Are America's Problems Spiritual?

David Brooks argues social ills like loneliness and polarization are fundamentally spiritual and relational.

Play episode from 06:40

chevron_right

Transcript

chevron_right

Transcript

Episode notes

David Brooks is known as one of America’s leading public intellectuals, a longtime columnist for The New York Times and now a staff writer at The Atlantic. He joins James Martin, S.J., on “The Spiritual Life” podcast to share how he went from a mostly cultural Jew, to a “Jew-y” Christian in the land of faith.

Timeline:

0:00 Traveling to the land of faith

6:20 Our social and political problems are spiritual ones

10:04 Understanding the America’s religious revival

11:46 Religious but not yet spiritual

14:05 David’s movement to faith

19:05 Dorothy Day and St. Augustine influences

28:15 Unpacking David’s mystical experiences

34:35 A new frontier in the Christian faith

37:33 Three Jewish women that paid attention: Simone Weil, Edith Stein, Etty Hillesum

47:50 Audience Question: How do we maintain hope in bleak times?

Brooks is the bestselling author of several books including: