We are pleased to announce our 2018 winner of the Divine Impact Award, Rabia Chaudry. A longtime resident of Baltimore, Ms. Chaudry is a wife, mother, attorney, and a 2016 Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow at U.S. Institute of Peace, where she researched the intersection of religion and violent extremism. Ms. Chaudry brought Adnan Sayed’s story to the attention of Sarah Koenig, who turned it into the popular podcast Serial, launching the true crime podcast phenomenon. While Serial was popular, Ms. Chaudry wanted to continue working for justice for Adnan Sayed and others like him, so she started her own podcast, Undisclosed, with two other lawyers. Undisclosed, which has reached over 2 million downloads, covers cases of wrongful conviction and police misconduct, and partners with the Innocence Project to overturn wrongful convictions. Ms. Chaudry is also the author of the New York Times bestselling Adnan’s Story, which delves further into the evidence in Sayed’s case. We are honored to present Ms. Chaudry with our 2018 Divine Impact Award.
The Divine Impact Award recognizes outstanding creative or scholarly achievement in the production, performance, or scholarly consideration of popular culture that exhibits exceptional contribution, longevity, originality, and impact. Past years’ recipients are director John Waters, radio host Terry Gross, music promoter Randy Ellis, and chef Jose Garces.
Ms. Chaudry will participate in a Q&A and reception at our November conference. For more information about Ms. Chaudry and Undisclosed, please see http://www.rabiachaudry.com/ and http://undisclosed-podcast.com/
There will be copies of Ms. Chaudry’s book for sale at the DIA presentation. MAPACA wishes to thank the independent bookstore The Ivy Bookshop of Baltimore for providing copies of Adnan’s Story for sale at this event. You can find The Ivy Bookshop at https://www.theivybookshop.com/.
(This event is open to MAPACA conference attendees only.)