Portrait of David Brooks

David Brooks

I write about political, social and cultural trends, the clash of ideas and the always tricky subject of moral formation.

I’ve been writing on a daily basis pretty much since the wee age of 7. I’ve worked at a variety of magazines and newspapers ranging from National Review, Newsweek and The Weekly Standard, and The Wall Street Journal and The Times.

I am the author of several books, including “Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There,” “The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement,” a New York Times best seller, and most recently, “How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen.”

I graduated from The University of Chicago with a degree in history. I have taught at Yale, Duke and The University of Chicago, and I am a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Emotionally, my home is New York City, below 23rd Street, though physically I’ve lived in Washington, D.C., for decades.

I’ve tried to present a reasonable voice in the midst of all the bitterness and strife of public life. I’ve tried to live out a philosophical tradition that has its roots in the thought of people like David Hume, Edmund Burke and Alexander Hamilton, a tradition of thought that sits in the tension between humility and audacity, fair-mindedness and compassion. Like all Times journalists I’m committed to upholding the standards of integrity outlined in our Ethical Journalism Handbook.

Latest

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    David Brooks

    You’re Only as Smart as Your Emotions

    We now understand that our emotions are often wise. The problem is that our culture and our institutions haven’t caught up with our knowledge.

    By David Brooks

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    David Brooks

    What Democrats Need to Do Now

    If Democrats hope to win, they have to take the MAGA worldview seriously and respectfully make the case, especially to working-class voters, for something better.

    By David Brooks

  6.  

    We Underestimated Trump

    He has campaigned smartly, and has shifted the governing philosophy of the Republican Party.

    By David Brooks

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    David Brooks

    My Unsettling Interview With Steve Bannon

    On the eve of going to prison, populism’s grand strategist talks about what another Trump presidency would look like and the rise of MAGA-type movements around the world.

    By David Brooks

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    David Brooks

    What Happens to Gifted Children

    Intelligence strongly correlates with positive educational and career outcomes, but it is not everything.

    By David Brooks

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    David Brooks

    The Sins of the Educated Class

    Progressive elites aren’t helping the people they say they’re fighting for, and they’re hurting the rest of us.

    By David Brooks

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