Josie Duffy Rice (née Duffy) is an American writer and political commentator. Recently, she served as president of The Appeal, a news outlet that centers the criminal justice system. Duffy Rice also co-hosted the podcast Justice in America. Her work has been cited by The New York Times.[5][6][7]

Josie Duffy Rice
Duffy Rice is looking into the camera, and is seated in front of a bookcase. She has long curly hair, tan skin, and is wearing a pink crewneck sweater the same color as her lipstick.
Rice in 2020
Born
Josie Duffy

1987 (age 36–37)[1]
Alma materColumbia University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)
OccupationWriter
Years active2010–present
EmployerThe Appeal (President)
Notable workJustice in America podcast
Spouse
Zak Cheney-Rice
(m. 2016)
[2]
Children2[3]
RelativesRosa Duffy (sister)[4]
Websitejosieduffyrice.com

Early life and education

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Duffy Rice was born Josie Duffy, the eldest daughter of Eugene and Norrene Duffy, and was raised in Atlanta.[4] She has one sister, For Keeps bookstore owner Rosa Duffy.[8] Her grandmother is Josie Johnson, a civil rights movement activist who organized heavily in Minneapolis.[9]

Duffy Rice received her bachelor's degree in political science from Columbia University.[10] She worked as an executive assistant for a public defender organization in the Bronx directly out of college, which influenced her decision to attend law school.[3] She received her Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School.[11] Duffy Rice preferred writing to legal work, and after law school she began to work in the realms of policy and activism.[3]

Career

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Duffy Rice's work focuses on criminal justice issues such as police brutality and cash bail.[6] Duffy Rice advocates for police abolition and defunding police departments as one strategy towards that goal.[6] She appeared as roundtable guest on The Daily Show to discuss this perspective and has also discussed criminal justice-related issues for outlets such as Slate, NPR, and Late Night with Seth Meyers.[5][12][13][14]

Duffy Rice previously worked at Fair Punishment Project as a strategist.[15] In 2017 she joined the Justice Collaborative, which housed The Appeal, a website that centered policy, politics, and criminal justice.[3] Duffy Rice was named president of The Appeal in 2019 and served until 2021.[citation needed]

Duffy Rice also co-hosted the podcast Justice in America with assorted guest hosts Darnell Moore, Donovan X. Ramsey, Derecka Purnell, and Zak Cheney-Rice.[16] The show covers criminal justice topics like mass incarceration.[17][18]

Duffy Rice was recently published in the September 2020 issue of Vanity Fair guest edited by Ta-Nehisi Coates.[19][20]

In 2021, Duffy Rice was a co-writer of the first episode in the Hulu anthology series The Premise.[21] Also in 2021, Duffy Rice joined the staff of Crooked Media's What a Day podcast as one of three rotating co-hosts for What a Day founding anchor Gideon Resnick.[22] Duffy Rice, with fellow co-hosts Tre'vell Anderson and Priyanka Aribindi,[22] replaced departing host Akilah Hughes on July 30, 2021.[23]

In 2022, Duffy Rice served as a correspondent on the Al Jazeera program Fault Lines, where she examined Tennessee's extreme sentencing laws for juveniles.[24] In 2023, Duffy Rice was the host and co-Executive Producer of Unreformed: The Story of the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children, a limited series podcast investigating a juvenile justice facility in Alabama.[25]

Personal life

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In May 2016, Duffy Rice married journalist Zak Cheney-Rice in Atlanta at the same venue where her parents had married 30 years previously.[26][27][2] They have two children together, a son (b. 2017) and a daughter (b. 2020).[3][28] They reside in Atlanta.[6]

Honors and awards

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References

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  1. ^ "2014 New York City Rising Stars". City & State Magazine. October 13, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Osnos, Corinne (July 24, 2020). "A New York Minute With: Zak Cheney-Rice". New York Magazine. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e Cammell, Kate (April 7, 2020). "Works of Justice Podcast: Temperature Check with Josie Duffy Rice of The Appeal". PEN America. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Wheeler, Candice (February 28, 2019). "Closer Look: 3 Generations of Family History; National Trends In Non-Traditional Education". WABE. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Demby, Gene (July 8, 2020). "An Immune System: Code Switch". NPR. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d Schwartz, Molly (June 17, 2020). "De-funding the police is only the beginning. A radical re-imagining must come next". Mother Jones. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  7. ^ Chaney, Jen (September 15, 2021). "The Premise is an Anthology Series". Business Insider. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  8. ^ Wicker, Jewel (November 16, 2018). "For Keeps, a shop for rare and classic black books, opens on Auburn Avenue". Atlanta Magazine. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  9. ^ "A multi-generational plea for social justice activism from Josie Johnson and her granddaughter". Minnesota Public Radio. October 29, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  10. ^ MacKenzie, Blake. "Meet Josie Duffy Rice, Racial Justice Activist". Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  11. ^ Wright, Bruce C. T. (July 8, 2020). "Amid Push For Reforming Law Enforcement, Should Amy Cooper Have Been Charged?". NewsOne. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  12. ^ Shaffer, Claire (June 10, 2020). "Trevor Noah Holds Roundtable Talk on What It Means to Defund the Police". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  13. ^ "Late Night with Seth Meyers S7 E117 Hank Azaria, Josie Duffy Rice". NBC. June 17, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  14. ^ "Slate Political Gabfest | WNYC | New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News". WNYC. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  15. ^ McMurry, Evan (May 30, 2018). "#WhereAreTheChildren showcases the power and the pitfalls of social media". ABC News. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  16. ^ Crowder, Chaya (June 9, 2020). "Dear White People: Keep that same energy when the protests are over". The Grio. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  17. ^ Inskeep, Steve (July 17, 2019). "NYPD Officer Involved In Eric Garner's Death Won't Face Federal Charges". NPR. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  18. ^ Leonhardt, David (June 3, 2020). "When Jail Becomes Normal". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  19. ^ "Ta-Nehisi Coates to Guest-Edit the September Issue of Vanity Fair". Vanity Fair. August 21, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  20. ^ Flynn, Kerry (August 4, 2020). "Ta-Nehisi Coates is guest editing the September issue of Vanity Fair". CNN. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  21. ^ Ryan, Danielle (July 27, 2021). "The Premise First Look at B.J. Novak's Comedy Anthology Series". /Film. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  22. ^ a b "Crooked Media Expands Host Roster For Its Flagship 'What A Day' Series". Inside Radio. August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  23. ^ "Keeping The DREAM Alive". Crooked Media (Podcast). July 30, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  24. ^ "51 Years Behind Bars". Al Jazeera. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  25. ^ "iHeartPodcasts and School of Humans Announce Unreformed: The Story of the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children". iHeart Media. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  26. ^ josie duffy rice [@jduffyrice] (December 21, 2016). "My recollection of decent things that happened this yr, cotd.: In May I got married. That was fun. 2 of my flower girls were skeptical" (Tweet). Retrieved August 14, 2022 – via Twitter.
  27. ^ Mackey, Jaimie (May 2, 2017). "A Family-Focused Wedding in Atlanta". Brides. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  28. ^ josie duffy rice [@jduffyrice] (September 16, 2020). "Some news ❤️" (Tweet). Retrieved September 16, 2020 – via Twitter.
  29. ^ "Josie Duffy Rice | 2020 40 under 40 in Government and Politics". Fortune. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
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