David Plotz
{{Short description|American journalist (born 1970)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = David A. Plotz
| image = David Plotz.png
| caption = Plotz in 2019
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1970|01|31}}
| birth_place = London, England
| nationality = American
| alma_mater = Harvard University
| occupation = Journalist
| party = Democratic{{cite web|title=List of Registered Voters|url=https://www.dcboee.org/pdf_files/ListOfRegisteredVoters051616.pdf|publisher=District of Columbia Board of Elections|accessdate=February 13, 2017|page=3871|date=May 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222095153/https://www.dcboee.org/pdf_files/ListOfRegisteredVoters051616.pdf|archive-date=February 22, 2017|url-status=dead}}
| spouse =
| children = 3
}}
David A. Plotz{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/id/2300637|work=Slate|title=My Fake Facebook Birthdays|author=David Plotz|date=August 2, 2011|access-date=April 11, 2021}} (born January 31, 1970){{cite web |last=Rothstein |first=Betsy |date=September 29, 2010 |title=SO WHAT DO YOU DO, DAVID PLOTZ, EDITOR OF SLATE? |url=http://www.mediabistro.com/articles/details.asp?aID=11014& |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906132442/http://www.mediabistro.com/articles/details.asp?aID=11014& |archive-date=September 6, 2015 |accessdate=October 21, 2014 |publisher=Mediabistro}} is an American journalist and former CEO of Atlas Obscura, an online magazine devoted to discovery and exploration.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2014/10/09/former-slate-editor-david-plotz-takes-job-atop-atlas-obscura/|title=Former Slate editor David Plotz takes job atop Atlas Obscura|author=Erik Wemple|date=October 9, 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post|accessdate=September 27, 2015}} A writer with Slate since its inception in 1996, Plotz was the online magazine's editor from June 2008 until July 2014,{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/slate_fare/2014/07/slate_editor_david_plotz_julia_turner_succeeds_him_as_editor.html|title=Slate Editor David Plotz: Julia Turner succeeds him as editor.|work=Slate Magazine|date=July 14, 2014 |accessdate=September 27, 2015}} succeeding Jacob Weisberg.{{cite news|author=Jacob Weisberg|title=David Plotz Succeeds Jacob Weisberg as Slate's Editor|url=http://www.slate.com/id/2193003/|publisher=Slate|date=June 4, 2008|accessdate=June 5, 2008}} Plotz is the founder and CEO of the local-news podcast network, City Cast.{{Cite web|last=Quah|first=Nicholas|date=October 20, 2020|title=City Cast and the Promise of Local Podcasts|url=https://www.vulture.com/2020/10/city-cast-local-podcasts-david-plotz.html|access-date=December 28, 2020|website=Vulture}}
Early life and career
David Plotz was born in London and was raised in Washington, D.C., the child of Dr. Judith Plotz, an English professor at The George Washington University, and Dr. Paul H. Plotz,a researcher at the National Institutes of Health.{{Cite web |date=September 15, 2022 |title=Russian Soldiers Are Fleeing |url=https://slate.com/podcasts/political-gabfest/2022/09/russian-soldiers-are-fleeing-ukraine |access-date=September 18, 2022 |website=Slate Magazine |language=en |quote=I was born in London; even though I’m an American, I was born circumstantially in London.}}{{cite web|url=https://slate.com/technology/2012/06/science-education-how-a-childhood-chemistry-set-turned-me-into-a-scientist.html|title=Science Education: How a childhood chemistry set turned me into a physician|work=Slate Science & Technology|date=June 8, 2012|author=Paul Plotz|access-date=April 11, 2021}} He attended Lafayette Elementary School and the St. Albans School in Washington.
In 1992, Plotz graduated from Harvard University with an A.B. degree. While at Harvard, he wrote for The Harvard Crimson (1988—1992).{{cite web|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/writer/5160/David_A._Plotz/|title=David A. Plotz|website=thecrimson.com|access-date=April 11, 2021}}
Career
Plotz worked as a paralegal for the Department of Justice. He switched to journalism and served as a writer and senior editor for the Washington City Paper. He joined Slate when it launched in 1996.
Work
Plotz has written for Slate, The New York Times Magazine, Harper's, Reader's Digest, Rolling Stone, New Republic, The Washington Post, Business Insider, and GQ. He won the National Press Club's Hume Award for Political Reporting in 2000, was a National Magazine Award finalist (for a Harper's article about South Carolina's gambling industry), and won an Online Journalism Award for a Slate piece on Enron. He appears on the weekly Slate Political Gabfest podcast with John Dickerson and Emily Bazelon.{{cite web|url=https://slate.com/podcasts/political-gabfest|work=Slate Podcasts|title=About the show|date=April 8, 2021|access-date=April 11, 2021}}
He is the author of The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank (2005) about the Repository for Germinal Choice, and Good Book: The Bizarre, Hilarious, Disturbing, Marvelous, and Inspiring Things I Learned when I Read Every Single Word of the Bible (2009), based on his "Blogging the Bible"{{cite web|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2006/09/the-complete-blogging-the-bible-so-far.html|work=Slate Podcasts|title=The Complete Blogging the Bible (so far)|author=David Plotz|date=September 21, 2006|access-date=April 11, 2021}} series from Slate.com.
Personal life
Plotz was married to Hanna Rosin, a former reporter for The Washington Post and a national correspondent for The Atlantic. They lived in Washington, D.C., with their three children. They have since divorced. As of 2020, Plotz lives in Washington, DC, with his three children and two cats. Plotz is Jewish.{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/blogging_the_bible/2006/05/blogging_the_bible.html|title=Slate blogs the Bible|work=Slate Magazine|date=May 16, 2006 |accessdate=September 27, 2015}}
Published works
- {{cite book|title=The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780739463055|url-access=registration|first=David|last=Plotz|date=2006|publisher=Random House Trade Paperbacks|isbn=978-0812970524}}
- {{cite book|title=Good Book: The Bizarre, Hilarious, Disturbing, Marvelous, and Inspiring Things I Learned When I Read Every Single Word of the Bible|first=David|last=Plotz|date=2010|publisher=Harper Perennial|isbn=978-0061374258}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929081604/http://www.thegeniusfactory.net/bio.php Plotz's bio on the website for his book]
- [http://bloggingheads.tv/search/?participant1=Plotz,%20David Video conversations featuring Plotz] on Bloggingheads.tv
- [https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/172cfb/i_am_david_plotz_editor_of_slatecom_ask_me/ Reddit Questionnaire] (April 11, 2021)
- {{C-SPAN|42563}}
- [http://www.atlasobscura.com Atlas Obscura | Curious and Wondrous Travel Destinations]
- [https://www.citycast.fm CityCast]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plotz, David}}
Category:Jewish American journalists
Category:American male journalists
Category:Harvard University alumni
Category:Journalists from Washington, D.C.
Category:Slate (magazine) people
Category:St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.) alumni