Making Sense with Sam Harris - Subscriber Content

Sam Harris speaks with Bret Weinstein about the moral panic at Evergreen State College, the concept of race, genetic differences between human populations, intersectionality, sex and gender, “metaphorical truth,” religion and “group selection,” equality, and other topics. Bret Weinstein has spent two decades advancing the field of evolutionary biology. He has made important discoveries regarding the evolution of cancer, senescence, and the adaptive significance of moral self-sacrifice. He is currently working to uncover the evolutionary meaning of large-scale patterns in human history, and applying evolutionary insight in the quest to prototype a liberating, sustainable anti-fragile governance structure for humanity’s next phase. Twitter: @BretWeinstein

Sam Harris speaks with Tom Nichols about his book The Death of Expertise. They discuss the “Dunning-Kruger Effect,” the growth of knowledge and reliance on authority, when experts fail, the repudiation of expertise in politics, conspiracy thinking, North Korea, Trump, and other topics. Tom Nichols is Professor of National Security Affairs at the US Naval War College, an adjunct professor at the Harvard Extension School, and a former aide in the U.S. Senate. He is also a five-time undefeated Jeopardy! champion, and as one of the all-time top players of the game, he was invited back to play in the 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions. Nichols is the author of several works on foreign policy and international security affairs, including The Sacred Cause, No Use: Nuclear Weapons and U.S. National Security, Eve of Destruction: The Coming Age of Preventive War, and The Russian Presidency. His most recent book is The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters. Twitter: @RadioFreeTom

Sam Harris speaks with David Benatar about his philosophy of “anti-natalism.” They discuss the asymmetry between the good and bad things in life, the ethics of existential risk, the moral landscape, the limits and paradoxes of introspection, the “experience machine” thought experiment, population ethics, and other topics. David Benatar is Professor of Philosophy at University of Cape Town, South Africa. He is the author of Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming Into Existence and The Human Predicament: A Candid Guide to Life’s Biggest Questions. 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.

Did the Vegas shooting change your position on guns in any way?Do you ever have arguments with your wife that result in total failures of communication?What is your opinion of Dave Rubin's approach to interviewing?What have you changed your mind about recently?Is it ever morally defensible to incite violence?Do you struggle with a feeling of superiority when around other people?Will you have Elon Musk on the podcast?If you ruled the world, what would you decree?What is your argument against Ayn Rand’s philosophy?If free will is an illusion, how can intentions be morally relevant?What is your response to Hume's Is-Ought distinction?What are your thoughts on feminism?

When you talk about creativity, what kind of art, music, and fiction do you like? Do you think creativity has as important of a role to play as reason in helping to maintain a civil and flourishing society?What one piece of advice would you give your 20-year-old self, your 30-year-old self, and your 40-year-old self?Have you ever considered that you may be wrong about the value–though of course not the veracity–of religion?In your opinion, why do so many Americans have trouble accepting science while enjoying the fruits of science in their daily lives? Can we blame religious fundamentalism as the only contributing factor? Do we have an uncommonly poor science education in the U.S.? Is science somehow disturbing some fundamental human value system or emotional state unique to Americans?In meditation, is it possible that the experience of selflessness is just the obscuring of the self by other cognitive processes and not proof that the self is an illusion? In other words, how can we be sure that the self is illusory and not just a construct that can be occluded?Are you concerned that some of your listeners are becoming dogmatic and inadvertently taking the wrong lessons from your talks and podcasts? For example, the somewhat large number of listeners who support Trump and who are surprised that you didn't support him that would seem to indicate that some nominal supporters have a shallow understanding of your views.If you could and would you and should you choose not to die, is finding a "cure" for aging a laudable quest granting the fact that people die has been a great evolutionary benefit and that ubiquitous "immortality" would cause numerous practical problems? Would it be moral to deny people a choice when relevant technology is inevitably developed?What's a day in the life of Sam Harris like? How much of your time do you devote to writing, planning podcasts, tweeting, meditating, etc?You've said that human life is inherently worth living. Why? How would you respond to a philosophical pessimist who says that even the best lives are not worth living because happiness cannot compensate for all the suffering? And there's a related question here from a different person: Why have children? I'm finding it hard to justify the decision to have biological children in the present-day given they're relatively likely to experience suffering. I believe it morally wrong to create life if the quality of that life is likely to be low. What is your take?Do you take notes when reading books or articles? How do you organize them? What's your process in other words? How do you optimize your reading experience in such a way that you will retain as much as possible from a book or article.Can you talk about your parenting philosophy in your experience raising your children and insights on how to raise an intelligent, mindful, thoughtful, and caring children. What values do you think most important to instill in your children?Who have been your favorite podcast guests?

Sam Harris speaks with Jennifer Doudna about the gene-editing technology CRISPR/Cas9. They talk about the biology of gene editing, how specific tissues in the body can be targeted, the ethical implications of changing the human genome, the importance of curiosity-driven science, and other topics. Jennifer A. Doudna is a professor in the Chemistry and the Molecular and Cell Biology Departments at the University of California, Berkeley, investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and researcher in the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She is internationally recognized as a leading expert on RNA-protein biochemistry, CRISPR biology, and genome engineering. She is the author (with Samuel Sternberg) of A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution.

The following conversation between Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Matt Dillahunty was recorded for the Making Sense podcast at the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver on November 2, 2017.

Sam Harris speaks with Frank Ostaseski about death and dying—and about how the awareness of death can improve our lives in each moment. Frank Ostaseski is a Buddhist teacher, international lecturer and a leading voice in end-of-life care. In 1987, he co-founded of the Zen Hospice Project, the first Buddhist hospice in America. In 2004, he created the Metta Institute to provide innovative educational programs and professional trainings that foster compassionate, mindfulness-based care. Mr. Ostaseski’s groundbreaking work has been widely featured in the media, including the Bill Moyers television series On Our Own Terms, the PBS series With Eyes Open, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and in numerous print publications. AARP magazine named him one of America’s 50 most innovative people. In 2001, he was honored by the Dalai Lama for his many years of compassionate service to the dying and their families. He is the author of The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully. More info:mettainstitute.orgfiveinvitations.com 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.

Kurt Andersen is the bestselling author of the novels Heyday, Turn of the Century, and True Believers. He contributes to Vanity Fair and The New York Times, and is host and co-creator of Studio 360, the Peabody Award–winning public radio show and podcast. He also writes for television, film, and the stage. Andersen co-founded Spy magazine, served as editor in chief of New York, and was a cultural columnist and critic for Time and The New Yorker. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, where he was an editor of The Harvard Lampoon. His most recent book is Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire, A 500-Year History. Twitter: @KBAndersen

Robert Wright is the New York Times bestselling author of The Evolution of God (a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize), Nonzero, The Moral Animal, Three Scientists and their Gods (a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award). He is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the widely respected Bloggingheads.tv and MeaningofLife.tv. He has written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, Time, Slate, and The New Republic. He has taught at the University of Pennsylvania and at Princeton University, where he also created the popular online course “Buddhism and Modern Psychology.” He is currently Visiting Professor of Science and Religion at Union Theological Seminary in New York. His most recent book is Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment.  Twitter: @robertwrighter