# David Brooks (commentator)
**David Brooks** (born 1961) is an American political and cultural commentator who was an op-ed columnist at The New York Times from September 2003 to 2026 and is now a staff writer at [The Atlantic](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-atlantic), a commentator on the PBS NewsHour, and the inaugural Presidential Senior Fellow at the Yale University Jackson School of Public Affairs.[1](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/david-brooks) • [2](https://leadforsociety.uchicago.edu/bio/david-brooks/) • [3](https://ltnr.ca/morty/?mortyurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theatlantic.com%2Fpress-releases%2F2026%2F01%2Fatlantic-hires-david-brooks-staff-writer%2F685806%2F) AllSides rates his output as Lean Right, meaning it moderately aligns with conservative thought, though the rating carries only medium confidence.[4](https://www.allsides.com/news-source/david-brooks-media-bias)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1961; graduated University of Chicago, 1983[5](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/brooks-david-1961) |
| Career path | City News Bureau (Chicago), then The Wall Street Journal 1986–95 ending as op-ed editor; senior editor, The Weekly Standard, 1995–2003; New York Times columnist 2003–2026[5](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/brooks-david-1961) • [3](https://ltnr.ca/morty/?mortyurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theatlantic.com%2Fpress-releases%2F2026%2F01%2Fatlantic-hires-david-brooks-staff-writer%2F685806%2F) |
| Broadcast role | Conservative commentator on the PBS NewsHour, appearing regularly on Friday nights; longtime NPR contributor[6](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/tag/david-brooks) • [7](https://fair.org/extra/david-brooks-vs-the-real-world/) |
| Books | *Bobos in Paradise*, *On Paradise Drive*, *The Social Animal*, *The Road to Character*, *The Second Mountain*, *How to Know a Person*[2](https://leadforsociety.uchicago.edu/bio/david-brooks/) • [8](https://www.theatlantic.com/author/david-brooks/) |
| Current posts | Staff writer at The Atlantic and Presidential Senior Fellow at Yale's Jackson School, both since February 2026[2](https://leadforsociety.uchicago.edu/bio/david-brooks/) |
| Bias rating | AllSides Lean Right (moderately conservative), medium confidence[4](https://www.allsides.com/news-source/david-brooks-media-bias) |
| Other affiliations | Executive director of Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute; teaches at Yale; member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences[4](https://www.allsides.com/news-source/david-brooks-media-bias) • [8](https://www.theatlantic.com/author/david-brooks/) |
## Early life and start in journalism
Brooks was born in 1961 and graduated from the University of Chicago in 1983, where the Great Books curriculum shaped his outlook.[5](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/brooks-david-1961) • [9](https://www.cjr.org/the_profile/the_transformation_of_david_brooks.php) In his senior year he made his first television appearance on a student debate program moderated by [Milton Friedman](https://www.edgepedia.org/milton-friedman), where he was introduced as a social democrat.[9](https://www.cjr.org/the_profile/the_transformation_of_david_brooks.php)
After reporting a police beat for a Chicago wire service, he accepted an offer from [William F. Buckley Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-f-buckley-jr) to intern at [National Review](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-review), and he calls Buckley his mentor.[9](https://www.cjr.org/the_profile/the_transformation_of_david_brooks.php) He joined [The Wall Street Journal](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-wall-street-journal) in 1986, working as book review editor, briefly as film critic, as a Brussels-based correspondent covering Russia, the Middle East, South Africa, and European affairs, and finally as op-ed editor.[1](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/david-brooks) • [5](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/brooks-david-1961)
## The Weekly Standard and The New York Times
In September 1995 Brooks joined The Weekly Standard as a senior editor at the conservative magazine's founding, and in September 2003 he became an op-ed columnist at The New York Times, positioned at the outset as a voice of mainstream conservatism.[1](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/david-brooks) • [9](https://www.cjr.org/the_profile/the_transformation_of_david_brooks.php) As the Republican base shifted rightward, he stopped presenting himself as a spokesman for the party line; he recalls losing conservative friends and readers as a result.[9](https://www.cjr.org/the_profile/the_transformation_of_david_brooks.php)
**Columnist and critic.** Brooks's work has drawn sustained criticism. Nicholas Confessore's 2004 review in the Washington Monthly described a habit of oscillating between hard-nosed reporting and advocacy for movement conservatives, a pattern the American Prospect revisited in 2006 over Brooks's shifting positions on the [Iraq War](https://www.edgepedia.org/iraq-war).[10](https://prospect.org/2006/03/20/two-brookses/) On a 2008 panel, Brooks acknowledged making up a statistic, saying "So I just picked that 10,000 out of the air," after [Bob Woodward](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-woodward) challenged his claim about the war.[7](https://fair.org/extra/david-brooks-vs-the-real-world/) H. Allen Orr's 2011 review of *The Social Animal* in [The New York Review of Books](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-new-york-review-of-books) faulted Brooks's use of neuroscience, and Matt Taibbi's critique of Brooks centers on his treatment of the poor.[11](https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2011/08/18/david-brooks-fooled-by-science/) • [9](https://www.cjr.org/the_profile/the_transformation_of_david_brooks.php) In 2021 he resigned from a paid think tank position amid a string of controversy reported by Axios.[12](https://www.axios.com/2021/03/07/ny-times-culture-clashes-business)
## Books and the turn to moral and social themes
Brooks's books began with cultural commentary: *Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There* and *On Paradise Drive* examine American class and optimism.[1](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/david-brooks) His 2001 Atlantic essay "The Organization Kid" portrayed [Ivy League](https://www.edgepedia.org/ivy-league) careerists who lacked, in his description, a vocabulary of virtue and vice.[9](https://www.cjr.org/the_profile/the_transformation_of_david_brooks.php)
After *The Social Animal* (2011), his writing turned sharply away from social science toward moral philosophy and character, producing *The Road to Character* (2015) and *The Second Mountain*; *How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen* followed.[9](https://www.cjr.org/the_profile/the_transformation_of_david_brooks.php) • [8](https://www.theatlantic.com/author/david-brooks/) In his Atlantic writing on higher education, notably "How the Ivy League Broke America" (2024), he argues that a meritocratic admissions system built on intelligence testing produced a narrow leadership class and calls for redefining merit to include non-cognitive skills.[13](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/12/meritocracy-college-admissions-social-economic-segregation/680392/)
## Broadcast, teaching, and civic work
Brooks has appeared every Friday night as the conservative voice on the PBS NewsHour, paired in recent years with Washington Post associate editor [Jonathan Capehart](https://www.edgepedia.org/jonathan-capehart), and was for years a weekly contributor to NPR's All Things Considered.[6](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/tag/david-brooks) • [9](https://www.cjr.org/the_profile/the_transformation_of_david_brooks.php) He began teaching at Yale in 2012, with courses including "Humility" and "Studies in Grand Strategy."[9](https://www.cjr.org/the_profile/the_transformation_of_david_brooks.php) Through the [Aspen Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/aspen-institute) he leads Weave: The Social Fabric Project, an initiative aimed at bridging the differences that divide Americans.[4](https://www.allsides.com/news-source/david-brooks-media-bias)
## Move to The Atlantic
After 22 years as a Times columnist, Brooks was hired as a staff writer at The Atlantic in January 2026 and took up that role and the Yale fellowship in February 2026; he told Washingtonian that the Times columnist job "wasn't a great fit" and that he is now largely done with political coverage.[2](https://leadforsociety.uchicago.edu/bio/david-brooks/) • [3](https://ltnr.ca/morty/?mortyurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theatlantic.com%2Fpress-releases%2F2026%2F01%2Fatlantic-hires-david-brooks-staff-writer%2F685806%2F) • [14](https://washingtonian.com/2026/06/04/david-brooks-the-atlantic/) At The Atlantic he hosts the interview podcast *The Permanent Questions*, speaking with philosophers and public figures about how to live, and remains a regular PBS NewsHour commentator.[15](https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/09/what-is-the-good-life/688591/)
## References
1. [David Brooks | Author | PBS News](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/david-brooks)
2. [David Brooks, UChicago Leadership and Society Initiative](https://leadforsociety.uchicago.edu/bio/david-brooks/)
3. [The Atlantic hires David Brooks as a staff writer](https://ltnr.ca/morty/?mortyurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theatlantic.com%2Fpress-releases%2F2026%2F01%2Fatlantic-hires-david-brooks-staff-writer%2F685806%2F)
4. [David Brooks Media Bias Rating | AllSides](https://www.allsides.com/news-source/david-brooks-media-bias)
5. [Brooks, David 1961-, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/brooks-david-1961)
6. [David Brooks | PBS News (tag page)](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/tag/david-brooks)
7. [David Brooks vs. the Real World, FAIR](https://fair.org/extra/david-brooks-vs-the-real-world/)
8. [David Brooks, The Atlantic (author page)](https://www.theatlantic.com/author/david-brooks/)
9. [The transformation of David Brooks, Columbia Journalism Review (Danny Funt, 2015)](https://www.cjr.org/the_profile/the_transformation_of_david_brooks.php)
10. [The Two Brookses, The American Prospect (2006)](https://prospect.org/2006/03/20/two-brookses/)
11. [Fooled by Science, H. Allen Orr, The New York Review of Books (2011)](https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2011/08/18/david-brooks-fooled-by-science/)
12. [N.Y. Times faces culture clashes as business booms, Axios (2021)](https://www.axios.com/2021/03/07/ny-times-culture-clashes-business)
13. [How the Ivy League Broke America, The Atlantic (2024)](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/12/meritocracy-college-admissions-social-economic-segregation/680392/)
14. [Why David Brooks Is (Mostly) Done With Politics, Washingtonian (2026)](https://washingtonian.com/2026/06/04/david-brooks-the-atlantic/)
15. [What Is the Good Life?, The Permanent Questions With David Brooks, The Atlantic (2026)](https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/09/what-is-the-good-life/688591/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Broadcasting and journalism › Periodicals and publishing › Journalism › Journalists (biographies and roles) › Columnists and opinion journalists*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license