"Interviews on the Mountain" Exclusive Video: David Remnick

David Remnick, top dog at The New Yorker, visited The Oxford American's debut Summit for Ambitious Writers this past summer for a rare interview.

In a freewheeling and funny discussion with OA founder Marc Smirnoff, David Remnick dishes about life as an editor of the most prestigious and important magazine in America; his favorite New Yorker writer of all time; his early days as an inept crime reporter; and his hilarious (and humiliating) first appearance as a writer in The New Yorker.

Smirnoff also quizzes Remnick on why The New Yorker never published Barry Hannah, and, in honor of his visit to Arkansas, Remnick pulls out his best Bill Clinton impersonation. (It's good!)

In trying to establish why The New Yorker remains a unique commercial and publishing venture, Smirnoff, in his introduction, quotes The New Yorker's founding editor, Harold Ross, who said, "We have an opportunity to live honestly." Luckily, Smirnoff adds, "These New Yorker fools still believe in principles like that, and they act on them."

See the entire uncut interview below.