Making Sense with Sam Harris
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
Mentioned books
Jul 19, 2017 • 53min
#87 — Triggered
Neuroscientist and author Sam Harris engages in a debate with Scott Adams on President Trump's character and competence, delving into topics like persuasion, Trump's political strategy, societal values, and the impact of public opinion shifts. They explore Trump's persuasive abilities, his shifting stance on immigration, and the ethical implications of extreme negotiation tactics, questioning whether his success stems from deception or genuine tactics.
Jul 14, 2017 • 50min
#86 — From Cells to Cities
Sam Harris speaks with Geoffrey West about how biological and social systems scale, the significance of fractals, the prospects of radically extending human life, the concept of "emergence" in complex systems, the importance of cities, the necessity for continuous innovation, 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.
Jul 7, 2017 • 40min
#85 — Is this the End of Europe?
Sam Harris speaks with Douglas Murray about his book The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam. 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.
Jul 1, 2017 • 46min
#84 — Landscapes of Mind
Sam Harris speaks with Kevin Kelly about why it's so hard to predict future technology, the nature of intelligence, the "singularity," artificial consciousness, 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.
Jun 23, 2017 • 39min
#83 — The Politics of Emergency
Sam Harris speaks with Fareed Zakaria about his career as a journalist, Samuel Huntington's "clash of civilizations," political partisanship, Trump, the health of the news media, the connection between Islam and intolerance, 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.
Jun 15, 2017 • 43min
#82 — The End of the World According to ISIS
Sam Harris speaks with Graeme Wood about his experience reporting on ISIS, the myth of online recruitment, the theology of ISIS, the quality of their propaganda, the most important American recruit to the organization, the roles of Jesus and the Anti-Christ in Islamic prophecy, free speech and the ongoing threat of jihadism, 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.
Jun 9, 2017 • 50min
#81 — Leaving Islam
Sam Harris speaks with Sarah Haider about her organization Ex-Muslims of North America, how the political Left is confused about Islam, "rape culture" under Islam, honesty without bigotry, stealth theocracy, immigration, the prospects of reforming Islam, 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.
Jun 4, 2017 • 25min
#80 — The Unraveling
Sam Harris speaks with David Frum about political partisanship, recent security leaks, Trump's foreign policy, the Russia investigation, Kathy Griffin's joke, 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.
May 29, 2017 • 31min
#79 — The Road to Tyranny
Sam Harris speaks with Timothy Snyder about his book On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. 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.
May 26, 2017 • 41min
#78 — Persuasion and Control
Expert Zeynep Tufekci discusses surveillance capitalism, AI marketing, press health. They cover topics like ransomware attacks, fake news, impact of internet on reality, social media manipulation, ethical concerns in persuasion tactics, historical ties between media and propaganda, influence of AI in advertising.
