Paul Raffaele: Journalist and Contributor
Updated November 2009
Paul Raffaele, who has written more than a dozen feature articles for Smithsonian since 2005, began his journalism career as a cadet broadcast reporter for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation covering China, Cambodia and Vietnam in 1965. As an ABC correspondent based in Bangkok, Thailand, he further developed an already avid interest in the culture and practices of remote tribes. He went on to write features stories from Africa, Asia and Australia for Reader's Digest in Sydney, Australia, and then turned to freelance writing in 1976. A "professional adventurer" in the vein of 19th-century British explorer-writers, Raffaele is the author of two books, The Last Tribes on Earth: Journeys Among the World's Most Threatened Cultures and Among the Cannibals: Adventures on the Trail of Man's Darkest Ritual, and has written features for Parade, Smithsonian magazine and numerous other media outlets. In April, 2008, while on assignment for Smithsonian in Afghanistan with photographer Steve Dupont, Raffaele suffered severe head injuries from a suicide bomb blast. Raffaele reports that his doctors have told him that many of the effects of his injuries will remain with him for life.
Below is a selection of Smithsonian articles, photo galleries and video from Paul Raffaele.
Culture and People
Sleeping with Cannibals
Our intrepid reporter gets up close and personal with New Guinea natives who say they still eat their fellow tribesmen.
By Paul Raffaele
Out of Time
Less than a decade after their first contact with the outside world, the volatile Korubo of the Amazon still live in almost total isolation. Their fiercest champion, Indian tracker Sydney Possuelo, is trying to keep their world intact. But how long can he, and they, hold out?
By Paul Raffaele
Born into Bondage
Despite denials by government officials, slavery remains a way of life in the African nation of Niger
By Paul Raffaele
The Pirate Hunters
As buccanneering is back with a vengeance, stepped-up law enforcement and high-tech tools work to help protect shipping on the high seas
By Paul Raffaele
Places
Forbidden No More
Beijing's imperial complex, closed down during China's Cultural Revolution, reveals its glories to a returning journalist
By Paul Raffaele
Keepers of the Lost Ark?
Christians in Ethiopia have long claimed to have the ark of the covenant. Our reporter investigated
By Paul Raffaele
Extreme Polo
There are no holds barred at the annual grudge match in northwest Pakistan's "land of mirth and murder"
By Paul Raffaele
Gorillas & Bonobos
Stop the Carnage
A pistol-packing American scientist puts his life on the line to reduce "the most serious threat to African wildlife"the illegal hunting of animals for foodand to STOP THE CARNAGE
By Paul Raffaele
The Smart and Swinging Bonobo
Civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has threatened the existence of wild bonobos, while new research on the hypersexual primates challenges their peace-loving reputation
By Paul Raffaele
Speaking Bonobo
Bonobos have an impressive vocabulary, especially when it comes to snacks
By Paul Raffaele
Guerrillas in Their Midst
Face to face with Congo's imperiled mountain gorillas
By Paul Raffaele
Misunderstood animals
Forget Jaws, Now it's . . . Brains!
Great white sharks are typecast, say experts. The creatures are socially sophisticated and, yes, smart
By Paul Raffaele
Curse of the Devil's Dogs
Traditionally viewed as dangerous pests, Africa's wild dogs have nearly been wiped out. But thanks to new conservation efforts, the smart, sociable canines appear ready to make a comeback
By Paul Raffaele
Hippo Haven
An idealistic married couple defy poachers and police in strife-torn Zimbabwe to protect a threatened herd of placid pachyderms
By Paul Raffaele
