Heben Nigatu
Nigatu at XOXO in 2016
Born
Jigjiga, Ethiopia
Alma materColumbia University
Occupations
  • Writer
  • podcaster
  • comedian
Known forAnother Round
Late Show with Stephen Colbert
AwardsForbes 30 Under 30
The Root 100

Heben Nigatu is an Ethiopian-American writer and the former co-host of BuzzFeed podcast Another Round which stopped broadcasting in 2017. She previously wrote for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and is currently a staff writer for Desus & Mero on Showtime.[1][2]

Early life and education

Nigatu was born in Ethiopia.[3]

She grew up in Northern Virginia and attended Columbia University before leaving to join BuzzFeed.[4][5][6]

Career

Nigatu began working at BuzzFeed first on a three-month fellowship while still a student, then joined the full-time staff.[7]

Another Round

Main article: Another Round (podcast)

In March 2015, Nigatu and co-host Tracy Clayton launched BuzzFeed podcast Another Round. The Onion A.V. Club described Nigatu and Clayton as "funny and insightful hosts, bringing their infectious personalities to conversations that range from squirrels to self-care to microaggressions in the workplace."[8] The Guardian called them "the smartest, funniest women in the room and everyone wants to sit at their table";[9] likewise writing for The Guardian, critic Sasha Frere-Jones described Clayton and Nigatu "leading American cultural critics."[10] In its first year, Another Round was rated by iTunes,[11] Slate,[12] Vulture,[13] and The Atlantic[14] as a "Best of 2015" podcast.

In late 2017, Nigatu and Clayton announced that BuzzFeed had decided to stop producing Another Round, but the two hosts were granted ownership of the show and plan to continue it outside BuzzFeed, after a hiatus.[15]

Post-BuzzFeed

In April 2016, after three and a half years working for BuzzFeed, Nigatu announced she was moving to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, but would continue hosting Another Round.[16] She continued at The Late Show until January 2017.[17]

On 15 February 2019, it was announced that Nigatu was a staff writer for Desus & Mero, the comedy duo's 2019 late night show on Showtime.

#CarefreeBlackKids2k16

In the wake of the 2016 police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, Nigatu created the hashtag #CarefreeBlackKids2k16.[18] Blavity described the photos and videos accompanying the hashtag "the bright light we needed after this troubling week."[19]

Honors

Personal life

Nigatu lives in Brooklyn.[23]

See also

References

  1. ^ Wright, Megh (15 February 2019). "Here's the Writing Staff for Showtime's Desus & Mero". Vulture. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  2. ^ Murphy, Henry (6 December 2016). "Heben Nigatu and Tracy Clayton of Another Round". Medium. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Heben Nigatu and Tracy Clayton of Another Round". Creative New York. Museum of Modern Art. 5 December 2016. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  4. ^ Murphy, Henry (5 December 2016). "Heben Nigatu and Tracy Clayton of Another Round – Creative New York". Creative New York. Museum of Modern Art. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  5. ^ "The End of the Internship". Columbia Daily Spectator. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Columbia Daily Spectator 20 September 2010 — Columbia Spectator". spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu. Archived from the original on 19 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  7. ^ Young, Yolanda (5 September 2016). "Another Round with Heben Nigatu who shakes things up". Rolling Out. Archived from the original on 28 October 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  8. ^ Laura M. Browning; Dan Caffrey; Ben Cannon; Randall Colburn; Dan Fitchette; B.G. Henne; Anna Hrachovec; Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya; Dan Telfer (15 June 2015). "Another Round and Internet Explorer confirm the power of BuzzFeed's podcasts". A.V.Club. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  9. ^ Locker, Melissa (13 December 2015). "Listen To This: Another Round podcast changes the world one drink at a time". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 4 January 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  10. ^ Frere-Jones, Sasha (25 June 2016). "'We love you Beyoncé': what Queen Bey means to her fans now". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  11. ^ "Apple's iTunes Best of 2015 list for podcasts includes a ton of LA-based favorites". Time Out Los Angeles. 9 December 2015. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  12. ^ Onion, Rebecca (14 December 2015). "The 10 Best Podcast Episodes of 2015". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  13. ^ "The 10 Best Podcasts and 10 Best Podcast Episodes of 2015". Vulture. 11 December 2015. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  14. ^ McQuade, Laura Jane Standley, Devon Taylor, and Eric (22 December 2015). "The 50 Best Podcast Episodes of 2015". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2016.((cite web)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Quah, Nicholas (2 January 2018). "Apple Podcast Analytics is finally live (and with it, the ability to see how many people are skipping ads)". Nieman Lab. Archived from the original on 5 May 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  16. ^ Phillips, Kadisha (28 April 2016). "Heben Nigatu announces move to 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' -". Blavity. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  17. ^ "Heben Nigatu on Twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on 22 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  18. ^ Finley, Taryn (13 December 2016). "18 Times Black People Broke The Internet In 2016". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  19. ^ Mangum, Trey (8 July 2016). "#CarefreeBlackKids2k16 is the bright light we needed after this troubling week -". Blavity. Archived from the original on 6 September 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  20. ^ Inverso, Emily. "Heben Nigatu, 24 – In Photos: 2016 30 Under 30: Media". Forbes. Archived from the original on 27 October 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  21. ^ "Meet Heben Nigatu, one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People 2016". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  22. ^ "The Root 100 2016 – 23 Heben Nigatu". The Root. 27 September 2016. Archived from the original on 17 February 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  23. ^ Gorce, Tammy La (31 March 2017). "How Podcasters Heben Nigatu and Tracy Clayton Spend Their Sunday". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.

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