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Artwork for The Permanent Questions With David Brooks

The Permanent Questions With David Brooks

The Atlantic
Atlantic
Soul
The Permanent Questions
They Flew
Political Partisanship
American Politics
Levitation
Black Holes
Cosmology
Universe
Mystical Experience
Consciousness
Spirituality
Political Journalism
David Brooks
Dark Matter
Interstellar
The Radiance
Kant
Autonomy

What makes us human? How can I find purpose in life? How can my relationship survive a rough patch? What do I say to a friend who’s suffering? Does any of this mean anything at all? It’s easy to lose sight of fundamental human concerns amid the churn of the news cycle and the demands of every day. Each week on The Permanent Questions, host David Brooks seeks to return them to our attention throug... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes9Founded3 months ago
Number of ListenersCategory
Society & Culture

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Artwork for The Permanent Questions With David Brooks

Latest Episodes

As we enter the midterm elections, Americans seem increasingly ready to move on from the Trump era, but there remains great disagreement about what should come next and how we might achieve it. Intellectual historian and law professor Samuel Moyn is ... more

Carlos Eire arrived in Miami at age 11 in 1962, a refugee from Castro’s Cuba. Three years passed before his mother could join him, and he never saw his father again. This experience of dislocation profoundly shaped Eire’s work as a religious historia... more

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 the clearest ... more

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 reality is all... more

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Recent Guests

Carlos Eire
Historian of religion and professor of history and religious studies at Yale University
Yale University
Episode: Do Miracles Really Happen?
Jeffrey Goldberg
Editor in chief of The Atlantic and longtime political journalist
The Atlantic
Episode: What Role Should Politics Play In Your Life?
Shelly Kagan
Clark Professor of Philosophy at Yale University
Yale University
Episode: Do Human Beings Have Souls?
Jonathan Haidt
Social psychologist at New York University
New York University
Episode: Should We Ban AI for Kids?
Ayad Akhtar
Playwright and novelist, author of The Disgraced and The Radiance
Author
Episode: What Is the Meaning of Mystical Experience?
Priyamvada Natarajan
Astrophysicist, focuses on black holes and cosmology
Yale University (as described in context)
Episode: What Is Humanity’s Place in the Cosmos?
Meghan Sullivan
Professor of Philosophy at University of Notre Dame, co-author of The Good Life Method
University of Notre Dame
Episode: What Is the Good Life?

Host

David Brooks
Host of The Permanent Questions

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 442 ratings
  • Wonderful discussion of ideas.

    Podcast Addict
    5
    ergosumgay
    4 days ago
  • Moving

    The first episode was so enlightening and moving that I’m making notes throughout. Thank you professor Sullivan and David

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    JLi621
    France2 months ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

High-quality guests and deep, nuanced conversations.
Engaging mix of philosophy, science, and culture that stays accessible.
Thoughtful, moving discussions that illuminate big questions.
Audience insights suggest meaningful, well-posed inquiries that respect complexity.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#239
United States/Society & Culture
Apple Podcasts
#67
Canada/Society & Culture
Apple Podcasts
#232
United Kingdom/Society & Culture
Apple Podcasts
#248
Chile/Top Podcasts
Apple Podcasts
#26
Chile/Society & Culture
Apple Podcasts
#43
Philippines/Society & Culture

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Do Miracles Really Happen?
Q: What were those testimonies like and what were the circumstances?
Eire explains that accounts often came from sworn testimony gathered in canonization inquiries, including reports from multiple witnesses. He describes the evidence as challenging to dismiss, while noting that frauds also occurred.
Do Miracles Really Happen?
Q: So, did they fly?
Eire says yes, and considers it highly likely based on the testimony, while acknowledging the absence of physical evidence. Brooks remains unconvinced.
What Role Should Politics Play In Your Life?
Q: Have you lost friends over Trump?
Goldberg says he has not lost friends over Trump and describes having Republican friends, many of them anti-Trump. Brooks says he remains close to conservative friends and family despite political disagreements.
What Role Should Politics Play In Your Life?
Q: What role should politics play in your life?
Brooks and Goldberg say politics matters, but it should not consume a person's identity or replace community, religion, relationships, and other enduring concerns. They stress character, humility, persuasion, and restraint over partisan loyalty.
Do Human Beings Have Souls?
Q: Why is rape considered worse than a punch in the nose?
Because it directly targets core aspects of autonomy and the ability to self-determine one's life, making it an especially horrific violation of a person's dignity.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
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Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About This Podcast

What is This Podcast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

Thoughtful conversations with leading thinkers across philosophy, psychology, science, and the humanities explore big questions about meaning, morality, technology, and human flourishing. Episodes commonly center on the nature of the self, how to live a good life in a tech-driven world, the impact of AI and science on society, and the tension between secular and spiritual language in explaining human experience. The show tends to pair rigorous intellectual inquiry with personal storytelling, offering practical takeaways for listeners seeking deeper purpose, better relationships, and a humane approach to contemporary culture. A notable strength is the breadth of disciplines represented, from ethical philosophy to cosmology, always anchored i... more

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1. The Ezra Klein Show
2. Radio Atlantic
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4. The New Yorker Radio Hour
5. Interesting Times

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this podcast launched 3 months ago and published 9 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on this podcast?

Recent guests on this podcast include:

1. Carlos Eire
2. Jeffrey Goldberg
3. Shelly Kagan
4. Jonathan Haidt
5. Ayad Akhtar
6. Priyamvada Natarajan
7. Meghan Sullivan

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