What’s Actually Breaking America — with David Brooks

What It Covers

David Brooks discusses America's crisis of trust, isolation, and rising antisemitism, arguing that economic solutions alone cannot fix deeper cultural and relational breakdowns affecting society.

Key Questions Answered

• •Social Trust Decline: Trust in government dropped from 70% to 15% since the 1970s, while trust in neighbors fell from 60% to 30%, with millennials and Gen Z at just 19%.
• •Touch Deprivation: Large numbers of young men go weeks without affectionate touch, contributing to social isolation and mental health issues among mammals who require physical connection for wellbeing.
• •Economic Pathways: Despite higher real wages than previous generations, young people feel economically precarious because career pathways have narrowed to selective colleges and elite firms like Goldman Sachs.
• •Love as Purpose: Harvard's longitudinal study shows happiness equals love, with the happiest people being those who find places to give love rather than just receive it from others.
• •National Service Solution: Mandatory national service would create cross-cultural connections, giving young people purpose through service while building trust between Americans from different backgrounds and regions.