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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.

Making Sense with Sam Harris

Sam Harris speaks with Robert D. Kaplan about his new book, Waste Land: A World in Permanent Crisis. They discuss climate change, demographics, the primacy of order over freedom, why Russia is a country in decline, political extremism and the migration crisis in Europe and the UK, Israel’s military successes, what the world could look like in the aftermath of the war in the Middle East, antisemitism on the left, how a war in the Pacific could cause a global economic catastrophe, whether the U.S. could win a war with China, President Biden’s legacy, the pitfalls of globalization and social media, whether we can ever return to a “normal” America, and other topics.
 
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.

#440 — A World in Crisis

Sam Harris speaks with Damon Linker about the erosion of American democracy. They discuss the right-wing populist movement, the mechanisms by which Trump is consolidating authoritarian control, the Insurrection Act, the Right’s weaponization of wokeness, the potential for civil unrest, Trump’s punishment of Democrat-run cities, the new Christian Right, and other topics.
 
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.

#439 — How to Lose a Democracy

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 the Israel-Hamas peace deal, the plans to build a Qatari air force facility in Idaho, why Trump lies about golf, the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the reactions from the Left and the Right, what Ezra Klein got wrong in his piece about Kirk, Sam’s relationship with Christopher Hitchens, Bari Weiss and The Free Press, and rapid fire questions.

#438 — “More From Sam”: Israel-Hamas Deal, Qatari Air Force Base, Trump, Charlie Kirk, Ezra Klein, & Rapid Fire Questions

Sam Harris speaks with Dan Senor about the state of the world two years after the October 7th attacks. They discuss the rise of global antisemitism, immigration and the failure of Western nations to contend with the spread of Islam, the dramatic reshaping of the Middle East, the ongoing war in Gaza, Trump's proposed peace plan, criticism of Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel’s biggest military and public relations mistakes during the war, President Trump’s surprising reliability as an ally to Israel, antisemitism on the Left and the Right, Tucker Carlson, Zohran Mamdani, and other topics.
 
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.

#437 — Two Years Since 10/7

Sam Harris speaks with Michael Osterholm about his new book, The Big One: How We Must Prepare for Future Deadly Pandemics. They discuss the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, the major mistakes made in the public health response—including lockdowns, school closures, and border policies—the science of airborne versus droplet transmission, the promise and controversy of mRNA vaccines, the reality of vaccine adverse events, the politicization of vaccine hesitancy, and the erosion of scientific institutions like the CDC and HHS under the Trump administration. Looking forward, they explore the characteristics of a future, more deadly pandemic—what Osterholm calls “The Big One”—and what we should be doing to prepare for it.
 
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.

#436 — A Crisis of Trust

Sam Harris introduces the first episode of The Last Invention, a new podcast series on the hype and fear about the AI revolution, reported by Gregory Warner and Andy Mills.
 
Gregory Warner was a foreign correspondent in Russia and Afghanistan, and the East Africa bureau chief for NPR. He created and hosted the podcast Rough Translation. He also publishes stories on This American Life and in The New York Times. Andy Mills is a reporter and editor, formerly of The New York Times, where he helped create their audio department and shows like The Daily and Rabbit Hole. 
 
The Last Invention is a limited run series with eight total episodes. You can find it anywhere you listen to podcasts, where episodes will be released weekly. You can sign up for their mailing list on Substack at https://longviewinvestigations.substack.com/, and you can also subscribe on their website at longviewinvestigations.com.

#435 — The Last Invention

Sam Harris speaks with Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares about their new book, If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: The Case Against Superintelligent AI. They discuss the alignment problem, ChatGPT and recent advances in AI, the Turing Test, the possibility of AI developing survival instincts, hallucinations and deception in LLMs, why many prominent voices in tech remain skeptical of the dangers of superintelligent AI, the timeline for superintelligence, real-world consequences of current AI systems, the imaginary line between the internet and reality, why Eliezer and Nate believe superintelligent AI would necessarily end humanity, how we might avoid an AI-driven catastrophe, the Fermi paradox, and other topics.
 
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.

#434 — Can We Survive AI?

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 Republican Party, the fragmentation of our society, Libertarianism, the growing prospect of political violence, racism and scapegoating, foreign interference in American politics, immigration, global trends towards autocracy, whether “gatekeepers” in the media are necessary, holocaust denialism, and other topics.
 
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.

#433 — How Did We Get Here?

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 proposed change to Article II of the Constitution, whether democracy in the U.S. has passed the point of no return, the future of election integrity, Trump’s threats against Elon Musk, the weaponization of ICE, the dangers of deploying the National Guard in American cities, white evangelical support for Trump, Republican infighting and why only Trump can hold the MAGA coalition together, Trump’s unique political talents, the prospect of him remaining in power beyond two terms, and other topics.
 
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.

#432 — The Undoing of America

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 universities should draw the line on extreme political views, DEI, why Jews should be wary of Trump’s proclaimed protections, perceptions of Israel, how the Trump administration is attempting to ideologically control institutions, diversifying viewpoints at universities, and other topics.
 
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.

#431 — What Is Happening on College Campuses?

Sam Harris speaks with Siddhartha Mukherjee about our ongoing failure to adequately respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. They discuss the significance of asymptomatic spread, the lack of Chinese cooperation, the failures of testing, travel restrictions, the missteps of the FDA and the CDC, controversy around masks, the lack of coordination among the states, conspiracy thinking about mortality statistics, the political contamination of public health information, electronic medical records, preparing for the next pandemic, the immunology of Covid-19, the long term consequences of the disease, concerns about a vaccine, the coming prospect of school openings, and other topics.
 
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.

#214 — A Conversation with Siddhartha Mukherjee

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