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Making Sense with Sam Harris

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Sam Harris

Join neuroscientist, philosopher, and best-selling author Sam Harris as he explores important and controversial questions about the human mind, society, and current events. Sam Harris is the author of five New York Times bestsellers. His books include The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation, The Moral Landscape, Free Will, Lying, Waking Up, and Islam and the Future of Tolerance (with Maajid Nawaz). The End of Faith won the 2005 PEN Award for Nonfiction. His writing and public lectures cover a wide range of topics—neuroscience, moral philosophy, religion, meditation practice, human violence, rationality—but generally focus on how a growing understanding of ourselves and the world is changing our sense of how we should live. Harris's work has been published in more than 20 languages and has been discussed in The New York Times, Time, Scientific American, Nature, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and many other journals. He has written for The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Economist, The Times (London), The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, The Annals of Neurology, and elsewhere. Sam Harris received a degree in philosophy from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA.

#297

#281 — Western Culture and Its Discontents

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Douglas Murray about his new book, “The War on the West.” They discuss the problem of hyper partisanship on the Left and Right, the primacy of culture, Hunter Biden’s laptop, the de-platforming of Trump and Alex Jones, the new religion of anti-racism, the problem of inequality, the 1619 Project, history of slavery, moral panics, the strange case of Michel Foucault, and other topics. SUBSCRIBE to listen to the rest of this episode and gain access to all full-length episodes of the podcast at <a href= "http://samharris.org/subscribe">samharris.org/subscribe</a>. Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the [Waking Up] (http://wakingup.com/) app. From rational mindfulness practice to lessons on some of life’s most important topics, join Sam as he demystifies the practice of meditation and explores the theory behind it. ... Read more

02 May 2022

1 HR 11 MINS

1:11:40

02 May 2022

#296

#280 — The Future of Artificial Intelligence

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Eric Schmidt about the ways artificial intelligence is shifting the foundations of human knowledge and posing questions of existential risk. SUBSCRIBE to listen to the rest of this episode and gain access to all full-length episodes of the podcast at <a href= "http://samharris.org/subscribe">samharris.org/subscribe</a>. Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the [Waking Up] (http://wakingup.com/) app. From rational mindfulness practice to lessons on some of life’s most important topics, join Sam as he demystifies the practice of meditation and explores the theory behind it. ... Read more

22 Apr 2022

38 MINS

38:04

22 Apr 2022

#295

#279 — The Rules of the Stage

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris and Ricky Gervais discuss the infamous Oscar slap. We’re excited to announce the launch of the Absolutely Mental app for iOS users. All three seasons of Absolutely Mental are available for purchase on the app. Subscribers to the Making Sense podcast will hear the episode in its entirety in their subscriber feed. If you’d like to hear this entire episode for free, you can access it by downloading the <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href= "https://apps.apple.com/ph/app/absolutely-mental/id1606505876" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link= "https://apps.apple.com/ph/app/absolutely-mental/id1606505876" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">Absolutely Mental app</a>. This bonus episode is listed in Season 3. Note: If you’ve previously purchased any Absolutely Mental content on the website, you will be able to access it in the app. Please check the <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href= "https://absolutelymental.com/faq/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link= "https://absolutelymental.com/faq/" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">FAQ</a> for more info. SUBSCRIBE to listen to the rest of this episode and gain access to all full-length episodes of the podcast at <a href= "http://samharris.org/subscribe">samharris.org/subscribe</a>. ... Read more

18 Apr 2022

35 MINS

35:16

18 Apr 2022

#294

#278 — The Man Who Will Be King

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks to Graeme Wood about Muhammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. They discuss the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the imprisonment of Saudi elites in the Ritz Carlton, the Vision 2030 campaign, relations with Israel, the posture of the Biden administration, energy policy, Saudi efforts to deprogram jihadists, the strange case of Musa Cerantonio, John Walker Lindh, the current condition of ISIS, the war in Ukraine, Russian propaganda, how Finland has made itself invasion-proof, and other topics. SUBSCRIBE to listen to the rest of this episode and gain access to all full-length episodes of the podcast at <a href= "http://samharris.org/subscribe">samharris.org/subscribe</a>. Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the [Waking Up] (http://wakingup.com/) app. From rational mindfulness practice to lessons on some of life’s most important topics, join Sam as he demystifies the practice of meditation and explores the theory behind it. ... Read more

13 Apr 2022

37 MINS

37:41

13 Apr 2022

#293

#277 — How Does the War in Ukraine End?

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Ian Bremmer about the ongoing war in Ukraine. They discuss the current state of the war, the power of sanctions, Biden's "gaffe" about regime change, fear of nuclear war, the logic of mutually assured destruction, the role of China, the most likely outcomes of the war, and other topics. SUBSCRIBE to listen to the rest of this episode and gain access to all full-length episodes of the podcast at <a href= "http://samharris.org/subscribe">samharris.org/subscribe</a>. ... Read more

03 Apr 2022

38 MINS

38:03

03 Apr 2022

#292

#276 — Defending the Global Order

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Yuval Noah Harari about the wider implications of Russia’s war of conquest in Ukraine. They discuss different forms of war, Putin’s miscalculation regarding the internal divisions of America and the EU, the problem of misinformation, international norms of behavior, the role of China, the civilizational importance of trust, globalization and de-globalization, existential risk, the role of India, Ukrainian leadership, the danger of nuclear war, regime change in Russia, and other topics. SUBSCRIBE to listen to the rest of this episode and gain access to all full-length episodes of the podcast at <a href= "http://samharris.org/subscribe">samharris.org/subscribe</a>. ... Read more

22 Mar 2022

36 MINS

36:16

22 Mar 2022

#291

#275 — The Russian War in Ukraine

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Garry Kasparov about Putin’s war of aggression in Ukraine. They discuss Putin’s larger objectives, the perception of the war inside Russia, whether US and EU foreign policy is to blame, the expansion of NATO, American weakness, Republican support for Putin, the sanctions regime, whether the US and EU should impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, whether to openly seek regime change in Russia, how we can avoid WW3, what post-Putin government in Russia might look like, Western economic entanglement with autocracies, and other topics. SUBSCRIBE to listen to the rest of this episode and gain access to all full-length episodes of the podcast at <a href= "http://samharris.org/subscribe">samharris.org/subscribe</a>. ... Read more

10 Mar 2022

37 MINS

37:15

10 Mar 2022

#290

Absolutely Mental Season 3

Sam shares an episode from the third season of Absolutely Mental, his audio series with Ricky Gervais. All 10 episodes have been released today (Wednesday, March 2, 2022) and are available for purchase now at <a href= "http://absolutelymental.com/">AbsolutelyMental.com</a>. SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at <a href= "http://samharris.org/subscribe">samharris.org/subscribe</a>. ... Read more

02 Mar 2022

49 MINS

49:05

02 Mar 2022

#289

Special Episode: Recipes for Future Plagues

In this episode of the podcast, Rob Reid and Kevin Esvelt discuss USAID’s new “Deep VZN” program, which aims to discover new pandemic-grade viruses and publish their genomes to the world. Esvelt estimates that there are currently around 30,000 people who could then easily build them. SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at <a href= "http://samharris.org/subscribe">samharris.org/subscribe</a>. Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the <a href= "http://wakingup.com/">Waking Up</a> app. From rational mindfulness practice to lessons on some of life’s most important topics, join Sam as he demystifies the practice of meditation and explores the theory behind it. ... Read more

28 Feb 2022

1 HR 57 MINS

1:57:46

28 Feb 2022

#288

#274 — The Future of American Democracy

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Anne Applebaum, David Frum, Barton Gellman, and George Packer about the ongoing threat to American democracy posed by Republican misinformation and disinformation regarding the 2020 Presidential Election and the attack on the Capitol on January 6th, 2021. SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at <a href= "http://samharris.org/subscribe">samharris.org/subscribe</a>. Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the [Waking Up] (http://wakingup.com/) app. From rational mindfulness practice to lessons on some of life’s most important topics, join Sam as he demystifies the practice of meditation and explores the theory behind it. ... Read more

11 Feb 2022

2 HR 20 MINS

2:20:12

11 Feb 2022

#287

#273 — Joe Rogan and the Ethics of Apology

In this episode of the podcast, Sam responds to the controversy over his friend Joe Rogan's use of the N-word and his subsequent public apology. SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at <a href= "http://samharris.org/subscribe">samharris.org/subscribe</a>. ... Read more

07 Feb 2022

20 MINS

20:27

07 Feb 2022

#286

Vaccine Mandates, transgender athletes, billionaires… (AMA #19)

Questions: What is your position on vaccine mandates, school closures, etc.? Do you think painful memories remain painful because there is something left unresolved? How can you forgive a consequential lie? Can you clarify your plans to support effective altruism with NFTs? What are your views on transgender women in sports? How can we combat disinformation and misinformation coming from friends and family? You’ve said that we shouldn’t demonize billionaires, but is it really possible to become that wealthy without perpetuating the evils of capitalism? How do you guard yourself against cognitive bias? Can mindfulness provide relief in the case of extreme suffering (e.g. after the death of a child)? SUBSCRIBE to listen to the rest of this episode and gain access to all full-length episodes of the podcast at <a href= "http://samharris.org/subscribe">samharris.org/subscribe</a>. Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the <a href= "http://wakingup.com/">Waking Up</a> app. From rational mindfulness practice to lessons on some of life’s most important topics, join Sam as he demystifies the practice of meditation and explores the theory behind it. ... Read more

31 Jan 2022

28 MINS

28:48

31 Jan 2022

#285

#272 — On Disappointing My Audience

In this episode, Sam discusses some of the topics he has and hasn't covered, to the disappointment of many Making Sense listeners. SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at <a href= "http://samharris.org/subscribe">samharris.org/subscribe</a>. Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the <a href= "http://wakingup.com/">Waking Up</a> app. From rational mindfulness practice to lessons on some of life’s most important topics, join Sam as he demystifies the practice of meditation and explores the theory behind it. ... Read more

11 Jan 2022

46 MINS

46:44

11 Jan 2022

#284

#271 — Earning to Give

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Sam Bankman-Fried about effective altruism. They discuss how he became the wealthiest self-made billionaire under 30, what might go wrong with cryptocurrency, the Giving What We Can pledge, how SBF thinks about using his resources to do the most good in the world, how not to stigmatize wealth, wealth redistribution, norms of generosity among the ultra-wealthy, pandemic preparedness, impact through lobbying, how ambitious should we be in doing good, and other topics. SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at <a href= "http://samharris.org/subscribe">samharris.org/subscribe</a>. Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the [Waking Up] (http://wakingup.com/) app. From rational mindfulness practice to lessons on some of life’s most important topics, join Sam as he demystifies the practice of meditation and explores the theory behind it. ... Read more

24 Dec 2021

1 HR 15 MINS

1:15:30

24 Dec 2021

#283

#270 — What Have We Learned from the Pandemic?

In this episode, Sam Harris speaks with Nicholas Christakis about the lessons of the COVID pandemic. They discuss our failures to coordinate an effective response, the politics surrounding vaccination, vaccine efficacy, vaccine safety, how to think about scientific controversies, the epidemiology of excess deaths, transmission among the vaccinated, natural immunity, selection pressures and new variants, the failure of institutions, the lab-leak hypothesis, the efficacy of lockdowns, vaccine mandates, boosters, what would happen in a worse pandemic, and other topics. SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at <a href= "http://samharris.org/subscribe">samharris.org/subscribe</a>. Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the [Waking Up] (http://wakingup.com/) app. From rational mindfulness practice to lessons on some of life’s most important topics, join Sam as he demystifies the practice of meditation and explores the theory behind it. ... Read more

14 Dec 2021

2 HR 51 MINS

2:51:28

14 Dec 2021

#282

#269 — Deep Time

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Oliver Burkeman about our relationship to time. They discuss the perils of efficiency, being vs becoming, the illusion of time as a resource, parenting and childhood, work-life balance, the loss of leisure, the planning trap, social isolation, a modern Sabbath, and other topics. SUBSCRIBE to listen to the rest of this episode and gain access to all full-length episodes of the podcast at <a href= "http://samharris.org/subscribe">samharris.org/subscribe</a>. Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the [Waking Up] (http://wakingup.com/) app. From rational mindfulness practice to lessons on some of life’s most important topics, join Sam as he demystifies the practice of meditation and explores the theory behind it. ... Read more

03 Dec 2021

40 MINS

40:04

03 Dec 2021

#281

#268 — The Limits of Self-Knowledge

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Stephen Fleming about the neuroscience of self-awareness. They discuss the nature and limits of metacognition, the relationship between self-knowledge and intelligence, error monitoring, theory of mind, mirror neurons, deception and self-deception, false confidence, probabilistic reasoning, where metacognition fails, cognitive decline, calibrating one’s confidence, and other topics. SUBSCRIBE to listen to the rest of this episode and gain access to all full-length episodes of the podcast at <a href= "http://samharris.org/subscribe">samharris.org/subscribe</a>. Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the [Waking Up] (http://wakingup.com/) app. From rational mindfulness practice to lessons on some of life’s most important topics, join Sam as he demystifies the practice of meditation and explores the theory behind it. ... Read more

24 Nov 2021