The Psychology Podcast

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