The Permanent Questions With David Brooks

Latest episodes

• Are We Too Political?

  October 18, 2026 · 45 min

  One of the paradoxes of our moment is that the excesses of Donald Trump’s presidency seem to demand our obsessive attention, while Trump himself obviously thrives on that obsession—and all the social division that comes with it. What if…

• Do Human Beings Have Souls?

  October 11, 2026 · 51 min

  The majority of Americans believe that every human being has an immaterial soul, and they tend to base their sense of human dignity and equality on this belief. Yet the culture at large often operates under the assumption that physical…

• Should We Ban AI for Kids?

  October 4, 2026 · 44 min

  Long before he became famous as the author of The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt was a social psychologist whose work revolutionized the field. In this episode of The Permanent Questions, taped in front of a live audience at last…

• What Is the Meaning of Mystical Experience?

  September 27, 2026 · 1 hr 5 min

  What would it be like to wake up one day with the ability to greet the world with warmth, patience, grace, and affection? This is what happens to the main character in the Pulitzer Prize–winner Ayad Akhtar's magnificent new novel, The…

• What Is Humanity’s Place in the Cosmos?

  September 20, 2026 · 56 min

  For all of history, humans have been fascinated by the heavens above us. We’ve used the stars to navigate Earth, to predict the future, and to understand our place in the larger scheme of things. Changes in our view of the cosmos—from the…

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