David Samuels

David Samuels is a Contributing Editor at Harper’s Magazine and a frequent contributor to The Atlantic and The New Yorker. His pieces for Harper’s are often panoramic takes on a single events, including the riot at Woodstock 1999, a Donald Rumsfeld press conference at the Pentagon, and Super Bowl XL in Detroit. His articles for The New Yorker and The Atlantic often focus on extreme subcultures and individuals with double identities.

After publishing a controversial cover story in The Atlantic’s April, 2008 issue about the paparazzi who trail Britney Spears, David appeared on NPR’s “On the Media,” and offered an apology for having hurt the feelings of those subscribers who objected to finding Spears on the cover of the venerable magazine. “Yes, I want to take full responsibility for destroying The Atlantic, 150 year-old pillar of American journalism,” he said. “And now it’s gone, thanks to me.” David is also the author of two acclaimed nonfiction books, Only Love Can Break Your Heart and The Runner: A True Account of the Amazing Lies and Fantastical Adventures of the Ivy League Impostor James Hogue.