Josh Levin

Levin was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. He attended Brown University, where he earned degrees in computer science and history.{{cite web|url=http://www.josh-levin.com/|title=Josh Levin (Tumblr page)|accessdate=31 March 2010}}

After graduating from Brown University, Levin began his journalism career as an intern at the Washington City Paper in Washington, D.C. He joined Slate in 2003, where he is currently national editor.{{cite web |url=https://slate.com/masthead |title=Who We Are |publisher=Slate |accessdate=6 November 2021 }}

In addition to writing and editing, he also hosts Slate{{'}}s sports podcast Hang Up and Listen with the journalist Stefan Fatsis and Joel Anderson.{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/id/2224225/landing/1|title=Hang Up and Listen podcast|publisher=Slate|accessdate=31 March 2010|archive-date=4 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100404063645/http://www.slate.com/id/2224225/landing/1|url-status=dead}}

During R. Kelly's 2008 trial for child pornography, Levin coined the term "Shaggy Defence" to describe the Kelly's lawyers.{{Cite web |last=Levin |first=Josh |date=2008-05-21 |title=Day 1: Unveiling the "Shaggy Defense" |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/dispatches/features/2008/dispatches_from_the_r_kelly_trial_2/day_1_unveiling_the_shaggy_defense.html |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=Slate Magazine}} The term was based on Shaggy's song "It Wasn't Me" and its lyrics and, is used to describe denying an allegation, despite strong evidence to the contrary.{{Cite news |last=Levin |first=Josh |date=2010-06-07 |title=The Shaggy Defense: America’s Favorite New Legal Term |url=https://slate.com/culture/2010/06/the-shaggy-defense-americas-favorite-new-legal-term.html |access-date=2024-08-07 |work=Slate |language=en-US |issn=1091-2339}}

In 2013, for Slate, Levin wrote an article on Linda Taylor, a woman that was dubbed by the Chicago Tribune and Ronald Reagan as a "welfare queen."{{Cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history/2013/12/linda_taylor_welfare_queen_ronald_reagan_made_her_a_notorious_american_villain.html|title=The Real Story of Linda Taylor, America's Original Welfare Queen|last=Levin|first=Josh|newspaper=Slate Magazine|access-date=2016-11-15}}{{Cite web|url=http://washingtonmonthly.com/2013/12/22/slate-coms-josh-levin-has-published-the-most-fascinating-true-crime-read-of-the-year-and-it-has-an-important-public-policy-twist/|title=Slate.com's Josh Levin has published the most fascinating true crime read of the year — and it has an important public policy twist|date=2013-12-22|website=Washington Monthly|access-date=2016-11-15}} The article, which explored Taylor's history of criminal acts, some allegedly neglected by the authorities and more serious than those for which she was convicted, was praised by media sources.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/12/everyone-got-welfare-queen-story-wrong/356343/|title=Everyone Missed the Real Story of Chicago's 'Welfare Queen'|last=Jones|first=Allie|newspaper=The Atlantic|language=en-US|access-date=2016-11-15}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/12/20/255819681/the-truth-behind-the-lies-of-the-original-welfare-queen|title=The Truth Behind The Lies Of The Original 'Welfare Queen'|newspaper=NPR.org|access-date=2016-11-15}} The Washington Monthly described Levin's article as "the most fascinating true crime read of the year."

In 2019, Levin wrote The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth. The book expanded upon the life of Linda Taylor and her repeated acts of fraud and theft.{{Cite book|title=The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind An American Myth|last=Levin|first=Josh|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|year=2019|isbn=978-0-316-51330-2}} The book won the 2019 National Book Critics Circle Award (Biography).{{cite web |title=Announcing the 2019 Award Winners |url=https://www.bookcritics.org/2020/03/12/2020-awards/ |work=bookcritics.org |author=Beth Parker |date=March 12, 2020 |accessdate=March 13, 2020}} Levin also hosted the Slate podcast, The Queen, a four-episode mini series about Linda Taylor and Reagan Era politics, along with two bonus episodes.{{Cite web|title=The Queen|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/the-queen|access-date=2020-08-21|website=Slate Magazine|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2019-07-09|title=The Queen Explores the Life of Linda Taylor, America's Original "Welfare Queen"|url=https://podcastreview.org/review/the-queen/|access-date=2020-08-21|website=Podcast Review|language=en-US}}

• Association of Alternative Newsweeklies' Media Reporting/Criticism Award in 2004 — for the article titled "Off Target", co-written with Erik Wemple, published in the Washington City Paper which helped to break the Jayson Blair plagiarism scandal.{{cite web|url=http://aan.org/alternative/Aan/AwardsView?awardCategory=Media%20Reporting%2FCriticism&year=2004|title=Awards: Media Reporting/Criticism 2004|publisher=Association of Alternative Newsweeklies|accessdate=31 March 2010}}{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

{{reflist|40em}}

• [http://www.josh-levin.com/ Official homepage]
• {{C-SPAN|120708}}

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Category:1980 births

Category:Living people

Category:Writers from New Orleans

Category:Brown University alumni

Category:Slate (magazine) people

Category:Journalists from New Orleans

Category:American male journalists

Category:21st-century American journalists

Category:21st-century American male writers

Category:National Book Critics Circle Award winners

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