Making Sense with Sam Harris
Join neuroscientist, philosopher, and five-time New York Times best-selling author Sam Harris as he explores important and controversial questions about the mind, society, current events, moral philosophy, religion, and rationality—with an overarching focus on how a growing understanding of ourselves and the world is changing our sense of how we should live.
Sam is also the creator of the Waking Up app. Combining Sam’s decades of mindfulness practice, profound wisdom from varied philosophical and contemplative traditions, and a commitment to a secular, scientific worldview, Waking Up is a resource for anyone interested in living a more examined, fulfilling life—and a new operating system for the mind.
Waking Up offers free subscriptions to anyone who can’t afford one, and donates a minimum of 10% of profits to the most effective charities around the world. To learn more, please go to WakingUp.com.
Sam Harris received a degree in philosophy from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA.
Sam is also the creator of the Waking Up app. Combining Sam’s decades of mindfulness practice, profound wisdom from varied philosophical and contemplative traditions, and a commitment to a secular, scientific worldview, Waking Up is a resource for anyone interested in living a more examined, fulfilling life—and a new operating system for the mind.
Waking Up offers free subscriptions to anyone who can’t afford one, and donates a minimum of 10% of profits to the most effective charities around the world. To learn more, please go to WakingUp.com.
Sam Harris received a degree in philosophy from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA.
Episodes (51)
#433 — How Did We Get Here?
Sam Harris speaks with Dan Carlin about the decades-long buildup to our current political moment. They discuss the growing powers of the presidency, executive orders, different factions within the...
#432 — The Undoing of America
Sam Harris speaks with David French about Trump’s assault on American democracy. They discuss Trump’s persecution of political opponents, abuse of the pardon power, Congress’s ineffectiveness, David’s...
#431 — What Is Happening on College Campuses?
Sam Harris speaks with Michael Roth about the state of higher education in the U.S. They discuss whether concerns about wokeness were overblown, how colleges should handle campus protests, where...
#430 — “More From Sam”: Trump, Gavin Newsom, Class War, DOGE, & Rapid Fire Questions
In this latest episode of the “More From Sam” series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events and answer some of the questions you all submitted on Substack. They discuss Trump and his attempts at...
#429 — The New World Order
Sam Harris speaks with Anne Applebaum about the erosion of democracy at home and abroad. They discuss the Sudanese civil war and the outside forces involved, America’s retreat from global leadership,...
#428 — Political Extremism
Sam Harris speaks with Jonah Goldberg about Trump 2.0 and wealth inequality. They discuss the horseshoe theory, illiberalism on the Right and the Left, the fallout of the Trump-Epstein controversy,...
#427 — AI Friends & Enemies
Sam Harris speaks with Paul Bloom about AI and current events. They discuss the state of LLMs, the risks and benefits of AI companionship, what it means to attribute consciousness to AI, relationships...
#426 — How Bad Is It?
Sam Harris speaks with David Frum about the current state of American politics. They discuss the extent of Trump’s corruption, his immigration crackdowns, what’s going well under Trump 2.0, Trump’s...
#425 — Are We Prepared for the Next Pandemic?
Sam Harris speaks with Marc Lipsitch about pandemic preparedness. They discuss what we learned from Covid, loss of trust in institutions, how to effectively communicate scientific information in the...
#424 — "More From Sam": Nazi Grok, ICE, Epstein, Social Media, Rapid Fire Questions
In this latest episode of the “More From Sam” series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events and answer some of the questions you all submitted on Substack. They discuss Nazi Grok, immigration, ICE...
#423 — “More From Sam”: Democracy, Populism, Wealth Inequality, News-Induced Anxiety, & Rapid Fire Questions
In this latest episode of the “More From Sam” series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events and answer some of the questions you all submitted on Substack. They discuss Epstein’s “client list,” how...
#422 — Zionism & Jihadism
Sam Harris speaks with Haviv Rettig Gur about Israel and her enemies. They discuss Israel’s war with Iran and America’s role in the conflict, Israel’s military capabilities, Iran’s nuclear program,...
#421 — “More From Sam”: Political Violence, Iran, Deportations, Protests, & Rapid Fire Questions
In this latest episode of the “More From Sam” series, Sam hopped back on with his manager and business partner, Jaron Lowenstein, to talk about current events and answer some of the questions you all...
#420 — Countdown to Superintelligence
Sam Harris speaks with Daniel Kokotajlo about the potential impacts of superintelligent AI over the next decade. They discuss Daniel’s predictions in his essay “AI 2027,” the alignment problem, what...
#419 — "More From Sam": Elon vs. Trump, Religion, Jordan Peterson, & Rapid Fire Questions
Sam hopped back on with his manager and business partner, Jaron Lowenstein, to talk about current events and answer some of the questions you all submitted on Substack. This episode was originally...
#418 — A Future for Democrats
Sam Harris speaks with Congressman Ritchie Torres about the future of American politics. They discuss how growing up in public housing inspired Ritchie to pursue a career in politics, how the Biden...
#417 — Philosophy for Life
Sam Harris speaks with Donald Robertson about Stoicism and the good life. They discuss the relationship between wisdom and virtue, ancient versions of psychotherapy, parallels between Stoicism and...
#416 — “More From Sam”: Biden's Big Lie, Review of Tapper Interview, Trump, & a Case Against Israel's Actions in Gaza
Sam hopped back on with his manager and business partner, Jaron Lowenstein, to talk about current events and answer some of the questions you all submitted on Substack. They discuss the Biden cover-up...
#415 — The Cover-Up
Sam Harris speaks with Jake Tapper about Jake’s new book (with Alex Thompson), Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again. They discuss how the...
#414 — Strange Truths
Sam Harris speaks with David Deutsch about quantum physics and current events. They discuss the “many-worlds” interpretation of QM, Schrödinger’s cat, constructor theory, quantum computing and...
#413 — “More From Sam”: Trump & Israel, Corruption, Free Speech Violations, the Democrats, & Ezra Klein
Sam hopped back on with his manager and business partner, Jaron Lowenstein, to talk about current events and answer some of the questions you all submitted on Substack. They discuss whether Jews in...
#412 — Better Things & Better People
Sam Harris speaks with Rutger Bregman about Rutger’s new book, Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference. They discuss why it seems like we are at the hinge of human...
#411 — The Victimhood Pandemic
Sam Harris speaks with Scott Barry Kaufman about Scott’s new book, Rise Above: Overcome a Victim Mindset, Empower Yourself, and Realize Your Full Potential. They discuss victimhood culture, narcissism...
#410 — The Whole Catastrophe
Sam Harris speaks with Douglas Murray about Douglas’s new book, On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Civilization. They discuss Douglas’s recent experience on Joe Rogan’s podcast,...
#409 — "More From Sam": Religion, Deportations, Douglas Murray vs. Rogan, & Bill Maher's Dinner with Trump
Sam hopped back on with his manager and business partner, Jaron Lowenstein, to discuss current events and answer some of the questions you all submitted on Substack. By far the most common feedback we...
#408 — Finding Equanimity in Chaos
Dan Harris interviews Sam Harris for Dan’s podcast, 10% Happier. They discuss how meditation helped Sam after evacuating his home during the LA fires, why Sam owns a gun, the ethics of violence, how...
#407 — Can We Ever Return to Normal Politics?
Sam Harris speaks with Jon Favreau about the state of American politics. They discuss the Trump administration’s wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, tariffs, why Trump’s supporters don’t...
#406 — The Legacy of Christianity
Sam Harris speaks with Tom Holland about his book, Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World. They discuss the enduring influence of Christianity on the modern world, historical...
#405 — "More From Sam": Tariffs, SignalGate, Trump, Elon, Douglas Murray, & Joe Rogan
By far the most common feedback we hear from you guys is the following: “We want more from Sam.” More of his thoughts on current events, more frequently. So that’s what we’re trying here, with this...
#404 — What If Consciousness Is Fundamental?
Sam Harris speaks with his wife, Annaka Harris, about LIGHTS ON, her ten-part audio documentary exploring the perplexities of consciousness and the cosmos. They discuss the hard problem of...
#403 — Sanity Check on Trump 2.0
Sam Harris speaks with Jonah Goldberg about the damage Trump is doing domestically and abroad. They discuss Trump’s tariffs, Curtis Yarvin and the Tech Right, threats against Republicans who criticize...
#402 — The Geopolitics of Trump 2.0
Sam Harris speaks with Niall Ferguson about the current geopolitical situation. They discuss how Trump is handling the war in Ukraine, Europe’s changing relationship to the U.S., security concerns...
#401 — Christian Nationalism and the New Right
Sam Harris speaks with Katherine Stewart about her new book, Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy. They discuss Project 2025, Christian nationalism, white supremacy,...
#400 — The Politics of Information
Sam Harris speaks with Helen Lewis about the culture wars. They discuss the role of journalists, DEI, political polarization, feminism, transgender activism, gender roles, the Rotherham scandal, Islam...
#399 — The Politics of Catastrophe
Sam Harris speaks with Rick Caruso about the Los Angeles fires. They discuss how mismanagement may have contributed to the severity of the fires, who’s to blame, the practice of private firefighting,...
#398 — Thoughts Without a Thinker
Sam provides an update about his experience of the LA fires and shares a few selections from the Waking Up app. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SUBSCRIBE to gain...
#397 — A New Year's Message from Sam
If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at samharris.org/subscribe. Learning how to train your mind is the single...
#396 — The Way Forward
Sam Harris speaks with Matthew Yglesias about the future of Democratic politics. They discuss where the Democrats went wrong, the failure of identity politics, the Left’s reaction to the Daniel Penny...
#395 — Intellectual Authority and Its Discontents
Sam Harris discusses the breakdown of trust in institutions, the nature of intellectual authority, the danger of bad incentives, the epidemic of conspiracy thinking and misinformation, Trump and Elon,...
#394 — Bringing Back the Mammoth
Sam Harris speaks with Ben Lamm about his work at Colossal Biosciences. They discuss his efforts to de-extinct the woolly mammoth, the Tasmanian tiger, and the dodo; the difference between Colossal’s...
#393 — Is History Repeating Itself?
Sam Harris speaks with Simon Sebag Montefiore about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the history of the Jews, and the rise of global antisemitism. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your...
#392 — Technology & Culture
Sam Harris speaks with Christine Rosen about how technology is changing our culture. They discuss the courage of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, lost practices like handwriting, tradeoffs in our use of technology,...
#391 — The Reckoning
Sam Harris discusses the result of the 2024 presidential election, the lessons that the Democratic Party should draw from it, and the implications of a second Trump term. If the Making Sense podcast...
#390 — Final Thoughts on the 2024 Presidential Election
Sam Harris speaks with Mark Cuban about the 2024 presidential election. They discuss Trump’s ethics, his apparent political indestructibility, election denialism, the influence of Elon Musk, the...
#389 — The Politics of Risk
Sam Harris speaks with Nate Silver about cultural attitudes toward risk and the state of American politics. They discuss the erosion of trust in liberal institutions, polling and political narratives,...
#388 — What Is Life?
Sam Harris speaks with Sara Imari Walker about a scientific understanding of life. They discuss the contributions of physics to this topic, Erwin Schrödinger, the inadequacy of standard definitions of...
#387 — Politics & Power
Sam Harris speaks with Ambassador Rahm Emanuel about the state of world order and American politics. They discuss the mystery of Japan’s economic health, U.S. competition with China, possible conflict...
#386 — Information & Social Order
Sam Harris speaks with Yuval Noah Harari about his new book, Nexus, and its application to current crises. They discuss humanity’s capacity for self-destruction, democracy and dictatorship as...
#385 — AI Utopia
Sam Harris speaks with Nick Bostrom about ongoing progress in artificial intelligence. They discuss the twin concerns about the failure of alignment and the failure to make progress, why smart people...
#384 — Stress Testing Our Democracy
Sam Harris speaks with Barton Gellman about election integrity and the safeguarding of American democracy. They discuss the war games he's run to test our response to an authoritarian president, using...
#383 — Where Are the Grown-Ups?
Sam Harris talks about the recent assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the cesspool of X, Tucker Carlson’s conversation with Darryl Cooper, freedom of speech, and other topics. If the Making Sense...
About this Podcast
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All rights reserved
Language
en
Categories
Philosophy, Politics, Religion, currentevents, ethics, neuroscience, samharris, science, Science, Society & Culture