CHARLIE METCALFE
Writer. Researcher. Journalist.
Selected as one of MHP Group’s ‘30 to Watch’.
Shortlisted for international reporting in the Wallace House Center for Journalists’ Livingston Awards.
Awarded a fellowship by the Royal Geographical Society.
An Instagram influencer smuggling atheists out of Iraq.
A pastor battling occupiers with bullets and a prayer.
An archaeologist protecting ancient sites with satellites.
I tell stories about our world on the very edge.
THE ROAD TO KARBALA, IRAQ, 2021
Over 20 major media outlets including BBC News, WIRED, and The Guardian.
A selection of my journalism.
Meet the radio-obsessed civilian shaping Ukraine’s drone defense
2024; online only
Top 10 most-read MIT Technology Review stories of 2024. Featured on Longreads.
On the ground in Ukraine’s largest Starlink repair shop
2025; online only
‘Everyone turned to look at me’
2021; print & online
The Royal Geographical Society awarded me a fellowship following my 450km walk across southern Iraq along the Shia pilgrim’s way to Karbala. This is a short account of that journey.
DNIPRO CITY, UKRAINE, 2024