{{short description|American journalist, writer, and editor (born 1958)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = David Remnick
| image              = David Remnick in 2008.jpg
| caption            = Remnick at a ''New Yorker'' conference in  2008
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1958|10|29}}
| birth_place        = [[Hackensack, New Jersey]], U.S.
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| education          = [[Princeton University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
| occupation         = Magazine editor, journalist, writer
| title              = Editor of ''[[The New Yorker]]''
| spouse             = {{marriage|Esther Fein|1987}}
| children           = 3 
}}
'''David J. Remnick''' (born October 29, 1958) is an American journalist, writer, and editor. He won a [[Pulitzer Prize]] in 1994 for his book ''[[Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire]]'', and is also the author of ''Resurrection'' and ''King of the World: Muhammad Ali and the Rise of an American Hero''. Remnick has been editor of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' magazine since 1998. He was named "Editor of the Year" by ''[[Advertising Age]]'' in 2000. Before joining ''The New Yorker'', Remnick was a reporter and the Moscow correspondent for ''[[The Washington Post]]''. In 2010, he published his sixth book, ''[[The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama]]''.

==Background==
Remnick was born to a [[American Jews|Jewish]] family<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rosenberg|first=MJ|title=Israel: The Ground Shifts|publisher=[[Huffington Post]]|date=May 25, 2011|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/mj-rosenberg/david-remnick-israel_b_836800.html}}</ref> in [[Hackensack, New Jersey]], the son of Barbara (Seigel), an art teacher, and Edward C. Remnick, a dentist.<ref name="wood"/> He was raised in nearby [[Hillsdale, New Jersey|Hillsdale]], in a Jewish home with, he has said, "a lot of books around".<ref name="wood">Wood, Gaby (September 10, 2006). [https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2006/sep/10/observermagazine "The quiet American"]. ''[[The Observer]]''. Retrieved April 10, 2011. "David Remnick was born in 1958 and grew up in [[Hillsdale, New Jersey]], where his father was a dentist and his mother an art teacher."</ref> He attended [[Yavneh Academy (New Jersey)|Yavneh Academy]] in [[Paterson, New Jersey|Paterson]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/10/18/paul-mccartney-doesnt-really-want-to-stop-the-show|title=Paul McCartney Doesn't Really Want to Stop the Show|magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |date=October 8, 2021}}</ref> Remnick was a childhood friend of comedian [[Bill Maher]].<ref name="Nymag1">{{cite web|last1=Hagan|first1=Joe|title="It Won't Hurt You. It's Vapor."|date=April 6, 2012 |url=https://nymag.com/news/features/bill-maher-2012-4/index3.html|access-date=November 22, 2016}}</ref> He attended [[Pascack Valley High School]] in Hillsdale,<ref name="Independent1">{{cite web|last1=Sale|first1=Jonathan|title=Passed/Failed: An education in the life of David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/passedfailed-an-education-in-the-life-of-david-remnick-editor-of-the-new-yorker-420607.html|website=The Independent|date=October 23, 2011|access-date=November 22, 2016}}</ref> where he studied Russian and was thereby inspired to also study the politics and culture of the [[Soviet Union|USSR]].

Remnick graduated [[summa cum laude]] from [[Princeton University]] in 1981 with an A.B. in comparative literature; there he met writer [[John McPhee]], was a member of the [[University Press Club]], and helped found ''[[The Nassau Weekly]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2013/04/04/david-remnick-selected-class-day-speaker|title=David Remnick selected as Class Day speaker|website=Princeton University|language=en|access-date=August 10, 2019}}</ref> His senior thesis was titled "The Sympathetic Thread: '[[Leaves of Grass]]' 1855-1865."<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Remnick|first=David J.|date=1981 |title=The Sympathetic Thread: 'Leaves of Grass' 1855-1865 |url=https://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp012j62s683d |work=Princeton University Senior Theses |degree=Comparative Literature |location=Princeton, New Jersey |publisher=Princeton University |access-date=23 February 2025}}</ref> Remnick has implied that after college he wanted to write novels, but due to his parents' illnesses, he needed to get a job. Wanting to write, he took a job at ''[[The Washington Post]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://politi.co/21raXZ8|title=David Remnick laments the 'cultural serfdom' of young writers on the web|last=Levy|first=Nicole|website=POLITICO Media|date=November 13, 2013 |language=en|access-date=August 10, 2019}}</ref>

==Career==

===''The Washington Post''===

Remnick began his reporting career at ''[[The Washington Post]]'' in 1982.<ref name="NYSWI">{{cite web|title=David Remnick|url=https://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/webpages4/archives/remnickdavid.html|work=State University of New York: New York State Writers Institute}}</ref> His first assignment was to cover the [[United States Football League]].<ref>''The Tony Kornheiser Show'', WTEM, April 13, 2010.</ref> In 1988, he became the newspaper's Moscow correspondent, which gave him the material for [[Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire|''Lenin's Tomb'']]. He received the [[George Polk Award]] for excellence in journalism in 1993.<ref>{{cite web|title=1993 George Polk Award Winners|url=https://liu.edu/polk-awards/past-winners#1993|website=LIU|access-date=April 9, 2023}}</ref>

===''The New Yorker''===

In 1992, Remnick became a staff writer at ''[[The New Yorker]]''.<ref name="NYSWI" />

Remnick's 1997 ''New Yorker'' article "Kid Dynamite Blows Up", about boxer [[Mike Tyson]], was nominated for a [[National Magazine Awards|National Magazine Award]].<ref name="NYSWI" /> In July 1998, he became editor, succeeding [[Tina Brown]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harper |first=Jennifer |date=July 13, 1998 |title=New Yorker Magazine Names New Editor |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-20900047.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010075840/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-20900047.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=October 10, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Times |agency=Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News |access-date=December 22, 2016|url-access=subscription |via=[[HighBeam Research]]}}</ref> Remnick promoted [[Hendrik Hertzberg]], a former [[Jimmy Carter]] speechwriter and former editor of ''[[The New Republic]]'', to write the lead pieces in "Talk of the Town", the magazine's opening section. In 2005, Remnick earned $1 million for his work as the magazine's editor.<ref>[https://nymag.com/guides/salary/14497/index3.html "Salary Guide: Who Makes How Much"], ''New York'' magazine (2005).</ref>

In 2003, Remnick wrote an editorial in ''The New Yorker'' in the lead-up to the [[Iraq War]] saying "the United States has been wrong, politically and morally, about Iraq more than once in the past... but... a return to a hollow pursuit of containment will be the most dangerous option of all."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/02/03/making-a-case|title=Making a Case|last=Remnick|first=David|date=February 3, 2003|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=January 16, 2011}}</ref> In the months leading up to the war, the magazine also published several articles connecting [[Saddam Hussein]] to [[al-Qaeda]] that relied on unnamed sources or the claims of Secretary of Defense [[Donald Rumsfeld]] as evidence. The magazine received some criticism for its journalism during this period.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lazare |first=Daniel |date=May 15, 2003 |title=The New Yorker goes to war |work=The Nation |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/new-yorker-goes-war/ |access-date=Mar 17, 2023}}</ref> The claims that Hussein and al-Qaeda had a close relationship were false, as confirmed by numerous sources, including a 2008 U.S. military study.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/mar/13/iraq.usa|title=Saddam Hussein had no direct ties to al-Qaida, says Pentagon study|work=The Guardian|first=Elena|last=Schor|date=March 13, 2008|access-date=September 1, 2019}}</ref>

In 2004, for the first time in its 80-year history, ''The New Yorker'' endorsed a presidential candidate, [[John Kerry]].<ref name="endorse">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/?041101ta_talk_editors|title=''New Yorker'' magazine endorsement of John Kerry|magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |access-date=May 9, 2006}}</ref>

In 2009, Remnick was the subject of an extended Twitter thread by former ''New Yorker'' staff writer [[Dan Baum]], whose contract with the magazine was not renewed by Remnick. The tweets, written over the course of a week, described the difficult relationship between Baum and Remnick.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/08/dan-baum-fired-by-inew-yo_n_200457.html|title=Dan Baum, Fired By ''New Yorker'', Recounting His Story On Twitter|last=Linkins|first=Jason|date=August 5, 2009|work=[[The Huffington Post]]|access-date=April 22, 2011}}</ref>

Remnick's biography of President [[Barack Obama]], ''[[The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama]]'', was released in 2010. It features hundreds of interviews with friends, colleagues, and other witnesses to Obama's rise to the presidency.

In 2010, Remnick lent his support to the campaign urging the release of [[Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani]], the Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning after being convicted of adultery and ordering the murder of her husband by her lover.<ref>{{cite news |author=Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/22/iran-stoning-woman-campaigners |title=Iran stoning case woman ordered to name campaigners |location=London |work=The Guardian |date=July 22, 2010}}</ref>

Remnick provided guest commentary and contributed to [[NBC]] coverage of the [[2014 Winter Olympics]] in [[Sochi]], Russia, including the opening ceremony and commentary for [[NBC News]].{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}

Remnick hosts ''[[The New Yorker Radio Hour]]'', produced by [[WNYC]] and ''[[The New Yorker]]''.

Remnick  Syracuse University's 160th commencement in 2014.

Remnick delivered the commencement address at the 160th commencement of [[Syracuse University]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.syr.edu/blog/2014/05/11/commencement-speech-by-new-yorker-editor-david-remnick-52411/|title=Commencement Speech by New Yorker Editor David Remnick|website=SU News|date=May 11, 2014|language=en-US|access-date=May 14, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.syracuse.com/opinion/2014/05/david_remnick_syracuse_commencement_speech_opinion.html|title=David Remnick at SU: If commencement isn't the right forum for a socially charged speech, what is?|
last=Baker|first=Chris|date=May 12, 2014|website=syracuse.com|language=en-US|access-date=May 14, 2019 }}</ref> in 2014.

==Personal life==

In 1987, Remnick married reporter Esther Fein at the [[Lincoln Square Synagogue]].<ref name="NYTWedFein">{{Cite web|title=Esther B. Fein Is Wed To David Jay Remnick |work=The New York Times|date=October 26, 1987 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/26/style/esther-b-fein-is-wed-to-david-jay-remnick.html }}</ref> Fein has worked as a reporter for ''[[The New York Times]]'' and ''[[The Washington Post]]''.<ref name=NYTWedFein /> The couple has three children.<ref name="wood"/>

Remnick is fluent in Russian.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/14/books/review/14hamill.html|title=A Ringside Seat|last=Hamill|first=Pete|date=May 14, 2006|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 22, 2011}}</ref>

==Works==
{{Main|David Remnick bibliography}}

==Filmography==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Year
!Title
!Role
!class="unsortable"|Notes
!Ref
|-
| 2012
| ''[[The Other Dream Team]]''
|Himself 
|Documentary about the [[Lithuania men's national basketball team]] at the [[Basketball at the 1992 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament|1992 Summer Olympics]].
|<ref>{{cite web |title=The Other Dream Team |url=https://www.netflix.com/title/70229271 |website=[[Netflix]] |access-date=19 September 2025}}</ref>
|-
|2025
| ''[[The New Yorker at 100]]''
|Himself
|Documentary about the New Yorker and stories from the magazine's 100-year history.
|<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/06/the-new-yorker-at-100-netflix-documentary|title=The New Yorker at 100: Netflix documentary dives inside a groundbreaking magazine|first=Andrew|last=Lawrence|date=December 6, 2025|via=The Guardian}}</ref>
|}

==See also==
* [[New Yorkers in journalism]]

==References==
{{Reflist |30em}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/bios/david_remnick/search?contributorName=david%20remnick David Remnick] at ''The New Yorker''
* {{LCAuth|n92115613|David Remnick||}}
* {{IMDb name|0719001}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060524074526/http://www.lib.uci.edu/online/fellows/remnick.html#interviews Interview list]
* {{C-SPAN|31530}}
* [http://www.newstatesman.com/magazines/2010/06/obama-interview-yorker-editor Interview in British magazine ''New Statesman'']
* [https://bigthink.com/videos/big-think-interview-with-david-remnick "Big Think Interview with David Remnick"]. Transcript and audio-video recording (36:23) with [http://bigthink.com/davidremnick index]. Big Think. Retrieved November 2, 2013. <!--we now cite YouTube for material not readily found in the transcript-->
* [https://www.jotdown.es/2013/08/david-remnick-lets-not-to-be-romantic-about-the-uniformed-brilliant-quality-of-all-journalism-in-the-pre-internet-age-there-was-a-lot-of-crap/ Interview in Spanish magazine ''Jot down''], August 2013
* [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2017/mar/04/the-new-yorkers-david-remnick-on-the-dangers-of-normalizing-donald-trump-video/ ''Covering Trump: what happens when journalism, politics, and fake news collide''], a discussion during a live chat at the ''Columbia Journalism Review'' with ''The Guardian'' and Reuters discussing the dangers of normalizing a Donald Trump presidency, March 2017
* {{Muckrack}}

{{s-start}}
{{succession box |
 before= [[Tina Brown]]|
 title= Editor of ''[[The New Yorker]]''|
 years= 1998–present |
 after= Incumbent
}}
{{S-end}}

{{PulitzerPrize GeneralNon-Fiction 1976–2000}}
{{LivingstonAward International Reporting}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Remnick, David}}
[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:20th-century American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:American magazine editors]]
[[Category:American male journalists]]
[[Category:American people of Russian descent]]
[[Category:CNN people]]
[[Category:Jewish American journalists]]
[[Category:Jewish American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters]]
[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]
[[Category:The New Yorker editors]]
[[Category:The New Yorker people]]
[[Category:The New Yorker staff writers]]
[[Category:Pascack Valley High School alumni]]
[[Category:People from Hillsdale, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Princeton University alumni]]
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction winners]]
[[Category:The Washington Post people]]
[[Category:Writers about the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Writers from Hackensack, New Jersey]]