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Judy Rakowsky: Journalist, Author

Introduction to Judy Rakowsky. 1:44 min. Interview: Raymond Elman. Post-Production: Lee Skye. Trailer: Soucebooks. Recorded via Zoom. 12/15/2023, Miami.

JUDY RAKOWSKY is the author of the critically acclaimed narrative nonfiction book “Jews in the Garden” that the New York Times said “reads like a thriller” and which was an editor’s choice of the New York Times book review. A career journalist, she spent decades on deadline as an award-winning reporter and editor at the Boston Globe, People Magazine, the Providence Journal, and other outlets. As a young reporter she got to know cousin Sam, a survivor of the Krakow ghetto and Nazi concentration camps. She traveled again and again to Poland with Sam in pursuit of a cousin who survived the massacre of her family in hiding. Describing those discoveries—the true history of what happened to these relatives—was outlawed in 2018 by the Polish government. Coverage of “Jews in the Garden” can be found in The New York Times, USA Today, Boston Globe Magazine, The Times of Israel, The Providence Journal, and other outlets.

The videos below were recorded via Zoom, are organized by Success Factor, and run between 30 seconds and 6 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.

OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED: 1:01 min.

What was it like to grow up in Lima, Ohio and what was your first awareness of art of any discipline?

EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES: 0:42 sec.

How important was “the news” in your Lima, Ohio family life?

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 3:41 min.

Where did you go to school and what did you learn that still informs you today?

DEVELOP A VOICE: 3:24 min.

What was the arc of your career in journalism?

EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES: 2:00 min.

Did you work with renowned newspaperman Marty Baron at the Boston Globe?

OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED: 2:00 min.

In the current era of social media, it is common for people to threaten journalists with violence. When you were covering organized crime in the 20th century, did you receive threats of physical violence?

DEVELOP A VOICE: 3:32 min.