What the Neocons Got Right | The David Frum Show

The Atlantic January 28, 2026
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On this week’s episode of “The David Frum Show,” David opens with his reflections on the recent shootings in Minneapolis. He argues that these killings, alongside ICE’s warrantless home raids and mistaken detentions, and the reports of deaths in custody, are not isolated abuses but signs of a rapidly deepening crisis in American democracy, one in which basic rights and due process are applied unevenly and increasingly contested. David asks whether the country can find a way back from a dangerous moral and political impasse, as a majority of Americans recoil from these actions while a determined minority continue to defend them. Then, David is joined by the “New York Times” columnist and Atlantic contributor David Brooks. Frum and Brooks discuss the origins of the term “neocon,” what the neocons got right, and why they should be listened to today. Brooks describes how America’s problems long predate Trump, and why elections alone cannot fix what has been lost. Together, Frum and Brooks explore whether the country is capable of moral renewal, what rebuilding would actually require, and why recovery, if it comes at all, will be slow, difficult, and deeply personal. Finally, David ends the episode with his thoughts on “Death by Lightning,” a television series on Netflix based on the assassination of President James Garfield, and how, when watching historical dramas, we need to look back on the past with a contextual lens, one that we should bring to our present too. Sign up for David Frum’s newsletter alert to find out when a new story is published: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/david-frum/?follow=true&utm_campaign=frum-yt Subscribe to “The David Frum Show” on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-david-frum-show/id1305908387 Subscribe to “The David Frum Show” on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/79CBHEDdEbdykveVgbpWs7 Follow The Atlantic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theatlantic/?hl=en Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple podcasts. Subscribe today at https://accounts.theatlantic.com/products/?utm_medium=cr&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=apple_podcasts #davidfrum #thedavidfrumshow #theatlantic Subscribe to The Atlantic on YouTube: http://bit.ly/subAtlanticYT 00:00 Introduction 00:59 A Series of Unprecedented Events 01:59 Another Death in Minneapolis 08:55 Conversation With David Brooks 10:30 Origins of Neoconservatism 18:28 What Can We Learn From The Neocons? 22:04 What Happened to the Conservatives We Knew? 25:07 Neoconservatism and the Iraq War 33:15 Moral Collapse and Rise of Trump 35:30 How Should Trump's Administration be Held Accountable? 46:36 Neoconservatism and Trump Voters 50:51 The Future of Presidential Power 53:48  Death by Lightning,

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