Souad Mekhennet
Journalist; Author of I Was Told to Come Alone: My Journey Behind the Lines of Jihad
Souad Mekhennet has spent a quarter century reporting from inside the world of extremism, gaining access few journalists ever get. A Distinguished Fellow at Vanderbilt University, she has covered terrorism and national security for The Washington Post and The New York Times, beginning in the days after 9/11 with her investigation into the hijackers’ Hamburg cell.
From Iraq and Pakistan to North Africa and Europe, she has sat across from al-Qaeda, Taliban and ISIS figures, and she helped unmask the ISIS executioner known as “Jihadi John.” Her acclaimed memoir, I Was Told to Come Alone: My Journey Behind the Lines of Jihad, recounts those encounters. Her honors include the Daniel Pearl Award and an Emmy, and she was part of a Washington Post team named Pulitzer Prize finalists.