Matthieu Aikins
Matthieu Aikins is Puffin Foundation Fellow at Type Media Center, a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, and a contributing editor at Rolling Stone.
He has reported from Afghanistan and the Middle East since 2008 for magazines such as the New Yorker, Harper's, and GQ, and has been a fellow at New America, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the American Academy in Berlin. His first book, about a journey to Europe with refugees, will be published by Harper in 2022.
He is a frequent guest commentator and analyst on national radio and television programs, including MSNBC, the BBC, the CBC, and National Public Radio. His work was featured in the anthology The Best American Magazine Writing 2012.
Matthieu is the winner of the 2014 Livingston Award and a two-time finalist for the National Magazine Award in the Reporting category. He received the 2013 Polk Award for magazine reporting, the Medill Medal for Courage, and the Kurt Schork Award for his Rolling Stone article "The A-Team Killings," which uncovered evidence of war crimes in Afghanistan. In 2010, he won a National Magazine Award in Canada for 'Best New Creative Talent' for his article 'Last Stand in Kandahar', which appeared on the cover of the November issue of the Walrus. In 2008 and 2009 he also received prizes from the Canadian Association of Journalists and the Atlantic Journalism Awards.
Matthieu grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and has a master's degree in Near Eastern Studies from New York University.
Two Type Fellows Win 2022 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting
Puffin Foundation Fellow Matthieu Aikins and Ida B. Wells Fellow Lila Hassan are part of the New York Times team to win the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting for their “courageous and relentless reporting.”
Inside the Fall of Kabul
To the shock of the world, the Afghan capital fell in a matter of hours despite predictions it would take months.
By Puffin Foundation Fellow Matthieu Aikins for The New York Times Magazine.
Type Media Center Welcomes Matt Aikins as a Puffin Foundation Fellow
Type Media Center welcomes Matthieu Aikins as a Puffin Foundation Fellow! Aikins is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and a contributing editor at Rolling Stone. He has reported from Afghanistan and the Middle East since 2008.
How Afghans Have Adapted to Life After Losing a Limb
“What is most difficult for us to imagine is not tragedy but the prospect of living in its aftermath.” By Matthieu Aikins in the New York Times Magazine, with photographs by Ross McDonnell.
Mapping Allegations of an American War Crime
A new interactive platform invites you to explore evidence that an elite American unit murdered Afghan civilians and buried them around their base.
Yemen’s Hidden War
A journey into one of the most remote and dangerous countries in the world.
Inside Baghdad’s Brutal Battle Against ISIS
As the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria beats a bloody path to the gates of the capital, the hard men of the city are fighting back with their own reign of terror.
Afghanistan: The Making of a Narco State
After 13 years of war, and without defeating the Taliban, the US has managed to create a nation ruled by drug lords.
Whoever Saves a Life
Seven days inside the life-and-death world of Syria’s first responders — the last hope for civilians caught in the chaos.
Last Tango in Kabul
While war raged across Afghanistan, expats lived in a bubble of good times and easy money. But as the US withdraws, life has taken a deadly turn.