| Mona Chalabi | |
| Alma Mater: | University of Edinburgh Paris Institute of Political Studies |
| Occupation: | Data journalist Writer Illustrator |
Mona Chalabi is a British data journalist, illustrator, and writer of Iraqi descent, known for her publications with The New York Times and The Guardian.
Chalabi received the Pulitzer Prize for Illustrated Reporting and Commentary in 2023 for "striking illustrations that combine statistical reporting with keen analysis to help readers understand the immense wealth and economic power of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos."[1]
She was nominated for a News & Documentary Emmy Award in the Category New Approaches: Arts, Lifestyle & Culture in 2017 and received the 2020 Shorty Award in the category Best Journalist in Social Media.
Chalabi was born to Iraqi[2] immigrants and grew up in East London [3] where she was educated at Woodford County High School For Girls.[4] She received an undergraduate degree in International Relations from the University of Edinburgh[5] and earned a master's degree in International Security from the Paris Institute of Political Studies in Paris, France.[6] [7]
After working for the Bank of England, the Economist Intelligence Unit and the International Organization for Migration, as of 2024, Chalabi works for The Guardian US.[8] [9] She advocates the importance of data journalism in working to holding politicians accountable for making false claims and calling out media bias.[10] Her written work covers many diverse interests, from racial dating preferences[11] to research on Wikipedia.[12]
In 2015, Chalabi presented a television documentary on racism in the United Kingdom for the BBC.[13] For National Public Radio she produced the Number of the Week.[14] Chalabi has made several appearances on Neil deGrasse Tyson's StarTalk.[15]
In 2016 Chalabi, with Mae Ryan, created the four-part documentary series Vagina Dispatches about physical, social, and political aspects around women's bodies.[16] [17] The video series was nominated for a 38th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Award in the category New Approaches: Arts, Lifestyle & Culture in 2017.[18] [19]
In 2017, she joined Richard Osman as a data presenter for Channel 4's Alternative Election Night, and was interviewed on The Weekly with Charlie Pickering. She also began hosting The Business of Life, a finance talk show on Viceland.[20] Chalabi presented her TED talk 3 ways to spot a bad statistic in early 2017.[21] [22]
In 2018, Chalabi launched the podcast series Strange Bird.[23] She is a former regular guest on Frankie Boyle's New World Order[24] and has appeared as a guest panelist on BBC TV's satirical show Have I Got News For You.[25] In 2018, Mona joined American comedy panel show The Fix as a data expert, presenting her data illustrations.[26]
In 2020, Chalabi received the Shorty Award in the category Best Journalist in Social Media.[27] [28] Chalabi was also recognized among Fortune's 40 Under 40 in Media and Entertainment in 2020.[29] [30]
In 2022, Chalabi launched a podcast with TED, titled called Am I Normal? With Mona Chalabi which explores everyday questions through the lens of data. The podcast divers into the questions on everyone's minds "do I have enough friends? Should it take me this long to get over my ex? Should I move or stay where I am?". With the help of not only spreadsheets, studies, but also consulting experts and strangers, she gets some surprising answers that beg the question: does normal even exist? [31]
Chalabi's piece "100 New Yorkers" was displayed at the Westfield World Trade Center in late 2020. The work was a demographic representation of the city distilled into 100 characters (e.g. 68 of the illustrations were people of color because, at the time, 68% of the city was people of color)[32] [33] [34]
In 2020 Chalabi was appointed an Honorary Fellow of the British Science Association. That year, fellowships were granted to those who made an outstanding contribution to public engagement and science communication in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.[35]
To understand New York’s trees, Chalabi was given access to the steps outside the Brooklyn Museum. She created a large-scale vinyl installation showing the 100 most common trees in the city. The work underscored patterns of inequality (neighborhoods with less money have fewer trees) and also health consequences (trees can reduce Covid-19 transmission rates).[36]
In 2023, Chalabi was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Illustrated reporting and Commentary for her New York Times Magazine piece "9 Ways to Imagine Jeff Bezos’ Wealth". At the award ceremony, Chalabi called out fellow journalists for their unwillingness to say the word "Palestine". She donated her $15,000 prize money to the Palestinian Journalist Syndicate to help fight what she sees as an "asymmetry" of information that elevates Israeli voices over Palestinian ones in the media.[37] Since October 2023, Chalabi continually highlighted the biases[38] in reporting on Israel and Palestine on major news platforms like BBC and The New York Times. Her data journalism has covered subjects such as "Countries that recognize Palestine as a state", "US Representatives who have invested in Weapons manufacturers that are arming Israel", "Orchestrated Famine", and more.
In 2024 Chalabi is an executive producer, writer, and creative director on Ramy Youssef’s upcoming animated series #1 Happy Family USA. This series is set to release in 2024 and follows a “Muslim-American family that must learn how to code-switch as they navigate the early 2000s”.[39]
The Ten, to be published by Random House in 2025, is "a 360-degree portrait of inequality in America".[40]
2022: The Gray-Green Divide; The Brooklyn Museum, Art Installation
2022: Squeeze; Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, Art Installation
2021: Talking Climate Beyond Lies; The Climate Museum, Participatory Arts Campaign
2020: 100 New Yorkers; World Trade Center, Partnership with Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and Absolut Art, Art Installation
2020: Who Are You Here To See?; Design Museum, Paint
2019: The Worst Landlord in New York; Data Through Design, 3D Model Installation
2019: W. E. B. Du Bois: Charting Black Lives; House of Illustration, Paintings
2019: Women Who Make Art Tate Gallery; Animated Installation
2018: Amnesty International Poster Exhibit; Print
2013: Photographs by Numbers; Arab British Center, Digital photography