Dan Abrams

Dan Abrams is an American television host, legal commentator, Web entrepreneur and author, former anchor of Nightline and currently the Chief Legal Affairs Anchor for ABC News. He worked as chief legal correspondent and analyst for NBC News, as General Manager of MSNBC and as an anchor for that network. He is the founder of seven web properties as well as a best-selling author whose writing regularly appears in print and online in a variety of outlets. Gotham recently named him one of the most powerful men in New York's media scene.

Early life and education

Abrams was born to a Jewish family to Floyd Abrams, an attorney.

Career

Television and broadcasting

Before MSNBC

Before joining NBC News, Abrams worked as a reporter for Court TV where he covered the OJ Simpson case, as well as the International War Crimes Tribunal from the Netherlands and the assisted-suicide trials of Dr. Jack Kevorkian from Michigan.

MSNBC and NBC News

Nancy Grace

Nancy Ann Grace (born October 23, 1959) is an American legal commentator, television host, television journalist, and former prosecutor. She frequently discusses issues from what she describes as a "victims' rights" standpoint, with an outspoken style that has brought her both praise and criticism. She is the host of Nancy Grace (2005–present), a nightly celebrity news and current affairs show on HLN, and she was the host of Court TV's Closing Arguments (1996–2007). She also co-wrote the book Objection!: How High-Priced Defense Attorneys, Celebrity Defendants, and a 24/7 Media Have Hijacked Our Criminal Justice System.

Grace was also the arbiter of Swift Justice with Nancy Grace in the syndicated courtroom reality show's first season. Due to the show relocating from Atlanta, Georgia (where Grace lives), she was replaced by former Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass. The show was not renewed for a new season under Glass.

Early life

Nancy Grace was born in Macon, Georgia, the youngest of three children, to factory worker Elizabeth Grace and Mac Grace, a freight agent for Southern Railway. Her older siblings are brother Mac Jr. and sister Ginny. The Graces are longtime members of Macon's Liberty United Methodist Church, where Elizabeth plays the organ and Mac Sr. was once a Sunday School teacher.

Bill Cosby

William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. (born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and author. Cosby's start in stand-up comedy began at the hungry i in San Francisco, and was followed by his landing a starring role in the 1960s television show I Spy. During the show's first two seasons, he was also a regular on the children's television series The Electric Company.

Using the Fat Albert character developed during his stand-up routines, Cosby created, produced, and hosted the animated comedy television series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, a show that ran from 1972 to 1985, centering on a group of young friends growing up in an urban area. Throughout the 1970s, Cosby starred in a number of films, occasionally returning to film later in his career. After attending Temple University in the 1960s, he received his bachelor's degree there in 1971. In 1973 he received a master's degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and in 1976 he earned his Doctor of Education degree, also from UMass. His dissertation discussed the use of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids as a teaching tool in elementary schools.

Rachel Maddow

Rachel Anne Maddow (ⁱ/ˈmædoʊ/, born April 1, 1973) is an American television host, political commentator, and author. She hosts a nightly television show, The Rachel Maddow Show, on MSNBC. Her syndicated talk radio program of the same name aired on Air America Radio. Maddow is the first openly gay anchor to host a major prime-time news program in the United States. She holds a doctorate in politics from Oxford University.

Asked about her political views by the Valley Advocate, Maddow replied, "I'm undoubtedly a liberal, which means that I'm in almost total agreement with the Eisenhower-era Republican party platform."

Early life and education

Maddow was born in Castro Valley, California. Her father, Robert B. "Bob" Maddow, is a former United States Air Force captain who resigned his commission the year before her birth and found civilian work as a lawyer for the East Bay Municipal Utility District. Her mother, Elaine Maddow (née Gosse), is a school program administrator. She has one older brother, David. Her paternal grandfather was from an Eastern European Jewish family (the original family surname being "Medwedof"), while her paternal grandmother was of Dutch (Protestant) background; her mother, originally from Newfoundland, Canada, is of English and Irish ancestry. Maddow has stated that her family is "very, very Catholic," and she grew up in a community that her mother has described as "very conservative." Maddow was a competitive athlete and participated in three sports in high school: volleyball, basketball, and swimming. Referencing John Hughes films, she has described herself as being "a cross between the jock and the antisocial girl" in high school.

Eugenie Scott

Eugenie Carol Scott (born October 24, 1945) is an American physical anthropologist, a former university professor and one of the strongest voices challenging the teaching of young earth creationism and intelligent design in schools. From 1987 to 2013, Scott served as the Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education, Inc., a pro-evolution nonprofit science education organization with members in every state. She holds a Ph.D. in Biological Anthropology from the University of Missouri. A human biologist, her research has been in medical anthropology and skeletal biology. Scott is nationally recognized as a proponent of church/state separation and serves on the National Advisory Council of Americans United for Separation of Church and State and other organizations. She has worked nationwide to communicate the scientific method to the general public and to improve how science as a way of knowing is taught in school.

Early life and education

Scott grew up in Wisconsin and first became interested in anthropology after reading her sister's anthropology textbook. Scott received a BS and MS from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, followed by a PhD from the University of Missouri. She joined the University of Kentucky as a physical anthropologist in 1974 and shortly thereafter attended a debate between her mentor James A. Gavan and the young earth creationist Duane Gish which piqued her interest in the creation-evolution controversy. She also taught at the University of Colorado and at California State University, Hayward. Her research work focused on medical anthropology and skeletal biology.