Credit: Hanzh Chang
Sham Jaff
Journalist
Sham Jaff is a Berlin based journalist and political scientist who’s been explaining global news since 2014. She writes the English language newsletter 'What Happened Last Week', a briefing that drags international news out of the usual Western tunnel vision and into plain, simple language. Her journalism spotlights perspectives from Africa, Asia, and the Americas. In 2026, she launched the platform 'Gishty' (gishty.com), a dedicated place for her journalism and potential other contributors and formats.
Her 'What Happened Last Week' newsletter has reached more than 37,000+ readers from 100+ countries, and is built for people who want context without condescension and clarity without boredom. Sham also hosts, edits, and produces podcasts. In 2021, her podcast '190220 – One Year After Hanau' won the Grimme Online Award, and '"Wir schaffen das" – A Sentence That Changed Germany' was nominated for the CIVIS Audio Media Prize.