The Permanent Questions With David Brooks

About The Permanent Questions With David Brooks

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 through thoughtful conversation with the world’s deepest thinkers.

Publisher

The Atlantic

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

4 Sept 2026

Latest episode

20 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

3 of 3 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   20 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   What Is Humanity’s Place in the Cosmos?

   Host David Brooks interviews astrophysicist Priyamvada Natarajan about the universe's latest scientific view and its implications for humanity's cosmic significance.

2. 

   13 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   What Is the Good Life?

   Host David Brooks interviews philosopher Meghan Sullivan about cultivating virtue and living a meaningful life, offering insights into the good life.

3. 

   4 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Introducing The Permanent Questions with David Brooks

   David Brooks interviews leading thinkers about life's enduring questions, offering profound insights into purpose, mortality, and community repair.

Inside a recent episode

What Is Humanity’s Place in the Cosmos?

Published 20 Sept 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] And the draw about black holes is really the most, they have the most bizarre properties. And as you said, you never quite directly see them. You only indirectly infer their presence, just as dark matter. You sort of indirectly infer the presence of vast amounts of dark matter in the universe. Bulk of the matter in the universe, 86% is dark matter. And so the only way you kind of infer the presence of dark matter is the gravity that it exerts. Similarly for black holes. So the only way we infer the presence of black holes is because they are places in the universe where there's extreme gravity. […]

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.5 / 5

16 ratings

Pitching The Permanent Questions With David Brooks

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting pitches.

Questions about The Permanent Questions With David Brooks