondays.[53]
On January 13, 2025, MSNBC announced that Maddow would temporarily return to hosting her show five-nights a week to cover the first 100 days ofDonald Trump's second presidency. Maddow returned to hosting on Mondays only again beginning on May 5, 2025.[54][55]
On May 22, 2020, the case was dismissed by JudgeCynthia Bashant, who found that "the contested statement is an opinion that cannot serve as the basis for a defamation". OAN parent company Herring Networks said they planned to appeal.[58]
After considering Herring's appeal, in August 2021, the decision in favor of Maddow was affirmed by the United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit.[59][60] The Court of Appeals also affirmed a trial court ruling that requires Herring to pay Maddow's attorneys' fees.[61]
In December 2013,The Washington Post announced that Maddow would write a monthly opinion column for the paper, contributing one article per month over a period of six months.[63]
On March 2, 2018,The New York Times published Maddow's first crossword puzzle, in collaboration with Joe DiPietro.[64] On the eve of its publication, she said: "This is kind of it, like there will never be a baby, but there's this freaking crossword puzzle, and I am very, very excited about it."[65]
Her third book,Bag Man: The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-up, and Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House,[69] written with Michael Yarvitz, was published in December 2020.
In October 2018, Maddow launched thepodcastBag Man, produced with MSNBC and focusing on the 1973 political scandal surrounding Vice PresidentSpiro Agnew.[71] A film adaptation of the podcast was announced to be in production in 2022, withBen Stiller attached to direct andLorne Michaels to produce, with Maddow set to be an executive producer.[52]
In October 2022, Maddow and MSNBC launchedUltra, a podcast series chronicling U.S. right-wing extremism during the 1940s andWorld War II, including the1944 sedition trial.[72][73] A few months later, in December, famed filmmakerSteven Spielberg's company optioned film rights to the series.[74]
Public image and publicity
Maddow in 2008
A 2011Hollywood Reporter profile of Maddow said she was able to deliver news "with agenda, but not hysteria".[75] ANewsweek profile said, "At her best, Maddow debates ideological opponents with civility and persistence ... but for all her eloquence, she can get so wound up ripping Republicans that she sounds like another smug cable partisan".[76]The Baltimore Sun criticHoward Kurtz accused Maddow of acting like "a lockstep party member".[77] The editors ofThe New Republic similarly criticized her – naming her among the "most over-rated thinkers" of 2011, they called her program "a textbook example of the intellectual limitations of a perfectly settled perspective".[78]
On awarding her the Interfaith Alliance's Faith and Freedom Award named forWalter Cronkite, Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy remarked that "Rachel's passionate coverage of the intersection of religion and politics exhibits a strong personal intellect coupled with constitutional sensitivity to the proper boundaries between religion and government."[79]
Similarly, a 2008Time profile described Maddow a "whip-smart, button-cute leftie". It said she radiates an essential decency and suggested her career rise might signify that "nice is the new nasty".[80]
Distinguishing herself from others on the left, Maddow has said she is a "national security liberal" and, in a different interview, that she is not "a partisan".[81][82]The New York Times called her a "defense policy wonk".[40][81]
Political views
Maddow in 2012
When asked about her political views in 2010 by theValley Advocate, Maddow replied, "I'm undoubtedly a liberal, which means that I'm in almost total agreement with theEisenhower-era Republican Party platform."[83]
We say thatVietnam changed our politics forever. But less than 40 years after this, again, a campaign directed at the highest levels of government to get us to agree to a war based on something that did not happen the way they said it happened. It was a months-long campaign in 2002 and 2003, and it worked ... In three weeks, theCIA pulls together what normally takes months. It is delivered just seven days before the congressional vote ... By the end of 2002, the U.S. military is headed to the Gulf. Congress is on board, as are British Prime Minister Tony Blair and most of themainstream media. The stage is set for war.[84]
During the2008 presidential election, Maddow did not formally support any candidate. ConcerningBarack Obama's candidacy, Maddow said: "I have never and still don't think of myself as an Obama supporter, either professionally or actually."[85]
In 2010,Republican SenatorScott Brown speculated that Maddow was going to run against him in the2012 Senate election. His campaign used this premise for a fundraising email, although Maddow repeatedly said Brown's speculation was false. Brown continued to make his claims in the Boston media, so Maddow ran a full-page advertisement inThe Boston Globe confirming that she was not running and separately demanded Brown's apology. She added that, despite repeated invitations over the months, Brown had refused to appear on her TV program.[86][87][88][89] Ultimately, it wasElizabeth Warren who ran in 2012, defeating Brown.[90]
Maddow has suggested that the allegedTrump-Russia collusion has continued beyond the 2016 presidential election.[91] In March 2017, she blamed Russia forWikiLeaks'Vault 7 disclosure of theCIA's hacking tools, saying: "Consider what the other U.S. agency is besides the State Department thatPutin most hates? That Putin most feels competitive with? That Putin most wants to beat? It's the CIA, right? ... Smart observers say this is the largest dump of classified CIA material maybe ever, and it really could be a devastating blow to the CIA's cyber war and flat-out spying capabilities, and that dump was released by WikiLeaks."[91] Regarding the Trump-Russia investigation, Maddow said: "If the Trump presidency is knowingly the product of a foreign-intelligence operation, that is a full-stop national crisis."[43] Concerning "alternative facts" and fake news, Maddow said: "The president denigrating the press is important in terms of his behavior as an increasingly authoritarian-style leader, period."[43]: 56
Following the October 2018 murder ofSaudi Arabian dissident journalist andWashington Post columnistJamal Khashoggi, Maddow argued thatDonald Trump's business ties to Saudi Arabia were raising some troubling questions.[92]
In July 2020, Maddow predicted that unemployment figures covering the previous month would be "absolutely terrible"; after the figures were released, showing the largest growth in employment in a single month in U.S. history,Politico named Maddow's prediction one of "the most audacious, confident and spectacularly incorrect prognostications about the year".[94]
In May 2021, formerNew York Times reporterBarry Meier publishedSpooked: The Trump Dossier, Black Cube, and the Rise of Private Spies, which cited theSteele dossier as a case study in how reporters can be manipulated by private intelligence sources. Meier named Maddow as one example.[95]
Maddow has dealt withcyclical depression since puberty.[98] In a 2012 interview, she stated, "It doesn't take away from my joy or my work or my energy, but coping with depression is something that is part of the everyday way that I live and have lived for as long as I can remember."[99] She has explained why she decided to speak about it in interviews: "It was a hard call ... Because it was nobody's business. But it had been helpful to me to learn about the people who were surviving, were leading good lives, even though they were dealing with depression. So I felt it was a bit of a responsibility to pay that back."[46]
Maddow said, "There are three things I do to stay sane: I exercise, I sleep – I'm a good sleeper – and I fish."[43]: 56 She is also a practicingCatholic.[100]
In 2021, Maddow had surgery to remove a cancerous skin growth from her neck.[101]
Honors and awards
2023Hillman Prize for Broadcast Journalism for her podcast,Ultra.[102] “Since 1950, the Sidney Hillman Foundation has honored journalists who pursue investigative reporting and deep storytelling in service of the common good. Recipients exemplify reportorial excellence, storytelling skill, and social justice impact.”[103] This was the first time the prize has gone to a podcast.[104]
2020Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award for her podcast,Bagman.[105] The award “honors excellence in broadcast and digital journalism in the public service and is considered one of the most prestigious awards in journalism.” It's "considered by some to be the broadcast equivalent of thePulitzer Prize, another program administered byColumbia University."[106]
2018Peabody Award nomination for her podcast,Bagman (“In-depth investigation and historic look by Rachel Maddow and Mike Yarvitz at the forced resignation of Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, the brash politician who waged an all-out assault on the public officials who uncovered his criminal past and those who reported on it.”)[107]
2017 Emmy Award in the Outstanding News Discussion & Analysis category forThe Rachel Maddow Show story "An American Disaster: The Crisis in Flint".[109]
2011 Emmy Award in the Outstanding News Discussion & Analysis category forThe Rachel Maddow Show segments "Good Morning Landlocked Central Asia!".[110]
Maddow was named inOut magazine's "Out 100" list of the "gay men and women who moved culture" in 2008.[111]
Maddow was voted "Lesbian/Bi Woman of the Year (American)" inAfterEllen's 2008 Visibility Awards.[112]
In 2009, Maddow was nominated forGLAAD's 20th Annual Media Awards for a segment of her MSNBC show, "Rick Warren, Change To Believe In?", in the Outstanding TV Journalism Segment category.[114]
On March 28, 2009, Maddow received a Proclamation of Honor from theCalifornia State Senate, presented in San Francisco by California State SenatorMark Leno.[115]
In April 2009, she was listed at No. 4 inOut magazine's Annual Power 50 List.[116]
Maddow placed sixth in the "2009 AfterEllen.com Hot 100" list (May 11, 2009)[117] and third in its "2009 Hot 100: Out Women" version.[118]
Maddow was included on a list of openly gay media professionals inThe Advocate's "Forty under 40" issue of June/July 2009.[119]
In 1994, Maddow received an Honorable Mention in theElie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity Prize in Ethics.[120]
In June 2009, Maddow's MSNBC show was the only cable news show nominated for aTelevision Critics Association award in theOutstanding Achievement in News and Information category.[121]
In March 2010, Maddow won at the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards in the category of Outstanding TV Journalism – Newsmagazine for her segment, "Uganda Be Kidding Me".[122]
In December 2017The Advocate named her as a finalist for its "Person of the Year".[127]
In 2021,Fast Company included her on their second Queer 50 list.[128]
In late 2024, Maddow was named one of America's 10 best TV news journalists by GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics. The organization, purveyors of theDorian Awards to mainstream and LGBTQ-themed content, said its "members clearly appreciate how Maddow lays out information and exposesdisinformation in her fights againstkleptocracy andfascism."[129][130]
Maddow, Rachel; Yarvitz, Michael (2020).Bag Man: The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-up, and Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House. Crown.ISBN9780593136683.
^Maddow, Rachel; Yarvitz, Michael (2020).Bag man : the wild crimes, audacious cover-up & spectacular downfall of a brazen crook in the White House (First ed.). New York: Crown.ISBN978-0593136683.
.jpg)
