David Remnick

Host, The New Yorker Radio Hour

David Remnick has been editor of The New Yorker since 1998 and a staff writer since 1992...

He has written many pieces for the magazine, including reporting from Russia, the Middle East, and Europe, and Profiles of Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Katharine Graham, Mike Tyson, Ralph Ellison, Philip Roth, and Benjamin Netanyahu.

Remnick began his reporting career as a staff writer at the Washington Post in 1982, where he covered stories for the Metro, Sports, and Style sections. In 1988, he started a four-year tenure as a Washington Post Moscow correspondent, an experience that formed the basis of his 1993 book on the former Soviet Union, “Lenin’s Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire.” In 1994, “Lenin’s Tomb” received both the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction and a George Polk Award for excellence in journalism.

Since Remnick became editor, The New Yorker has garnered a hundred and forty-nine nominations for National Magazine Awards and has won thirty-seven. In 2001 and again in 2005, the magazine won an unprecedented five National Magazine Awards; in 2014, the magazine won four awards. In addition, in 2000 Remnick was named Advertising Age’s Editor of the Year.

Remnick has written six books: “Lenin’s Tomb,” “Resurrection: The Struggle for a New Russia,” “King of the World” (a biography of Muhammad Ali), “The Bridge” (a biography of Barack Obama), and “The Devil Problem” and “Reporting,” which are collections of some of his pieces from the magazine. Remnick has edited many anthologies of New Yorker pieces, including “Life Stories,” “Wonderful Town,” “The New Gilded Age,” “Fierce Pajamas,” “Secret Ingredients,” and “Disquiet, Please!”

Remnick has contributed to The New York Review of BooksVanity FairEsquire, andThe New Republic. He has been a Visiting Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and has taught at Princeton, where he received his B.A., in 1981, and at Columbia. He lives in New York with his wife, Esther Fein; they have three children, Alex, Noah, and Natasha.

Shows:

David Remnick appears in the following:

What Kamala Harris Needs to Win the Presidency, from a Veteran of Hillary Clinton’s Campaign

Friday, July 26, 2024

Jennifer Palmieri explains how the race that Harris faces differs from those of other women who’ve run for President. Plus, Louisa Thomas on the start of the Olympics.

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The Presidential Race Is in Uncharted Territory, but It’s Clear Who’s Winning

Friday, July 19, 2024

CNN’s data guru Harry Enten says that, unless the race shifts significantly, Donald Trump will win. And Karla Cornejo Villavicencio’s novel about an undocumented college student.

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Julián Castro on the Biden Problem, and What the Democratic Party Got Wrong

Friday, July 12, 2024

The former presidential candidate on why the President needs to step out of the race. Plus, staff writers Jane Mayer, David Grann, and Patrick Radden Keefe on writing a great villain.

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John Fetterman’s Move to the Right on Israel

Friday, June 28, 2024

Benjamin Wallace-Wells shares insights from his profile of the Pennsylvania senator. Plus, a crack team of staff writers answers listeners’ questions about the presidential election. 

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Kevin Costner on “Yellowstone,” “Horizon,” and Why the Western Endures

Friday, June 21, 2024

The Academy Award-winning actor and director thinks of Westerns as America’s Shakespeare. Plus, Emily Nussbaum on the reality of reality TV.

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Is Being a Politician the Worst Job in the World?

Friday, June 14, 2024

Rory Stewart, a former Member of Parliament, explains the fallout of Brexit and the soul-crushing nature of life in politics. Plus, Paul Scheer on the very best of bad movies. 

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Cécile McLorin Salvant Finds “the Gems That Haven’t Been Sung and Sung”

Friday, May 31, 2024

Though rooted in the jazz tradition, the singer's interests and repertoire reach across eras, languages, and continents.

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“Love Is Blind,” and Allegedly Toxic

Friday, May 24, 2024

Lawsuits and the labor movement come to reality TV, by way of the Netflix hit. Plus, Ilana Glazer’s buddy movie tackles the realities of pregnancy, motherhood and friendship.

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Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Isn’t Going Away

Friday, May 17, 2024

David Remnick asks R.F.K., Jr., where his run for President and his beliefs are coming from. Plus, Miranda July’s new novel explores marriage, desire, and perimenopause.

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The United States Passed a Ban on TikTok. Why?

Friday, May 10, 2024

Is TikTok the killer app of social media—or a Trojan horse sent by the enemy? Two views on the recent ban. Plus, salmon in the dishwasher, and more highlights of culinary TikTok.

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Israel, Gaza, and the Turmoil at One American University

Friday, May 03, 2024

Not since the Vietnam War has a protest movement reached college campuses with such fury. We look at the reverberations at one school, Harvard University.

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Jerry Seinfeld on Making a Life in Comedy (and Also, Pop-Tarts)

Friday, April 26, 2024

At seventy, the comedian débuts as a movie director with “Unfrosted,” about the invention of the Pop-Tart. And, Georgia’s Brad Raffensperger on how to convince an election denier.

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Jonathan Haidt on the Plague of Anxiety Affecting Young People, Plus Judi Dench

Friday, April 19, 2024

It’s not another moral panic, the social psychologist says: the evidence clearly implicates social-media apps for a decline in mental health. Plus, Judi Dench on a life in Shakespeare.

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How a Republican and a Democrat Carved out Exemptions to Texas’s Abortion Ban

Friday, April 12, 2024

Rare across-the-aisle coöperation in Austin aims to protect some people who need abortions and the doctors who provide them. Plus, a band rehearsal with songwriter and actor Maya Hawke.

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The Attack on Black History, with Nikole Hannah-Jones and Jelani Cobb

Friday, April 05, 2024

Why are so many states legislating restrictions on what schools can teach about racism? Plus, the film critic Justin Chang on what he’s looking forward to seeing in 2024.

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Alicia Keys Returns to Her Roots with Her New Musical, “Hell’s Kitchen”

Friday, March 29, 2024

In her musical opening on Broadway, Keys tells a story very much like her own life—but don’t call it autobiographical. Plus, Rhiannon Giddens on the Black roots of country music.

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Trump’s Authoritarian Pronouncements Recall a Dark History

Friday, March 22, 2024

Adam Gopnik considers how Hitler came to power, and what it tells us about the 2024 election. Plus, rewriting “Huckleberry Finn” from the point of view of Jim.

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Judith Butler Can’t “Take Credit or Blame” for Gender Furor

Friday, March 15, 2024

The philosopher popularized new ideas about gender—and has been burned in effigy for it. They talk with David Remnick about “Who’s Afraid of Gender?” Plus, a little March Madness.

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In “Great Expectations,” Vinson Cunningham Watches Barack Obama’s Rise Up Close

Friday, March 08, 2024

The journalist’s autobiographical novel reflects his time working on Barack’s Obama’s campaign, and in his White House. Plus, Bradley Cooper’s shot at Oscar glory.

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What Biden Is Thinking About the 2024 Election

Friday, March 01, 2024

The staff writer Evan Osnos had a rare, frank talk with the President about his battle for a second term. Plus, Kara Swisher falls out of love with tech in “Burn Book.”

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