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.
Episodes
Sam Harris speaks with Daniel Kokotaljo 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 an intelligence explosion might look like, the capacity of LLMs to intentionally deceive, the economic implications of recent advances in AI, AI safety testing, the potential for governments to regulate AI development, AI c...
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 recorded on June 4th, but in light of today's events, Sam and Jaron recorded an additional segment (on June 5) about the latest news on Trump and Musk's fallout, which is included at the end of this episode. They also discuss...
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 administration became ideologically captured by the far-Left, how Democratic politicians are resisting Trump, why the Democrats should focus on governance rather than messaging, the war in Gaza, antisemitism on the Right and...
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 Buddhism, practical vs. analytical styles of philosophy, CBT’s origins in Stoicism, the difficulty of self-criticism, techniques for reframing upsetting experiences, the lives of Marcus Aurelius and Socrates, the psychologica...
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 and how it compares to Trump’s transgressions, Sam’s latest episode with Jake Tapper, whether Tapper had a journalistic responsibility to share what he knew about the cover-up sooner, and criticism from the audience about...
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 mainstream media failed to cover the issue of Biden’s health, how Biden shielded himself from criticism, the false notion that Biden was simply a bad speaker, the audio released from Biden’s 2023 interview with special counsel ...
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 whether it will ever be practically possible, recent developments in AI, the prospects of artificial super-intelligence, the alignment problem, antisemitism and the historical persecution of Jews, misconceptions about Israel, the future of t...
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 the U.S. are safer under Trump, due process rights and free speech, what Trump is doing to universities, the Trump family’s latest corruption scandals, Sam’s updated views on Bill Maher’s dinner at the White House, what Sam got wrong abo...
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 history, wealth inequality, how altruism should be rewarded, how we should think about philanthropic billionaires, effective altruism, why empathy is overrated, moral entrepreneurship, universal basic income, work and meaning, existential r...
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 and psychopathy, the personality traits of successful individuals, the dark triad of personality traits, how victimhood culture presents on the Left vs. the Right, free speech, self-esteem and meaning in the age of AI, the replication...
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, the need for experts, conspiracy theories, the origins and aims of Hamas, the moral asymmetries between Israel and Hamas, what makes jihadism a uniquely dangerous ideology, Hamas’s attack on the Nova music festival, Douglas’s associati...
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 hear from you guys is the following: “We want more from Sam.” So that's what we're trying to bring you with this new series, “More From Sam.” Sam and Jaron discuss community in the absence of religion, whether you should ...
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 to feel compassion for your political opponents, why it doesn’t make sense to “hate” anyone, free will and determinism, psychedelics, the importance of training your mind, and other topics.
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 care about his corruption, the next steps for Democrats, the energy behind AOC and Bernie Sanders, why Biden failed on the border, Biden’s legacy, potential 2028 Democratic candidates, Elon Musk and DOGE, whether we can ever ...
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 interpretations of crucifixion, the moral systems of ancient societies, Paul's letters, the impact of the parable of the Good Samaritan, Islam and how it relates to Christian notions of morality, secular sources of morality, the c...
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 new exploratory series we've creatively titled “More From Sam.” Sam jumped on with his manager and business partner, Jaron Lowenstein, to run through some of the topics you all suggested. They discuss tariffs, SignalGate, Trump, Elon, Jo...
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 consciousness, whether consciousness is fundamental, what split-brain patients can teach us about consciousness, what consciousness being fundamental could mean for the world of physics, and other topics.
After Annaka’s ...
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 Trump, why the arguments Republicans are using to defend Trump’s position on Ukraine are flawed, America’s deteriorating moral standing on the global stage, the recklessness of DOGE, why so many CEOs bent the knee to Trump, antisemiti...
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 around Trump’s appointees, the economic impacts of Trump’s policies, how China views political turmoil in the U.S., whether democracy can withstand Trump 2.0, Elon Musk and X, free speech in the United Kingdom, Trump’s plan for Gaza, and ...
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, whether the backlash against wokeness has been overblown, the asymmetric standards between right-wing and left-wing media, Trump’s appeal to evangelicals, wealth inequality, political ideology in public schools, and other topics.
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