Rukmini Callimachi


Rukmini Maria Callimachi is a Romanian-American journalist. She currently works for The New York Times, where she specializes in covering ISIS.

Background

Callimachi left Romania during the communist regime with her mother and grandmother, for Switzerland and then the United States. In the U.S., she attended The Oak Grove School and The Thacher School in Ojai, California. She graduated from Dartmouth College and from Exeter College of the University of Oxford, with a masters in linguistics. In 2000, she co-led the Royal Geographical Society's expedition to Tibet.

Career

After publishing some poetry, Callimachi became a freelancer in New Delhi, India, including for Time magazine. In 2003, she joined the Associated Press in Portland, Oregon. After a year in New Orleans documenting the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, in 2006 she began reporting out of Dakar, Senegal, as a West African correspondent for The AP. There she focused on investigating the exploitation of children in West and Central Africa, for which she was named a Pulitzer Finalist in International Reporting in 2009. Callimachi later became more well known for her work in uncovering truths about extremism, and was again named Pulitzer Finalist in 2014 for "her discovery and fearless exploration of internal documents that shattered myths and deepened understanding of the global terrorist network of al-Qaida."
In 2014, Callimachi was hired by The New York Times. Her reporting continues to focus on Islamic extremism, which has helped the Times earn a Pulitzer Finalist accolade in 2016 as part of a group entry. Callimachi's work in investigative journalism became further recognised in 2016, as she won the inaugural International Center for Journalists' Integrity in Journalism Award, for her "exceptional contribution to exposing crimes against humanity".

Caliphate (2018)

The serialized audio documentary Caliphate, first released in April 2018, follows Callimachi as she reports on the Islamic State. The podcast won a Peabody Award in the radio/podcast category that year. Her work on Caliphate also made her a Pulitzer Finalist again, "or dissecting the power and persistence of the ISIS terror movement, through relentless on-the-ground and online reporting, and masterful use of podcast storytelling."

The ISIS files

Over fifteen thousand files, now known as "The ISIS Files"—obtained by Callimachi and her "Iraqi colleagues during embeds with the Iraqi army"—were digitize, translate, analyze, and publish" by the The New York Times and the George Washington University in an "exclusive partnership". The two partners announced their intentions to do so in 2018, and by 2020, the files have been online.

Personal life

She got her name "Rukmini" through her family's closeness to the Indian theosophist Rukmini Devi Arundale, founder of Kalakshetra Foundation in Chennai, India.

Awards

News

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