David Eisenbach

David Eisenbach is a historian and an expert on media and politics and a lecturer in the history department at Columbia University. He was a Democratic candidate for New York City's Public Advocate in the 2017 primary election, where he received 23.42% and 92,246 votes against incumbent Letitia James. He was also a candidate in the February 2019 non-partisan special election for the same position in which he came in 13th place in a field of 17.

Eisenbach received a BA in modern European history from Columbia University in 1994, an MA in history education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and an MA (2001), MPhil (2003) and a PhD (2006) in American history from the Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. At Columbia, he teaches courses on the U.S. presidency and media and politics. At the Manhattan School of Music he teaches the great works of Western literature and philosophy, American history, Shakespeare’s tragedies, and the culture and history of the 1960s.

Although identifying as straight, Dr. Eisenbach's first book, Gay Power: An American Revolution, published in June 2006, is a history of how the gay rights movement in the 1960s and 1970s transformed American politics and society. The American Library Association named Gay Power a 2007 Stonewall honor book, and it was a finalist for the 2007 Lambda Literary Awards in LGBT Studies.

Eisenbach's second book, The Kingmakers: How the Media Threatens Our Security and Our Democracy, was co-written with Senator Mike Gravel. Publishers Weekly wrote that The Kingmakers "ought to be essential reading for all Americans."

Dr. Eisenbach was the communications director for Senator Mike Gravel's 2008 presidential election campaign.

Together with Larry Flynt, Eisenbach co-wrote One Nation Under Sex  (2011) which documents how the private lives of America's most powerful leaders shaped history.

Eisenbach has been a featured expert and historian on a number of History Channel and Sundance Channel productions:


 * Host of the History.com web series "Vote 101"
 * Appeared on the Emmy Award-winning TV series "Great Moments on the Campaign Trial"
 * Host and co-writer for "The Beltway Unbuckled" (2009), a special on how the sex lives of several presidents shaped American history.
 * Host for the H2 Channel TV series 10 Things You Don't Know About that debuted on February 27, 2012.
 * Appeared on The Making of the Mob: Chicago.
 * Celebrity history teacher on Season 2 of the Sundance Channel's Dream School.

In popular culture
David Eisenbach is referenced in "David," the opening track of Nellie McKay's first album, Get Away from Me. "David" begins with "Hcabnesie" ("Eisenbach" backward) sung several times. Eisenbach was one of McKay's professors during her short stay at the Manhattan School of Music.