A bit about me:
I’m Josephine, but I go by Jo. I’m a freelance editor and journalist based in North Carolina. I’m currently a part-time news reporter for Bustle.com, one of the largest websites for millennial women. As a journalist, I cover politics and identity, with some of my specializations in social policy, LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive justice, sexual violence, and science and health. I also did a short stint as a music journalist.
My work has been published by Bustle.com, Rewire.News, Teen Vogue, Marie Claire, ThinkProgress, NationSwell, Romper.com, Rolling Stone, and The Village Voice, among others.
I regularly make radio appearances to talk about my abortion policy reporting, though I’ve also spoken about gun violence, country music (yes, really), and sexual violence in prisons. I have appeared on panels to talk about my experience as a sexual assault survivor, and I have moderated discussions about women’s health.
Recent news reporting
For Equal Pay Day 2020, The Coronavirus Looms, Bustle.com, March 2020
Abortion Providers Speak Up After Ohio & Texas Deem It “Non-Essential”, Bustle.com, March 2020
SCOTUS Will Hear An Abortion Rights Case With Major Implications, Bustle.com, Updated March 2020
Utah’s Conversion Therapy Ban Is A Victory For Activists, Bustle.com, Feb. 2020
Nabilah Islam Doesn’t Want Health Care Costs To Keep People From Running For Office, Bustle.com, Feb. 2020
A South Dakota Bill Would Criminalize Trans Minors’ Health Care, Bustle.com, Jan. 2020
A Wedding Cake Discrimination Case Is Going Back To An Oregon Appeals Court, Bustle.com, Jan. 2020
We Spoke To Julián Castro One Week Before His Campaign Ended. Here’s What We Learned, Bustle.com, Jan. 2020
These Lawmakers Saw What Criminalizing Abortion Looks Like. They Were Horrified., Rewire.News, Dec. 2019
Guns & Domestic Violence Are Much More Lethal For Women Of Color, A New Report Shows, Bustle.com, Oct. 2019
The LGBTQ Supreme Court Cases That Could Be More Consequential Than Gay Marriage, Bustle.com, Oct. 2019
Longform & feature reporting
3 Abortion Providers On Tailoring Their Services To Trans Patients, Bustle.com, March 2020
Election Needle Anxiety During The 2020 Primaries Is Real, Bustle.com, Feb. 2020
7 Myths About Trans Health Care, Debunked By Trans People & Doctors, Bustle.com, Jan. 2020
Sex Workers Describe The Policy Reforms That Would Actually Help Them, Bustle.com, Dec. 2020
What 6 Young Climate Activists Do Every Day To Fight For The Planet, Bustle.com, Sept. 2019
These Are the Ways Plastics Can Mess Up Your Body, Teen Vogue, Dec. 2018
The Case for Public Sex Classes, Teen Vogue, April 2019
Rape Behind Bars: Stopping the Cycle of Violence, NationSwell, Sept. 2018
For Survivors of Prison Rape, Saying ‘Me Too’ Isn’t an Option, Rewire.News, Jan. 2018
Sexual Assault Survivors Talk About Sex After Rape, Teen Vogue, Aug. 2018
Essays and op-eds
How to Support the Survivors In Your Life This Week, Marie Claire, Oct. 2018
The anti-trans Trump memo is already a reality for people like me, ThinkProgress, Oct. 2018
The right’s dangerous use of moral relativism to defend Sarah Sanders, ThinkProgress.com, June 2018
Grief Can Last For Years, So Why Don’t We Acknowledge It?, Romper.com, May 2018
Travel/food writing
On a Fishing Charter with a Chef at Amelia Island, Florida, The Daily Meal
Chef Stephen Henry Brews Syrup in Tunnels, Keeps Bees on the Rooftop, and Still Has ‘More to Do’ in Chicago, The Daily Meal
620 Square Miles of Food Celebration and Conservation in Milan, The Daily Meal
Chef Mathew Wiltzius of Chicago’s Lockwood Restaurant Feeds Nostalgia with Carrot Cake, The Daily Meal
A Perfect Model of Sustainability in Amelia Island, Florida, The Daily Meal
When I’m not writing, I’m riding. I was two weeks old when my parents visited the Budweiser Clydesdale barn in New Hampshire, and my dad says he held me up in front of one of the Clydesdales. We looked each other in the eyes, and I haven’t been able to part with horses since. I’ve traveled to the Pyrenees in France and the countryside of Bosnia and Herzegovina to ride.
Contact
Email me: joyurcaba@gmail.com
Follow me on Twitter.
Check out my resume.
