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Natasha Vargas-Cooper

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Natasha Vargas-Cooper
Bornc. 1984
Los Angeles,California,U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUCLA
Occupation(s)Journalist and author
Years active2009–present

Natasha Vargas-Cooperis an American journalist and author. Her writing has been published in theNew York Times,[1]theWall Street Journal,[2]The Guardian,[3]GQ,[4]Spin,[5]The Atlantic Monthly,[6]theNew Statesman,[7]Good magazine,[8]Bookforum,[9]BlackBook,[10]New York magazine,[11]andLos Angeles magazine.[12]Her writing has also been featured on websites such asThe Awl,[13]theHuffington Post,[14]E! Online,[15]The Daily Beast,[16]andSalon.[17]

She resigned as a staff writer atThe Intercepton January 15, 2015, to work forJezebel;[18]she left in November 2015.[19]

Early life and family

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Vargas-Cooper was born in and raised in Los Angeles, California.[20]She is the daughter of author and journalistMarc Cooperand teacher Patricia Vargas-Cooper. She attendedUCLA,and graduated summa cum laude in 2007 with a major in history.[21]

Career

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After graduating from UCLA, Vargas-Cooper worked as a union organizer and health policy analyst in both Los Angeles and Washington, DC.[21]

In 2009, Vargas-Cooper wrote a memoir/true-crime series on the trials ofJesse James Hollywoodthat took place in Santa Barbara.[22]It was widely praised and critics said that the series "remind us more than a little bit ofDominick Dunne.[23]In June of 2012 Vargas-Cooper was one of the first reporters to acknowledge and report on the bath salts crisis in America for Spin Magazine.[24]It was praised by the Atlantic for being first and referred to the article as "fascinating".[25]For Buzzfeed in 2013, Vargas Cooper broke down what "the Language in Abortion Laws Really Means" and admitted she had had one.[26]In 2013, Freespeech.org praised this article as "great" regarding the "language and nuance behind the restorative policy". In December 2014 Vargas-Cooper published the first interview with Jay from the popular podcastSerial.[27]On February 27, 2015, Jezebel published an article by Vargas-Cooper falsely reporting thatWisconsingovernorScott Walker's proposed budget would cut funding for sexual assault reporting from the state's universities.[28]The article was widely condemned, and Jezebel subsequently acknowledged that its article had presented "an unfair and misleading picture. We regret the error and apologize."[29]The Daily Beast,which ran an article of its own based on the Jezebel report, likewise backpedaled, saying, "We deeply regret the error and apologize to Gov. Walker and our readers. Our original story should be considered retracted."[30]On Twitter, Vargas-Cooper initially defended the post claiming that Walker should have been aware of the "optix." Several days later she admitted, "I screwed up."[28]In April 2015, also at Jezebel, Vargas-Cooper published the leaked amazon shopping list ofAmy Pascal.[31]There was some backlash as people thought this list violated Pascal's privacy.[32]While working for Vice, Vargas Cooper published articles regarding women and LGBTQ rights including "How to Take your Attempted Rapist to Court and Win",[33]"How to Protect your Nude Selfies from Vengeful Ex Boyfriends and Trolls"[34]and "Bye: Scalia: Antonin Scalia's Worst Decisions on the Rights of Women and LGBTQs".[35]

In February 2017, Vargas-Cooper wrote an article inThe American Conservative,entitled "Womanhood Redefined" which calledtransgender women"men who decide to become women" that undergo "surgical mutilation."The New Republic'sJo Livingstonecalled her essay an "attack on trans people masquerading as an exercise in good faith" and "trans-exclusionaryrhetoric. "[36]

Books

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Her book,Mad Men Unbuttoned: A Romp Through America of the 60's,was published by HarperCollins in 2010.[37]The book stemmed from a blog she had started on the Tumblr platform.[38]In 2010, GQ wrote an article calling for an end to Tumblr book deals, but referred toMad Men Unbuttonedas the exception, "anticipated...a rare bird." The New Yorker reviewed the book to be "wonderfully diverting" and "well-versed".

Other works

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Vargas-Cooper is the creator and host of Public School, a weekly live story telling series in Los Angeles where writers and performers tell personal stories, based on a theme. Some past participants includeStarlee Kine,Paul F. Tompkins,Davy Rothbart,andJulie Klausner.[39]

References

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  1. ^Vargas-Cooper, Natasha (April 2, 2011)."We Work Hard, but Who's Complaining?".The New York Times.RetrievedDecember 7,2014.
  2. ^Natasha Vargas-Cooper (July 27, 2010)."'Mad Men': The Promiscuous Mingling of Art and Copy ".WSJ.RetrievedDecember 7,2014.
  3. ^Natasha Vargas-Cooper."Natasha Vargas-Cooper".the Guardian.RetrievedDecember 7,2014.
  4. ^"An Interview with Celebrity Rehab's Dr. Drew".GQ.June 15, 2011.RetrievedDecember 7,2014.
  5. ^"Natasha Vargas-Cooper – SPIN".SPIN.RetrievedDecember 7,2014.
  6. ^"Natasha Vargas-Cooper".The Atlantic.RetrievedDecember 7,2014.
  7. ^"New Statesman".Newsateman.RetrievedDecember 7,2014.
  8. ^"Natasha Vargas-Cooper".Good.is. Archived fromthe originalon January 30, 2012.RetrievedDecember 7,2014.
  9. ^"goldfinger – bookforum / current issue".Bookforum.RetrievedDecember 7,2014.
  10. ^"The New Natural: Alia Shawkat".Archived fromthe originalon April 27, 2013.RetrievedJune 26,2012.
  11. ^"Sitewide Search – Natasha Vargas-Cooper, Natasha Vargas-Cooper – New York Magazine".Nymag.RetrievedDecember 7,2014.
  12. ^"Temperatures May be High, But... – Features – Los Angeles magazine".Archived fromthe originalon February 19, 2013.RetrievedJune 26,2012.
  13. ^"The Awl".Theawl.RetrievedDecember 7,2014.
  14. ^"Natasha Vargas-Cooper".Huffingtonpost.RetrievedDecember 7,2014.
  15. ^"Archived copy".Archived fromthe originalon April 2, 2015.RetrievedJune 26,2012.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ^Vargas-Cooper, Natasha (July 21, 2010)."The A&E Reality Show" Intervention, "with Jeff Van Vonderen and Candy Finnigan".The Daily Beast.RetrievedDecember 7,2014.
  17. ^"Natasha Vargas-Cooper".Salon.RetrievedDecember 7,2014.
  18. ^"Natasha Vargas-Cooper leaves The Intercept for Jezebel".Capital New York.RetrievedFebruary 28,2015.
  19. ^"Accounts Disabled".The Awl.
  20. ^"Natasha Vargas-Cooper".Natashaavc.RetrievedDecember 7,2014.
  21. ^abWorld Archipelago."author-details".Harpercollins.RetrievedDecember 7,2014.
  22. ^Vargas-Cooper, Natasha."Jesse James Hollywood On Trial: Part One".The Awl.Medium.RetrievedMay 27,2009.
  23. ^Graham, Mark."Jesse James Hollywood Takes the Stand".Vulture.Vulture.RetrievedJune 24,2009.
  24. ^"Bath Salts: Deep in the Heart of America's New Drug Nightmare".Spin.June 14, 2012.RetrievedSeptember 15,2020.
  25. ^Martin, Adam (June 14, 2012)."Spin Was Into Bath Salts Before They Were Terrifying".The Atlantic.RetrievedSeptember 15,2020.
  26. ^Vargas-Cooper, Natasha."What The Language In Abortion Laws Really Means".BuzzFeed.RetrievedSeptember 15,2020.
  27. ^Vargas-Cooper, Natasha (December 29, 2014)."Exclusive: Jay, Key Witness From 'Serial' Tells His Story for First Time".The Intercept.The Intercept.RetrievedJuly 16,2018.
  28. ^ab"Daily Beast retracts story on Scott Walker".Politico.RetrievedFebruary 28,2015.
  29. ^"Scott Walker Wants Colleges to Stop Reporting Sexual Assaults [UPDATE 2]".Jezebel.February 27, 2015.RetrievedFebruary 28,2015.
  30. ^Weidy, Brian (February 27, 2015)."Walker Unfairly Attacked on College Rape – ORIGINAL STORY RETRACTED".The Daily Beast.RetrievedFebruary 28,2015.
  31. ^"This Is Amazing Amy Pascal's Cheap, Crotch-Intensive Beauty Regimen".Jezebel.April 20, 2015.
  32. ^"About That Amy Pascal Shopping List".The Cut.
  33. ^"How to Take Your Attempted Rapist to Court and Win".vice.RetrievedSeptember 15,2020.
  34. ^"How to Protect Your Nude Selfies From Vengeful Ex-Boyfriends and Trolls".vice.RetrievedSeptember 15,2020.
  35. ^"Natasha Vargas-Cooper".Vice.RetrievedSeptember 15,2020.
  36. ^"Transphobia Redefined".The New Republic.February 17, 2017.RetrievedJune 19,2020.
  37. ^"Med Men Unbuttoned | A Romp Through 1960s America".Archived fromthe originalon June 18, 2012.RetrievedJune 25,2012.
  38. ^Fennessey, Sean (April 27, 2010)."Cancel Publish: A Call For the End of Tumblr Book Deals".GQ.RetrievedSeptember 15,2020.
  39. ^"ABOUT PUBLIC SCHOOL".Public School.RetrievedDecember 7,2014.
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