David Brooks takes on new Yale fellowship as he leaves New York Times

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Yale Daily News

David Brooks takes on new Yale fellowship as he leaves New York Times

The New York Times opinion columnist will be the inaugural presidential senior fellow at Yale, where he will facilitate lectures and host a podcast for The Atlantic.

By Leo Nyberg
Staff Reporter
2:50 a.m., January 30, 2026


Shawn Miller via Wikimedia Commons

David Brooks, a long-time political columnist, is leaving The New York Times to join the Jackson School of Global Affairs as the University’s first presidential senior fellow.

Brooks, who has had two previous stints as a fellow at the Jackson School, will begin his new role on Feb. 1, according to a YaleNews release.* Brooks is also joining The Atlantic as a staff writer, and he will also host a weekly podcast “made possible by support from Yale,” according to a press release in The Atlantic.* Brooks is slated to host lectures and conversations at Yale throughout the spring.

“One of the hallmarks of David’s career has been his ability to gather ideas from a broad swath of disciplines to enable people to grapple with the complexities of politics and society,” University President Maurie McInnis said in the news release.

McInnis created the Presidential Senior Fellowship program to connect the University with broader society, according to the news release. McInnis previously said in an interview that restoring public trust in universities was one of her top priorities, and last spring, she created a committee to examine declining public trust in higher education and propose solutions.

{snip}

* https://news.yale.edu/2026/01/29/new-presidential-senior-fellow-deepen-connections-liberal-arts

** https://www.theatlantic.com/press-releases/2026/01/atlantic-hires-david-brooks-staff-writer/685806/

Read more: https://yaledailynews.com/articles/david-brooks-takes-on-new-yale-fellowship-as-he-leaves-new-york-times

[Drum]

1. My opinion?

Good riddance…happy he’ll be leaving the NYT, and I hope to hear no more from him.

[delisen]

2. Yale, jd Vance, David Brooks,N Y Times-- a gated community

We can build a democracy, even though they are in their gated community taking pot shots at us.

[Stargleamer]

3. Yale can't recognize a shallow hack when they see one

He has no depth of thought, just writes what he thinks "rings true" that is often gross overgeneralizations and stereotypes.

[NewHendoLib]

4. just a different place to spread the bothsideserism bullshit.

[Martin68]

16. Bothesideserism with a very strong bias toward the right.

[NewHendoLib]

18. Sure is.

[RockRaven]

5. Fuck Yale, then.

Nothing could erode public trust in universities more than giving people like David Brooks fancy titles, salaries, and -- most harmful -- microphones.

[Simeon Salus]

6. I suppose none of us in flyover territory will ever see him in a local diner again

Brooks has the distinction of being wrong every time he opens his mouth.

[BaronChocula]

9. And when he's not wrong

he's just late to the party. Worthless.

[CTyankee]

7. Oh, dear. Can the world survive this?

when I lived in New Haven (for 30 years) we blamed Yale for creating a despotic leader in the Bush family. They weren't. We didn't anticipate the despot we have now, TSF!

[snot]

8. Glad to know I'm not the only one

whose skin crawls every time I hear him speak.

I've been hoping that since NPR lost fed funding, they'd stop featuring people like him – but I haven't seen much evidence of that so far.

[Fiendish Thingy]

10. Finally

Will he be leaving his PBS gig as well?

He should fade into obscurity.

[BaronChocula]

11. What has David Brooks ever been right about?

Yes, he eventually comes around. But this is not any kind of forward thinking as much as being dragged with the flow. I wouldn't even let him join the Whiffenpoofs, not to mention the Yale faculty.

[betsuni]

13. A long time ago I remember Brooks explain how to be a successful op-ed columnist: be wrong.

Not completely wrong, because people will just think you're an idiot and not care. Not completely right, because people will agree with you and not feel the need to say anything in addition. Be a little wrong and everybody feels compelled to correct you and tell you what you got wrong and why. Lots of attention and publicity!

Somewhere along the line he became wrong about everything, maybe out of habit, and mesmerized by his own droning voice. He really needs to divorce himself and start over. Encouraging him to bore people to death is not doing him any favors.

[BaronChocula]

17. So much encapsulated there

And I think it's part of the sum of why I can't stand him. Of all the conservatives who have "come around" I have the least amount of patience for him. Much of it may by that droning voice.

[Ritabert]

12. I still remember him whining about inflation during Biden's term

He complained about a $70 restaurant bill at Dulles Airport. What he didn't mention was that the large burger and fries only cost $15. The rest of the bill seemed to consist of mysterious brown colored liquid on the rocks.

[mahina]

14. Ever since he was an avid apologist for our illegal war on Iraq

Even though thete was no supporting evidence, I have no use for anything he is selling.

Iʻm especially uninterested in his lectures on morality.

If he ever apologized about it, I am unaware of that.

[Martin68]

15. Yale is going this shallow right wing "pundit" a prominent role with the university? Why?

[Simeon Salus]

19. So long to Brooks's Irish Setter "Moral Hazard"

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Charles P. Pierce:

David Brooks Didn't Do the Reading. Look What Happened.