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:

How to Know a Person: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/652822/how-to-know-a-person-by-david-brooks/

The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/217649/the-second-mountain-by-david-brooks/

The Road to Character:
https://www.acappellabooks.com/pages/books/343956/david-brooks/the-road-to-character

Bobos in Paradise
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Bobos-in-Paradise/David-Brooks/9780684853789

Fr. Jim's spiritual advice column: https://www.americamagazine.org/podcasts/2026/06/16/david-brooks-james-martin-spiritual-life/

Do you have a spiritual question for Father Jim? You can write to us at: [email protected]

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