Podcast Summary: Mixed Signals from Semafor Media

Episode: David Remnick on 100 years of the New Yorker, Netflix stardom, and why Trump was late to meet him
Date: December 5, 2025
Hosts: Max Tawny (Semafor Media Editor), Ben Smith (Semafor Editor-in-Chief)
Guest: David Remnick (Editor-in-Chief, The New Yorker)

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the legacy and future of The New Yorker magazine as it celebrates its centenary, centering on a new Netflix documentary chronicling its influence and evolution. Hosts Max Tawny and Ben Smith interview David Remnick, who has served as editor-in-chief since 1998, exploring the magazine’s adaptation to digital, the balance between tradition and innovation, media business models, AI, the current political climate, succession (with a joke about Obama), and reflections on covering and knowing figures like Trump.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. David Remnick’s Reflections on Becoming Editor-in-Chief

• Accidental Ascension: Remnick describes suddenly becoming editor after Tina Brown’s abrupt departure (03:53).
• Lacked prior editing experience; joined from a writing background at The Washington Post.

Quote:
“I was a very, very happy writer...Tina Brown quit...and by Monday morning...I was the editor of the New Yorker. And I had never edited anything. I just knew nothing.” — David Remnick [03:53]

2. Digital Transformation and Business Model Shifts

• Missed Digital Opportunity: Remnick admits the magazine was slow to embrace digital media (05:14).
• Subscription Pivot: Identified the need to shift business focus from advertising to subscriptions, leading to profitability since 2001.

Quote:
“We were too slow to embrace digital media fully. We didn’t understand it culturally at Conde Nast and I would say even at the New Yorker.” — David Remnick [05:14]

• Audience as Community: Emphasizes the unique reader loyalty of The New Yorker.

3. Editorial Philosophy and Audience Relationship

• Remnick believes writing for engaged subscribers hasn’t compromised editorial quality; followers expect the magazine’s “best” and not quick, low-effort takes (08:47).
• Describes resisting digital “hot take” culture, even as the pace quickens online.

4. The Centenary Documentary and Nostalgia

• New Netflix documentary marks 100 years; Remnick reflects on the challenge of honoring history without becoming a “museum of itself” (11:41).

Quote:
“All the time...there’s been an absence of self regard or what my mother would call puppet gazing, you know, looking at your own belly button. But that’s not unhealthy. Once in a blue moon." — David Remnick [11:51]

• Tina Brown’s arrival described as a useful shake-up for the institution (12:33).

5. Succession and the Future

• The succession question is broached, including the offhand “Barack Obama” joke (13:20).
• Remnick stresses the importance of collaboration and leveraging in-house expertise (15:09).

Quote:
“There are people here that know subjects that I have not a clue...It’s a collaborative piece of business, although there’s an element of leadership and ultimately saying yes or no to certain kinds of things and judgment and taste, even that is a collaborative thing.” — David Remnick [15:09]

6. Artificial Intelligence in the Newsroom

• Discusses AI-generated voice narration for articles, acknowledging its rapid improvement and utility for audio consumption (18:30).
• Remnick is “idealistic enough” to believe true literary quality and reporting can’t be easily replicated by AI (20:20).

7. Competing in the Modern Media Landscape

• Contrasts The New Yorker’s “stately” pace and depth with the Atlantic's faster, newsier approach (21:21).
• Sees value in different models; maintains The New Yorker’s identity.

Quote:
“It does strike me that the Atlantic sort of feels to me like it’s edited by people who are on Twitter and the New Yorker feels like it’s edited by people who are not on Twitter.” — Ben Smith [22:37]

8. On Social Media and Twitter

• Remnick reflects on his decision to avoid Twitter and social media for his own well-being (22:49).
• Anecdote about searching his own name and seeing wild accusations—calls Twitter “a toilet” (22:52, 00:00).

Quote:
“I made two really, really good decisions in my life. I married the right person the first time around and I didn’t go on Twitter.” — David Remnick [00:00, 22:52]

9. Politics, Biden, and the Challenge of Age

• Ben questions whether The New Yorker missed the “Biden aging” story; Remnick admits they weren’t “realistic enough,” in part because of the overshadowing Trump threat (26:49).
• Recognizes cultural shifts: Obama-era centrism now seems outdated to younger audiences.

10. Liberalism, Honesty, and Institutional Identity

• Remnick defends humane liberalism as a guiding principle, emphasizing openness to internal debate and argument as essential to self-honesty (29:27).
• Describes personal commitment to this tradition, while recognizing changing perceptions.

11. Reflections on Highs, Lows, and Press Freedom

• High points: Pride in major investigations and delightful literary pieces (e.g., a story on pigeon feet), which lift him out of “Trump era gloom” (32:06).
• Low point: Current threat to democratic institutions and press freedom in the US.

Quote:
“This is a low point...I’ve never seen in my lifetime democratic institutions and the press and freedom of speech so endangered." — David Remnick [32:06]

12. Anecdotes: Trump Meeting

• Shares a story of Trump arriving late to an editors’ meeting because he was in the hallway tweeting insults at Arnold Schwarzenegger (“The Apprentice”)—illustrating Trump’s brand obsession (34:25).

13. Reflections on the Documentary and Editing

• Would have preferred more spotlight on writers, artists, and editors, and less on himself in the Netflix doc (36:05).

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On not joining Twitter:
  “It would have made me feel shitty all the time...now it’s like a toilet.” — David Remnick [00:00, 22:52]

• On New Yorker reader loyalty:
  “Our readers want us at our best. They don’t want us to be a hot take factory.” — David Remnick [08:47]

• On business model pivot:
  “What was obvious is that we had to...shift from our emphasis from advertising to subscriptions. And I was right about that.” — David Remnick [07:55]

• On AI and audio:
  “It didn’t sound like a robot...it sounded pretty damn good. And it’s nearly instantaneous in its production.” — David Remnick [18:30]

• On editorial decision-making:
  “It’s a collaborative piece of business, although there’s an element of leadership and ultimately saying yes or no...” — David Remnick [15:09]

Important Timestamps

• Becoming editor: 03:32–05:07
• Digital transformation/business: 05:14–07:55
• Subscriber/audience relationship: 08:00–10:26
• Museum of itself / Nostalgia: 11:01–12:45
• Succession discussion: 13:01–15:09
• AI & audio in the newsroom: 18:30–21:14
• Atlantic comparison: 21:21–22:37
• Social media avoidance: 22:49–23:56
• Political coverage; Biden era: 26:27–29:13
• Future of liberalism: 29:13–30:20
• Personal/professional highs and lows: 32:06–33:56
• Trump meeting anecdote: 34:25–35:33
• Editing the documentary: 36:05–36:37

Episode Tone

• Candid and humorous: Remnick’s dry wit and frankness shine, with playful ribbing about headphones, successorship, and Twitter.
• Reflective: On newsroom culture, legacy, the perilous state of media freedom, and the continuing relevance of traditional liberalism.
• Collegial: Interplay between hosts and Remnick, with jokes about Ben Smith becoming bored quickly and the fine art of editor management.

For the Listener

Whether you’re a media professional, New Yorker enthusiast, or just podcast curious, this episode offers an inside look at one of journalism’s last great institutions, openly discussing the pressures and opportunities of legacy, the digital shift, leadership, AI, and staying relevant in a changing world. Remnick’s candidness and thoughtful perspectives make the episode a compelling listen, especially for those interested in the invisible choices shaping what ends up on the page.