Making Sense with Sam Harris - Subscriber Content

Ricky Gervais calls Sam to ask why we dream? They discuss why puns are terrible and breakdown some of the mechanics of comedy.

In this engaging discussion, Iain McGilchrist, a neuropsychologist and author, dives into the fascinating split between the brain's right and left hemispheres. He explores how consciousness varies between the two, the impact of brain damage on self-awareness, and the left hemisphere's dominance in modern culture. McGilchrist also delves into the mind-body relationship, the potential of surviving death, and insights gained from his research. The conversation highlights the need for balance in understanding our complex cognitive landscape.

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Zeynep Tufekci about the problem of misinformation and group-think. They discuss the Covid-19 pandemic, the early failures of journalists and public health professionals to make sense of it, the sociology of mask wearing, the problem of correcting institutional errors, Covid as a dress rehearsal for something far worse, asymmetric information warfare, failures of messaging about vaccines, the paradox of scientific authority, the power of incentives, how to reform social media, and other topics. Zeynep Tufekci is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina, an opinion writer at the New York Times, and a contributing writer at The Atlantic. She studies the interaction between digital technology, artificial intelligence, and society. Twitter: @zeynep Website: https://zeynep.substack.com/

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Jack Goldstone about the rise in social inequality and political instability in the United States. They discuss how wealth is deployed, the loss of social mobility, comparative judgments of well-being, cosmopolitanism and the isolation of the rich, decreased life expectancy, taxation, the need for government to solve problems, success and social obligation, the causes of revolution, universal basic income (UBI), and other topics. Jack Goldstone is a sociologist and is also the Virginia E. and John T. Hazel, Jr. Chair Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University. He is a Senior Fellow of the Mercatus Center, a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center, and is the Director of Schar’s Center for the Study of Social Change, Institutions and Policy (SCIP). Jack is a leading expert on revolutions and the social, political and economic variables that produce them. His research focuses on conditions for building democracy and stability in developing nations, particularly the impact of global population changes. His 2010 essay in Foreign Affairs, The New Population Bomb, analyzed the impact of aging and youth bulges on the global economy and international security, and was one of the most downloaded and viewed essays in recent years. His latest book is Revolutions: A Very Short Introduction for Oxford’s widely-read Very Short Introductions series and his latest article, Welcome To The ‘Turbulent Twenties’, was published by Noema Magazine. Twitter: @jgoldsto

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with General Stanley McChrystal and Chris Fussell about the radicalization of the far Right under Trump. They discuss the events of January 6, 2021, the behavior of the Capitol police, the history of white supremacy in the US, the effect of banning extremists from social media, the logic of insurgency, the consequence of public lies, what should happen to Trump and his enablers, and other topics. Stanley McChrystal retired from the US Army as a four-star general after more than 34 years of service. In his last assignment, he was the commander of all American and coalition forces in Afghanistan. He has written several books including a memoir titled My Share of the Task, which was a New York Times bestseller. Stanley is a senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, and he is the founder of the McChrystal Group leadership institute. Chris Fussell is a Partner at the McChrystal Group and the co-author (with Stanley McChrystal) of Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World, which was also a New York Times bestseller. Chris was a commissioned naval officer and he spent 15 years in the Navy SEALs in various points around the globe. He served as the aide-de-camp to General McChrystal during his final year commanding the joint special operations task force fighting Al Qaeda. Chris is on the board of directors of the Navy SEAL Foundation and is a lifetime member of The Council on Foreign Relations. Chris also teaches at the Jackson Institute at Yale University.  Together, Stanley and Chris host No Turning Back—a podcast that explores the future of leadership and teams with the world’s most consequential leaders.   Website: www.McChrystalGroup.com Twitter: @McChrystalGroup, @StanMcChrystal, @FussellChris

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris discusses two dangerous misconceptions about the siege of the Capitol.

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris analyzes a few disturbing trends and shares his hopes for 2021.

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with William MacAskill about how to do the most good in the world. They discuss the “effective altruism” movement, choosing causes to support, the apparent tension between wealth and altruism, how best to think about generosity over the course of one’s lifetime, and other topics. William MacAskill is an Associate Professor in Philosophy and Research Fellow at the Global Priorities Institute, University of Oxford. He is one of the primary voices in a philanthropic movement known as “effective altruism” and the co-founder of three non-profits based on effective altruist principles: Giving What We Can, 80,000 Hours, and the Centre for Effective Altruism. He is also the Director of the Forethought Foundation for Global Priorities Research and the author of Doing Good Better: Effective Altruism and a Radical New Way to Make a Difference. Website: williammacaskill.com Twitter: @willmacaskill

Neurologist Stephen Laureys interviews Sam Harris about meditation, mindfulness, the search for happiness, wisdom vs knowledge, our relationship with death, the hard problem of consciousness, meditation and free will, dangerous knowledge, the power of hypnosis, and more.

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Adam Gazzaley about the way our technology is changing us. They discuss our limited ability to process information, our failures of multitasking, “top-down” vs “bottom-up” attention, self-interruptions and switching costs, anxiety, boredom, “digital medicine,” neuroplasticity, video games for training the mind, the future of brain-machine interface, and other topics. Adam Gazzaley, M.D., Ph.D. is a Professor in Neurology, Physiology, and Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco, and the Founding Director of the Neuroscience Imaging Center, Neuroscape Lab, and the Gazzaley Lab, which explores mechanisms of neuroplasticity and designs, develops and validates new technologies to optimize cognitive abilities. He is also co-founder and Chief Science Advisor of Akili Interactive, a company developing therapeutic video games and Chief Scientist of JAZZ Venture Partners, a venture capital firm investing in experiential technology to improve human performance. Adam co-authored the award-winning MIT Press book The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World with Dr. Larry Rosen. Website: gazzaley.com Twitter: @adamgazz   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.