Making Sense with Sam Harris - Subscriber Content

Reflecting on recent protests, the discussion delves into systemic racism and police violence in America. It explores preference falsification and its impact on societal beliefs, especially during crises. The conversation critiques the rise of authoritarianism linked to 'woke' ideologies and the complexities of race in protests. Additionally, it examines the relationship between police behavior and race dynamics, urging a shift in public perception and deeper reforms in law enforcement. Ultimately, the need for rational discourse to address disparities is emphasized.

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with David Frum about the shifting political landscape. They discuss the secularization of politics, distrust of the media and other institutions, voter suppression, the 2020 elections, what happens if Trump gets a second term, the role of money in politics, conspiracy theories around Covid-19, the Michael Flynn controversy, the prospect that Trump will refuse to leave office, and other topics. David Frum is a senior editor at The Atlantic and the author of Trumpocalypse: Restoring American Democracy, his tenth book. Frum spent most of his career in conservative media and research institutions, including the Manhattan Institute and the American Enterprise Institute. He is a past chairman of Policy Exchange, the leading center-right think tank in the United Kingdom, and a former director of the Republican Jewish Coalition. In 2001-2002, he served as a speechwriter and special assistant to President George W. Bush. Frum holds a B.A. and M.A. in history from Yale and a law degree from Harvard. Website: https://davidfrum.com/ Twitter: @davidfrum

Sam Harris speaks with Daniel Markovits about the problems with meritocracy. They discuss the nature of inequality in the United States, the disappearance of the leisure class, the difference between labor and capital as sources of inequality, the way the education system amplifies inequality, the shrinking middle class, deaths of despair, differing social norms among the elite and the working class, universal basic income, the relationship between meritocracy and political polarization, the illusion of earned advantages, and other topics. Daniel Markovits is Guido Calabresi Professor of Law at Yale Law School and Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Private Law. Markovits works in the philosophical foundations of private law, moral and political philosophy, and behavioral economics.  His writing has appeared in a number of notable publications including The New York Times, The Atlantic, Science, The American Economic Review, and The Yale Law Journal. His latest book, The Meritocracy Trap: How America’s Foundational Myth Feeds Inequality, Dismantles The Middle Class, and Devours The Elite, places meritocracy at the center of rising economic inequality and social and political dysfunction. The book takes up the law, economics, and politics of human capital to identify the mechanisms through which meritocracy breeds inequality and to expose the burdens that meritocratic inequality imposes on all who fall within meritocracy’s orbit.  Website: https://law.yale.edu/daniel-markovits Twitter: @DSMarkovits 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.

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Jonathan Haidt about the maintenance of a healthy society. They discuss the problem of orthodoxy, the history of political polarization in the US, the breakdown of public conversation, remaining uncertainty about Covid-19, motivated reasoning, the 2020 election, the future prospects for Gen Z, the effect of social media on the mental health of girls, Jonathan’s experience with psychedelics, positive psychology, loss of self, the experience of awe, and other topics. Jonathan Haidt is the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University’s Stern School of Business. In his work as a social psychologist, he uses research on moral psychology to help people understand each other and to help important social institutions work better. He is the co-developer of Moral Foundations theory, and of the research site YourMorals.org. He also co-founded Ethical Systems to help companies improve their ethical cultures, Heterodox Academy to help universities improve their ability to pursue truth, and the OpenMind Platform to help all groups function better in an era of rampant and destructive political polarization. He is the author of The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom and The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. His latest book (with Greg Lukianoff) is The Coddling of the American Mind: How good intentions and bad ideas are setting a generation up for failure. Website: jonathanhaidt.com Twitter: @JonHaidt

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Caitlin Flanagan about her cancer recurrence and the response to her recent article in The Atlantic discussing it. They discuss the dynamics of apologies and forgiveness, the #MeToo movement and the allegations against Biden, modern feminism, and other topics. Caitlin Flanagan is a contributing editor for The Atlantic and a former staff writer for The New Yorker. Her writing has appeared in a number of notable publications including Time, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal. She is the author of two books: To Hell with All That and Girl Land. Twitter: @CaitlinPacific

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Andrew Yang about the Covid-19 pandemic. They discuss the future of the middle class, Andrew’s experience campaigning for President, the need to build new digital infrastructure, universal basic income (UBI), concerns about the Biden’s age and #MeToo allegation, hostility between the United States and China, problems with the global supply chain, concerns about social cohesion, market failures, and other topics. Andrew Yang is an entrepreneur, founder of Humanity Forward, and host of the Yang Speaks podcast. Andrew also recently ran as a democratic candidate in the 2020 Presidential primary election. In his early career, Andrew served as the CEO, co-founder or executive at a number of technology and education companies including the well-known test preparation company, Manhattan Prep. In 2011, he founded Venture for America, a non-profit which connects recent college graduates with start-ups. His book, The War on Normal People: The Truth About America’s Disappearing Jobs and Why Universal Basic Income Is Our Future was published in 2018, shortly after announcing his run for presidency. He is now focusing on his podcast and Humanity Forward, a non-profit organization dedicated to continuing the movement inspired by his presidential campaign. Website: movehumanityforward.com Twitter: @AndrewYang

Yuval Noah Harari has a PhD in History from the University of Oxford and lectures at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, specializing in world history. His books have been translated into 50+ languages, with 25+ million copies sold worldwide. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind looked deep into our past, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow considered far-future scenarios, and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century focuses on the biggest questions of the present moment. Website: https://www.ynharari.com/ Twitter: @harari_yuval Instagram: @yuval_noah_harari

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Yuval Noah Harari about the Covid-19 pandemic and its future implications. They discuss the failures of global leadership, the widespread distrust of institutions, the benefits of nationalism and its current unraveling in the U.S., politics as a way of reconciling competing desires, the consequences of misinformation, the enduring respect for science, the future of surveillance, the changing role of religion, and other topics. Yuval Noah Harari has a PhD in History from the University of Oxford and lectures at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, specializing in world history. His books have been translated into 50+ languages, with 25+ million copies sold worldwide. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind looked deep into our past, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow considered far-future scenarios, and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century focuses on the biggest questions of the present moment. Website: https://www.ynharari.com/ Twitter: @harari_yuval Instagram: @yuval_noah_harari

Sam Harris speaks with James Clear, an author and speaker focused on habits and decision-making. They discuss creating good habits, discontinuing bad ones, the role of the environment, goals vs systems, the compounding of incremental gains, and the four laws of behavior change.

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris and Caitlin Flanagan discuss the ethics of abortion, the fact that universities with immense endowments are laying off staff during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Woody Allen autobiography, the moral hypocrisy of Hollywood, the lessons of “Tiger King,” and other topics. Caitlin Flanagan is a contributing editor for The Atlantic and a former staff writer for The New Yorker. Her writing has appeared in a number of notable publications including Time, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal. She is the author of two books: To Hell with All That and Girl Land. Twitter: @CaitlinPacific