Biography

DAVID SIROTA is a journalist, television commentator, nationally syndicated weekly newspaper columnist, radio host and bestselling author living in Denver, Colorado. His work appears regularly on cable television networks and in 2013, his book Back to Our Future became the basis for the National Geographic Channel’s major miniseries on the 1980s.

In its inaugural listing of national journalists, Mediaite.com ranked Sirota as one of the top 100 most influential columnists in America. In 2010, The Nation magazine named Sirota one of the 30 Media Heroes in America. In reviews of his writing, the New York Times called Sirota a “populist rabble-rouser” with a “take-no-prisoners mind-set.” The legendary columnist Molly Ivins said, “Sirota is a new-generation populist who instinctively understands that the only real questions are ‘Who’s getting screwed?’ and ‘Who’s doing the screwing?’”

Nationally Syndicated Columnist

Sirota’s weekly newspaper column is nationally syndicated by Creators Syndicate and runs in (among others) the San Francisco Chronicle, Portland Oregonian and Seattle Times. In total, the column appears in newspapers with a combined daily circulation of more than 1.8 million readers. In 2008 and 2009, Sirota was named best columnist by 5280 magazine.

Magazine Journalist

As a magazine journalist, Sirota is a twice-weekly contributor to Salon.com, where he covers the intersection of politics, media and popular culture. He has also written for The New York Times Magazine, Harper’s, Wired and The Nation.

Bestselling Author

In his long-form writing work, Sirota has published three books. The first two, Hostile Takeover (Crown, 2006) and The Uprising (Crown, 2008), were both New York Times bestsellers. The third book, Back to Our Future (Ballantine, 2011), was met with strong reviews and a cover story in USA Today (see here). In 2013, Back to Our Future became the basis for the National Geographic Channel’s miniseries “The ’80s: The Decade that Made Us.”

Television Commentator

Sirota is a frequent television guest on major cable networks, including MSNBC, CNN and Current TV. Additionally, in conjunction with the release of his books, he has appeared on (among other shows) Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” and NBC’s “Last Call with Carson Daly.”

Award-Winning Radio Host

From 2009 to 2012, Sirota was an award winning daily radio talk show host in Denver. For most of that time, he solo hosted the morning show host on KKZN AM760 in Colorado. In 2010, that program was named Readers’ Choice for best radio program by Westword and Editors’ Choice for best program by 5280 magazine. Sirota has also appeared as a guest on National Public Radio, and has done radio commentary for BBC World Service.

Previous Political Work

Before becoming a full-time journalist, Sirota was a political strategist serving as a senior campaign aide to Gov. Brian Schweitzer, Montana’s first Democratic governor in 16 years; a campaign adviser to Connecticut’s antiwar icon Ned Lamont, who defeated Sen. Joe Lieberman in the 2006 Democratic primary; and the press secretary for Vermont Congressman Bernard Sanders, the longest-serving independent in congressional history.

Sirota grew up outside of Philadelphia and received a degree in journalism and political science from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. After graduating in 1998, he lived for five years in Washington, D.C., and then for two and a half years in Helena, Mont., before moving to Denver where he now lives with his wife, Emily, his son, Isaac, his dog, Monty, and a fridge stocked with his favorite Colorado microbrews. 

To download a high-resolution press photo of Sirota, click here.