Jeffrey Gettleman is the East Africa bureau chief for The New York Times. Born and raised in Evanston, Ill., he’s currently based in Kenya, where covers more than ten countries.

Gettleman has been beaten by Ethiopian soldiers, abducted by insurgents in Iraq, held at gunpoint by warlords in Congo and Somalia, and sickened by a rare strain of malaria. Many of his stories have focused on Congo, Tanzania and Kenya, where he’s reported on major issues such as rape, mutilation and ritualized murder. In 2012, Gettleman won the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting. 

We discuss his risky, adventurous career and his latest book, Love, Africa: A Memoir of Romance, War, and Survival.