AUDIO
Rachel began her journey in journalism hosting a radio show on Cornell’s campus called Black Students United Radio in 2015. Until her graduation in 2019, she interviewed many names her peers were familiar with such as the PHDivas and Dr. Melina Abdullah from the documentary 13th. When she began her Master of Science program at Columbia Journalism School in 2019, she wanted to take those four years of radio hosting skills and learn how to write for the ear.
No One Is Coming To Save Us, from Lemonada Media
Rachel was a Story Editor on the upcoming third season of No One is Coming to Save Us, an original podcast series hosted by veteran reporter Gloria Riviera. Rachel edited episodes with intense sensitivity to the unhoused population, immigrant families, and young mothers while advocating for episodes with practical solutions and next steps for listeners.
From the show description: “No One Is Coming to Save Us, the hit mini-series from Lemonada Media, is back as a weekly podcast covering America’s childcare crisis and the people of all ages who are crushed by it. Access to early education and care determines a kid’s future. Every Thursday, veteran reporter Gloria Riviera examines what’s broken in the system and how we can work together to fix it.”
The Dough, from Lemonada Media
Rachel was a Narrative Producer on The Dough, an original podcast series hosted by actress, writer, and comedian X Mayo. Rachel produced, booked and pre-interviewed guests, and edited episodes. She also gathered field tape for man-on-the-street style openers on Season 2.
From the show description: “Have you ever stayed in a bad relationship just to avoid having to move out and buy new stuff? Have you ever found yourself swimming in debt? Were you told growing up that women were bad with money? If so — you are not alone. Welcome to The Dough, a new 10-episode podcast series about the financial trapdoors any of us could fall into. From messy divorces to wellness products that are too good to be true, join host X Mayo (The Blackening, The Daily Show, Swarm) as she explores the financial flops and money myths that stand in the way of financial freedom. On this show, cash is queen, and we hardly know her, but we’re determined to be her friend.
This series was created in partnership with Flourish Ventures, an early-stage global investment firm backing mission-driven entrepreneurs and industry influencers working toward a fair finance system for all.”
Blind Plea, from Lemonada Media
Rachel was a Narrative Producer on Blind Plea, an original podcast series hosted by Emmy Award-winning journalist Liz Flock. Rachel produced, edited, and wrote episodes. She also hosts bonus content for Apple Premium subscribers. The show went #1 on Apple Podcasts and took the true crime space by storm in May 2023.
From the show description: “In 2017, Deven Grey, a young mother, shot and killed her abusive partner in a remote trailer in rural Shelby County, Alabama. She claimed self-defense and filed a Stand Your Ground claim. Instead of freedom, she was handed a “blind plea” – an option to take an unknown sentence in exchange for pleading guilty. As a Black woman who shot and killed a white man in Alabama, she did the only thing she could: She took the plea. Deven’s sentence became the final link in a chain of deceit, haunted land, generational trauma, false identity, coercive control, and a broken justice system.”
Sanctified, from Jemele Hill’s Unbothered Network
Rachel was an associate producer on Sanctified, responsible for researching, booking and interviewing guests. Sanctified is an original podcast series created by Jemele Hill’s Unbothered Network in partnership with Spotify. Hosts Lyvonne Briggs and Deborah Joy Winans create a welcoming space for their audience to explore faith, womanhood, and spirituality by centering the stories of Black women. Released November 2022. Sanctified won Best Religion and Spirituality Podcast at the Black Podcasting Awards in 2023.
From the show description: “Sanctified boldly centers the stories of Black women for whom the spiritual status quo is no longer enough. Sanctified makes space for women to interrogate, lament, resist, and triumph over the church’s double standards that have deeply impacted them. Through stories and conversations, Sanctified is a pathway to communal reflection and healing for women who are churched, unchurched, or find themselves somewhere in-between. From the pulpit, to the pew, to the parking lot, this show amplifies the thoughts, trials, and triumphs of women figuring out their faith authentically. Nothing is taboo. Shame is unwelcome. And grace abounds.”
Like & Describe, from YouTube
Rachel was a scriptwriter on YouTube’s new podcast Like & Describe hosted by popular YouTuber MatPat. The first episode, “The Rise of the VTubers,” was released in December 2022 and received over 250,000 listeners on launch day.
From the show description: “Each episode, you’ll join host, MatPat, on a journey to find the little known stories behind YouTube’s biggest trends. You’ll get the inside scoop from creators and experts, while hearing insights you can’t find anywhere else.”
Mandela: The Lost Tapes, from Audible Originals Studio
Rachel was an Associate Producer on this rich, personal story from Richard Stengel, the ghostwriter for former South African President Nelson Mandela’s groundbreaking memoir A Long Walk to Freedom, released December 2022.
From the show description: “In 1993, after 27 years of imprisonment, Nelson Mandela sat down with ghostwriter Richard Stengel to begin working on Long Walk to Freedom, a critically acclaimed memoir that would become a best seller around the globe. Mandela: The Lost Tapes reveals never-before-heard audio from Stengel’s interviews with the Nobel Prize winner, freedom fighter, and former South African president. Hours of rare recordings detail the turning points of Mandela’s life, key moments that shaped a revolution and the man who was to bring freedom to his nation. In this Audible Original, Stengel relives his intimate chats with Mandela, attempting to answer the questions ‘What made Nelson Mandela who he is?’ and ‘How can the rest of us be more like him?’ In Stengel’s own words: “It’s partly the story about how Mandela and I wrote his memoir Long Walk to Freedom. But much more than that, it’s a story about our unusual friendship, my struggle to learn who Mandela really was, and my quest to understand what makes a human being great.” Mandela: The Lost Tapes provides an intimate look at who Nelson Mandela was beyond his carefully curated public persona. Through Mandela’s own words, he reveals his extraordinary journey to becoming one of the greatest leaders in modern history.”
The Plot Thickens: Here Comes Pam, a podcast from Turner Classic Movies
Rachel was a scriptwriter and producer on season four of TCM’s award-winning podcast, The Plot Thickens, which follows the icon, legend, and Hollywood’s first action hero herself: Pam Grier. Rachel traveled, interviewed, and reported for the scripts before the season was released in October 2022. That season won both Best Editing and Best Television + Film Podcast categories at the Signal Awards in 2022 and was an honoree for the 2023 Webby Awards.
From the show description: “For our fourth season, we’re bring[ing] you the story of Pam Grier as only she can tell it. How did a country girl from Colorado become a movie icon – and the face of the genre known as Blaxploitation? It’s a story of bravery, both onscreen and off. It’s a story about race in Hollywood and race in America. And it’s a story about how real life is a lot messier than the movies. Join host Ben Mankiewicz as he speaks with Pam Grier as well as her colleagues, family and friends to discover what it took to survive one of Hollywood’s greatest decades.”
People Every Day, from PEOPLE Magazine
Rachel was an associate producer for the People Every Day Podcast, hosted by Janine Rubenstein. Fact-checked and wrote interview questions alongside host Janine Rubenstein. Also responsible for scriptwriting and producing daily segments.
From the show description: “Each day, host Janine Rubenstein talks to newsmakers and PEOPLE journalists to bring you the day’s biggest news, and tell you a story that’ll make you smile. Listen to the show on iHeart Radio, Amazon Music or wherever you find your podcasts.”
The Book of Baraka, from Audible Originals Studio
Rachel was an Associate Producer on this colorful audio memoir from the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, Ras Baraka, son of activist and former Poet Laureate, Amiri Baraka, released February 2022.
From the show description: “’When I become mayor, we become mayor,’ Ras Baraka’s famous words speak to exactly who he is as a leader – a fiercely loyal member of his community. In this innovative and ground-breaking Audible Original, hear how Baraka – the mayor of Newark, New Jersey – grew from spoken-word artist to school principal to successful politician. Mixing prose and poetry, musical interludes and powerful soliloquies, Ras explores his life in-depth, including stories about his father, poet Amiri Baraka, and his personal encounters with jazz singer Nina Simone and hip-hop superstar Lauryn Hill – who famously featured him on her debut album. This is the story of how one man found his voice – and how each of us can find our own calling.”
Algorithms at Work, from Audible Originals Studio
Rachel was an Associate Producer on this book-adapted podcast from best-selling authors of Algorithms to Live By, released in January 2022.
From the show description: “In this highly intoxicating original series, researchers Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths, authors of the best-selling smash hit, Algorithms to Live By, tackle some of the biggest ideas in computer science today – and, in the process, illuminate cutting-edge ways of understanding how we live, work and play.They take us inside a tomato factory where no one has a job title to shed new light on decentralized network structures; visit an Olympic fencer to explore the game theory of when to make the first move; and tour the birthplace of the internet, a buzzing laboratory on the border of France and Switzerland, to examine the true – and truly human – limits to what a network of nearly one million machines can achieve.”
Elizabeth Banks’ My Body, My Podcast, from Audible Originals Studio
Rachel was an Associate Producer on the highly-rated podcast created by actress Elizabeth Banks for Audible, released in June 2021.
From the show description: “In My Body, My Podcast, Banks seamlessly mixes autobiography and information to create an open space to talk about all things sex and sexuality. Throughout, you’ll hear personal stories from Banks’ life – her traumatic first period, an inappropriate meeting with a Hollywood agent, watching a PBS documentary at age eight that showed sperm swimming toward an egg inside a real human body. In telling these stories, Banks unearths important and difficult questions: Why are young people separated by gender during sex ed? What is intimate justice? How do women take control of their pleasure? Can we break the cycle of generational shame? And how on earth do we talk to kids and young people about all of this?”
The Baby Napping, from the podcast series Shoe Leather
“In the late afternoon of February 3, 1990, two-day-old Steven Lyons was kidnapped from a Brooklyn hospital— a feat that seems nearly impossible with hospital security measures in 2020. Now, 30 years later, Shoe Leather reporters, follow in the footsteps of a brazen baby-napper with the help of news archives, child abduction experts, and social media.”
In January 2020, Rachel was one of 16 students to pitch this story for the new podcast series, Shoe Leather. In February, Baby Steven’s story was chosen as one of the seven episodes. She produced, reported, and edited the episode released in May 2020.
The Baby Napping is available on all streaming platforms.
VIDEO
While at Columbia, Rachel also took some courses in video production and broadcast news reporting. Here are some news pieces she produced, shot, and created on her own.
Rachel J. Pilgrim 