David Brooks, born August 11, 1961, is a Canadian-born American author, and political and cultural commentator. Though he identifies as a "moderate Republican", he has been characterized as centrist, moderate conservative, or conservative.
Brooks is known for his work as an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times (2003-2026), a commentator on PBS NewsHour (since 2001), and now a staff writer at The Atlantic. He began his career as a police reporter in Chicago and later interned at National Review. Over the years, he has held various journalistic positions at The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, and Newsweek. Brooks is also the author of several non-fiction books, including Bobos in Paradise, The Social Animal, The Road to Character, The Second Mountain, and How to Know a Person.
In February 2026, Brooks began a five-year appointment as a Presidential Senior Fellow at Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs. In this role, he will lead campus conversations and develop public programming, including a weekly video podcast from The Atlantic. His work will focus on encouraging respectful debate, engaging diverse perspectives, and connecting Yale's academic work to broader public discussions.