Her innate ability at radio led her to the now-defunct Air America, where she honed her on-air skills.
It was in the latter that she demonstrated the most ability.
She decided to forgo surgery, closing the door on what had been a promising future as an athlete.
“I graduated from the local high school at seventeen and went to Stanford,” she said.
Sadly, that didn’t happen, and her relationship with her parents grew difficult.
“It was very hard for them.
While that rift may not have been permanent, it was certainly not brief.
“But now my parents and I are close again,” she told The New Yorker.
“They couldn’t be more supportive.”
Maddow always approached activism as a problem to be solved.
… Whatever it is.
And then you figure out what would need to happen in the world so that change would occur.”
“She’s terrific,” Olbermann told theThe Kansas City Starin 2008.
“Wonderfully informed, totally prepared, forceful and yet respectful.”
Years later, the relationship between Olbermann and his one-time protegee had apparently soured.
However, he toldThe Daily Beast, that deal had been squelched by none other than Maddow herself.
“I offered to have her production company ‘produce ‘the show.
“I don’t care what anybody says about me.
I don’t play requests and I don’t worry about the criticism,” she toldThe Guardian.
That, however, is not to say that she won’t take responsibility for messing up.
“Bring it,” she tauntingly added.
“Your hatred makes me stronger.
I love it!”
There was one rather significant problem with that video, however: It was completely bogus.
While Maddow brushed it off, Mikula was adamant that she see a doctor and get it checked out.
She did, and her dermatologist agreed with Mikula, believing a biopsy was warranted.
When the results came back, Maddow was hit with a bombshell diagnosis: The mole was cancerous.
Maddow underwent surgery to have the mole removed and was later given a clean bill of health.
However, that onscreen persona belies the fact that Maddow has experienced regular struggles with dark depression.
“It’s manageable.
But it’s real,” she revealed during a 2012 appearance onNPR’s “Fresh Air.”
“Because it is nobody’s business,” she declared.
So I felt it was a bit of a responsibility to pay that back,” she added.
“Nothing has any meaning.”
According to Maddow, she’s resisted seeking treatment via pharmaceuticals and has utilized other methods.
“There are things that are good for me, she explained.
“Exercise is good for me.”
“I’ve been doing this for four years!
Why do I still have one-star shows?
It’s me failure,” she added.
When asked why she insists on being so self-critical, she offered a wry but telling response.
