News

Reggie Ossé: 1969 — 2017

December 20, 2017

We are devastated and heartbroken by the news that Reggie Osse has died. Our hearts go out to his friends, his family, his children. 


Reggie was a pioneer in this new medium of podcasting, forging a voice and a sound and an approach all his own. He started Loud Speakers Network, where he hosted his own show, the Combat Jack Show, and with his partner Chris Morrow helped launch podcasts like The Read and Tax Season. These shows connected with huge audiences, who’d been hungry for podcasts hosted by people of color, for audiences of color. Shows that were largely absent from the mostly white world of podcasting. 


I got to know Reggie when we collaborated with him on a podcast. I’m so grateful I did. He was a deeply kind and caring human being. He was loving, passionate, dedicated to his family, his community and culture. And he was funny! The stories he would tell from back in the day would hold us spellbound at one moment and have us howling with laughter the next. 


I can’t believe he’s gone. Everyone of us at Gimlet who worked with him feels empty today. His legacy lives on, though, in the new medium he helped create. 


We’ll miss you so so much, Reggie. We’re broken-hearted. May you rest in peace. 


— Alex Blumberg, CEO and Cofounder, Gimlet Media