Ira Madison III
{{Short description|Writer and podcaster}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Ira Madison III
| image = Ira Madison III This American Life-16 (cropped).jpg
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| caption = Madison III at the 2025 Tribeca Festival
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1986|07|28}}
| birth_place = Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
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| occupation = {{flatlist|
- Writer
- critic
- podcaster}}
| alma_mater = Loyola University Chicago
New York University
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| years_active = 2013–present
| website = {{URL|iramadison.com/}}
}}
Ira Madison III (born July 28, 1986) is an American television writer and podcaster. He is the main host of the Crooked Media podcast Keep It! He is a former critic at The Daily Beast, GQ and other publications.
Early life
Madison attended Marquette University High School, then attended Loyola University Chicago as an undergraduate, then New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for a master's degree in Dramatic Writing.{{Cite news|url=https://heavy.com/news/2017/01/ira-madison-iii-jeff-sessions-tweet/|title=Ira Madison III: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know|last=Farrell|first=Paul|date=2017-01-10|work=Heavy.com|access-date=2018-01-09|language=en-US}}
Career
Madison worked as a writer for MTV News and BuzzFeed in the early 2010s.{{cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/iramadison|title=Ira Madison III BuzzFeed Page|website=BuzzFeed|date=August 16, 2018 }}{{cite web|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/author/ira-madison-iii|title=Author Page Ira Madison III|website=thedailybeast.com|publisher=The Daily Beast|access-date=October 23, 2017}} He has since written for various publications, including Variety,{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2017/tv/reviews/the-son-amc-pierce-brosnan-review-1202006322/|title=SXSW TV Review: 'The Son' on AMC, Starring Pierce Brosnan|last1=Madison|first1=Ira III|date=12 March 2017|website=Variety}} GQ Magazine,{{cite web|url=https://www.gq.com/story/kendrick-lamar-damn|title=Kendrick Lamar Looks for Absolution on DAMN.|last1=Madison|first1=Ira III|date=17 April 2017|website=GQ Magazine}} and The Daily Beast.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/|title=Ira Madison III - The Daily Beast|website=The Daily Beast|access-date=2018-01-09}} Madison was named one of the "most reliably hilarious and incisive cultural critics writing now" by Nylon in 2016.{{cite web|url=http://www.nylon.com/articles/best-online-long-reads-2016|title=The 25 Best Things We Read Online In 2016|last1=Iversen|first1=Kristin|date=21 December 2016|website=Nylon}} Nylon also named Madison to its 2016 list of "The 25 Best Things We Read Online In 2016" for his essay on Donald Trump's political rise.{{cite web|last1=Madison|first1=Ira III|title=Donald Trump, Brought To You By 'The Apprentice'|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/2952446/donald-trump-brought-to-you-by-the-apprentice/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109161625/http://www.mtv.com/news/2952446/donald-trump-brought-to-you-by-the-apprentice/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 9, 2016|website=The Daily Caller|date=8 November 2016}} Madison co-hosted a podcast at MTV News with Doreen St. Félix in 2016 called Speed Dial with Ira and Doreen, that focused on music, pop culture, and race.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/mtv-news-podcast-mtvu-1201757251/|title=MTV News Launches Podcast Slate, Will 'Power' mtvU|last1=Steinberg|first1=Brian|date=20 April 2016|website=Variety}} In April 2017, Madison was featured in the documentary The Culture of Proximity.{{cite web|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/40406542/exclusive-viacoms-new-study-is-a-marketers-blueprint-for-millennials|title=Exclusive: Viacom's New Study Is A Marketer's Blueprint For Millennials|last1=Ifeanyi|first1=KC|date=19 April 2017|website=Fast Company}} In January 2018, Crooked Media launched the podcast Keep It!, a show about pop culture and politics, which Madison currently hosts with Louis Virtel.{{Cite web|url=https://crooked.com/podcast-series/keep-it/|title=Keep It Archives {{!}} Crooked Media|website=Crooked Media|language=en-US|access-date=2018-01-11}} The show is named for a phrase that Madison coined on Twitter, which refers to trends, news stories, and other pop cultural phenomena he'd rather not exist.{{Cite web |last=Jaremko-Greenwold |first=Anya |date=December 4, 2019 |title="Keep It": A Podcast for Fans, Stans, and Pop Culture Pans |url=https://floodmagazine.com/72042/keep-it-a-podcast-for-fans-stans-and-pop-culture-pans/ |access-date=March 29, 2024 |website=FLOOD |language=en}}
Madison was a writer on the Netflix series Daybreak and Q-Force.{{cite news |last1=Brooke |first1=Zach |date=November 13, 2020 |title=Hit Podcaster Ira Madison III Talks About His Wisconsin Roots |url=https://www.milwaukeemag.com/hit-podcaster-ira-madison-iii-talks-about-his-wisconsin-roots/ |work=Milwaukee Magazine}} He has also written for the show Uncoupled and the Quibi original series Nikki Fre$h.{{Cite web |last=Gonzalez |first=Alex |date=February 12, 2025 |title=Ira Madison III pushes pop culture forward with Pure Innocent Fun |url=https://www.intomore.com/entertainment/books/ira-madison-iii-pushes-pop-culture-forward-with-pure-innocent-fun/ |access-date=February 19, 2025 |website=INTO |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Ledonne |first=Rob |date=November 11, 2020 |title=After Surviving 2005, Nicole Richie Is a Comedy Trap Star |url=https://www.papermag.com/nikki-fresh-interview-nicole-richie-quibi#rebelltitem5 |access-date=February 19, 2025 |website=Paper |language=en}} In 2024, Madison appeared in the Brat Pack-themed documentary Brats.{{cite web|title=Movie Review: Andrew McCarthy hunts the 'Brat Pack' blowback in the documentary 'Brats'|url=https://www.townandcountrytoday.com/film-news/movie-review-andrew-mccarthy-hunts-the-brat-pack-blowback-in-the-documentary-brats-9067654|work=Town and Country Today|publisher=Associated Press|author=Kennedy, Mark|date=June 11, 2024}}
Madison's debut essay collection, Pure Innocent Fun, was released by Random House on February 4, 2025.{{Cite web |date=December 11, 2024 |title=Pure Innocent Fun |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ira-madison-iii/pure-innocent-fun/ |website=Kirkus Reviews}} The book covers various pieces of pop culture from Madison's adolescence in the 1990s and 2000s.{{Cite web |date=November 14, 2024 |title=Pure Innocent Fun: Essays |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780593446188 |website=Publishers Weekly}} The title is a reference to a quote from reality television star NeNe Leakes that has since become a meme: "It’s unfortunate that people can change something that was just pure innocent fun into drama."{{Cite news |last1=Handel |first1=Sarah |last2=Summers |first2=Juana |author-link2=Juana Summers |last3=Acovino |first3=Vincent |date=February 4, 2025 |title=From Buffy to Mariah, pop culture got Ira Madison III through his teens |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/02/04/nx-s1-5124808/from-buffy-to-mariah-pop-culture-got-ira-madison-iii-through-his-teens |access-date=February 21, 2025 |work=NPR |language=en}}
On a June 18, 2025 episode of Keep It!, Madison announced that he would be exiting his position as a co-host in late July of that year.{{Cite web |date=June 18, 2025 |title=The Beach Boys & Materialists with Danielle Deadwyler |url=https://crooked.com/podcast/the-beach-boys-materialists/ |access-date=June 29, 2025 |website= |publisher=Crooked Media |language=en}}
Twitter suspension
In November 2020, Madison pranked Twitter by changing his name to Beto O'Rourke and writing "I'll drop my nudes if Texas goes blue". He was campaigning for Joe Biden in the 2020 United States presidential election. He went on to tweet "es grande". Madison was suspended from Twitter for impersonating O'Rourke.{{Cite web|url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fake-beto-tweet/|access-date=2020-11-03|website=Snopes| last=Palma |first=Bethania |date=2 November 2020 |title=No, Beto O'Rourke Didn't Promise To 'Drop My Nudes' If Texas Goes Blue |language=en}}
Personal life
Madison identifies as gay,{{cite web|title=20 Queer Q's with Ira Madison III|url=https://www.pride.com/identities/2019/4/19/20-queer-questions-ira-madison-iii|author=Rodriguez, Joe|date=April 19, 2019|work=Pride}} and has been referred to as the "King of Gay Twitter" by Milwaukee Magazine.
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|6505248}}
- [https://crooked.com/podcast-series/keep-it/ Keep It!] episode archive
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzf_7sGoPRc Interview with Ira Madison III] on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (December 13, 2018)
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madison, Ira III}}
Category:Writers from Milwaukee
Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers
Category:New York University alumni
Category:American music critics
Category:21st-century American male writers
Category:American male non-fiction writers
Category:Marquette University High School alumni
Category:American political podcasters