The Quest for a Moral Life with David Brooks

Today we have David Brooks on the podcast. Brooks is an op-ed columnist for The New York Times and appears regularly on “PBS NewsHour,” NPR’s “All Things Considered” and NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He teaches at Yale University and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the bestselling author of a number of books, including The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement; The New Upper Class and How They Got There; The Road to Character, and most recently, The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life.

In this episode we discuss:

The evolution of David’s thinking about character
The relationship between our commitments and our fulfillment in life
Brook’s criticism of self-actualization taken to the extreme
The four crises of our time
David’s current stance on reparations
Why David is a “border stalker”
How David reconciles the need for commitment with identity fluidity
Commitment vs. individualism
The importance of healthy transcendence
The enunciation moment
What we can do about the current political landscape
David’s thoughts on polyamory and the single life

About the guest

David Brooks

Podcast Guest

David Brooks is a Canadian-born American journalist, political and cultural commentator, and author. He is best known as a longtime opinion columnist for The New York Times and a commentator on PBS NewsHour, and has written books including The Road to Character and The Social Animal.

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The Quest for a Moral Life with David Brooks

David Brooks

11 years ofhuman possibility

11 years of
human possibility