The Best of Making Sense with Sam Harris

Sam Harris speaks with Yasmine Mohammed about her book Unveiled: How Western Liberals Empower Radical Islam. They discuss her family background and indoctrination into conservative Islam, the double standard that Western liberals use when thinking about women in the Muslim community, the state of feminism in general, honor violence, the validity of criticizing other cultures, and many other topics. Yasmine Mohammed is a human rights activist and writer. She advocates for the rights of women living within Islamic majority countries, as well as those who struggle under religious fundamentalism. She is the founder of Free Hearts Free Minds, an organization that provides psychological support for ex-Muslims living within Muslim majority countries.  Website: YasmineMohammed.com Twitter: @YasMohammedxx Episodes that have been re-released as part of the Best of Making Sense series may have been edited for relevance since their original airing.  

Sam Harris interviews Nick Bostrom, a Swedish-born philosopher, about existential risk and the future of humanity. They discuss the vulnerable world hypothesis, living in a computer simulation, nuclear deterrence, extraterrestrial life, and the dangers of artificial intelligence.

This podcast explores the current state of communication and the breakdown of civil discourse. It discusses recent protests, police violence, and racism in America. The podcast examines the perception versus reality of police violence and the trade-offs and reasons behind police killings of civilians. It also explores the societal impact of biased media coverage and the goal of a post-racial society.

Frank Ostaseski, Buddhist teacher and leading voice in end-of-life care, joins Sam Harris to discuss the impact of death on our lives, the importance of mindfulness, reflections on mortality and its role in shaping our perspective, coping with the inevitability of death, personal experiences with a heart attack and finding healing, lessons in mindfulness, the use of psychedelics in end-of-life care, and the importance of conversation and resources for caregivers.

Sam Harris speaks with Robert Sapolsky about the brain and human behavior. They discuss the relationship between reason and emotion, the role of the frontal cortex, the illusion of free will, punishment and retributive justice, neurological disorders and abnormal behavior, the relationship between science and religion, and other topics. Robert Sapolsky is a professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University and the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation genius grant. He is the author of A Primate’s Memoir, The Trouble with Testosterone, Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, and Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst.   Episodes that have been re-released as part of the Best of Making Sense series may have been edited for relevance since their original airing.  

Sam Harris speaks with Bart Ehrman, a New Testament scholar, about his experience as a born-again Christian, his loss of faith, the composition of the New Testament, the resurrection of Jesus, contradictions in the Bible, the concept of a messiah, and the conversion of Constantine.

Sam Harris speaks with David Deutsch, a quantum theorist and visiting professor of physics at Oxford University. They discuss the boundary between science and philosophy, the nature of scientific authority, the utility of knowledge, artificial intelligence, moral relativism, the Fermi problem, and other topics. They explore the power of explanation and its connection to controlling the world. They also discuss the potential dangers of artificial general intelligence and concerns about the viability of human civilization. Plus, they touch on the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and quantum computation.

Sam Harris speaks with Yuval Noah Harari about meditation, the power of technology, wealth inequality, finding meaning without work, religion as a virtual reality game, pain vs suffering, and more topics.

Sam Harris speaks with psychologist Paul Bloom about the limitations of empathy as a guide to moral reasoning, why empathy is a bad metric for measuring one’s character, cognitive biases, and other topics. Paul Bloom is Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto, and Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Yale University. Paul Bloom studies how children and adults make sense of the world, with a special focus on pleasure, morality, religion, fiction, and art. He has won numerous awards for his research and teaching. He is past-president of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology, and co-editor of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. He has written for scientific journals such as Nature and Science, and for popular outlets such as The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic Monthly. He is the author of six books, including The Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning.   Episodes that have been re-released as part of the Best of Making Sense series may have been edited for relevance since their original airing.  

Sam Harris speaks with philosopher David Chalmers about the nature of consciousness, the challenges of understanding it scientifically, and the prospect of building it into machines. They discuss the hard problem of consciousness, the notion of consciousness as integrated information, and the possibility of living in a simulation. They also explore non-reductive explanations of consciousness, AI safety concerns, and the need to prepare for the implications of superintelligent AI.