Making Sense with Sam Harris
Episodes
#449 — Dogma, Tribe, and Truth
22 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Ross Douthat about religion, modernity, and what can steady a culture that feels increasingly unmoored. They discuss the case f...
#448 — The Philosophy of Good and Evil
08 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with David Edmonds about moral philosophy and effective altruism. They discuss Edmonds's book Death in a Shallow Pond, Peter Singer'...
#447 — The Unraveling of American Power
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Peter Zeihan about Trump's second term and its economic and geopolitical consequences. They discuss Zeihan's failed 2024 electi...
#446 — How to Do the Most Good
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Michael Plant about the philosophy of happiness and effective altruism. They discuss the nature of well-being, Nozick's "Experi...
#445 — More From Sam: Marjorie Taylor Greene, Billionaires, Thanksgiving Political Debates, & Rapid Fire Questions
26 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events and answer some of the questions you all submitted on Subs...
#444 — America's Zombie Democracy
17 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with George Packer about American democracy and authoritarianism. They discuss Packer's article "America's Zombie Democracy," the er...
#443 — What Is Christian Nationalism?
10 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Douglas Wilson about his book Frequently Shouted Questions about Christian Nationalism. They discuss Wilson's debates with Chri...
#442 — More From Sam: Public Speaking, Nuclear War, & Christian Nationalism
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events and answer some of the questions you all submitted on Subs...
#441 — The Threat of Civil War
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Stephen Marche about his book The Next Civil War: Dispatches from the American Future. They discuss tensions between the United...
#440 — A World in Crisis
24 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Robert D. Kaplan about his new book, Waste Land: A World in Permanent Crisis. They discuss climate change, demographics, the pr...
#439 — How to Lose a Democracy
14 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Damon Linker about the erosion of American democracy. They discuss the right-wing populist movement, the mechanisms by which Tr...
#438 — “More From Sam”: Israel-Hamas Deal, Qatari Air Force Base, Trump, Charlie Kirk, Ezra Klein, & Rapid Fire Questions
11 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this latest episode of the “More From Sam” series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events and answer some of the questions you all submitted o...
#437 — Two Years Since 10/7
06 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Dan Senor about the state of the world two years after the October 7th attacks. They discuss the rise of global antisemitism, i...
#436 — A Crisis of Trust
03 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Michael Osterholm about his new book, The Big One: How We Must Prepare for Future Deadly Pandemics. They discuss the lessons le...
#435 — The Last Invention
02 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris introduces the first episode of The Last Invention, a new podcast series on the hype and fear about the AI revolution, reported by Gregory ...
#434 — Can We Survive AI?
16 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares about their new book, If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: The Case Against Superintelligent A...
#433 — How Did We Get Here?
06 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Dan Carlin about the decades-long buildup to our current political moment. They discuss the growing powers of the presidency, e...
#432 — The Undoing of America
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with David French about Trump’s assault on American democracy. They discuss Trump’s persecution of political opponents, abuse of...
#431 — What Is Happening on College Campuses?
25 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Michael Roth about the state of higher education in the U.S. They discuss whether concerns about wokeness were overblown, how c...
#430 — “More From Sam”: Trump, Gavin Newsom, Class War, DOGE, & Rapid Fire Questions
22 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this latest episode of the “More From Sam” series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events and answer some of the questions you all submitted o...
#429 — The New World Order
11 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Anne Applebaum about the erosion of democracy at home and abroad. They discuss the Sudanese civil war and the outside forces in...
#428 — Political Extremism
07 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Jonah Goldberg about Trump 2.0 and wealth inequality. They discuss the horseshoe theory, illiberalism on the Right and the Left...
#427 — AI Friends & Enemies
25 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Paul Bloom about AI and current events. They discuss the state of LLMs, the risks and benefits of AI companionship, what it mea...
#426 — How Bad Is It?
23 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with David Frum about the current state of American politics. They discuss the extent of Trump’s corruption, his immigration crack...
#425 — Are We Prepared for the Next Pandemic?
21 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Marc Lipsitch about pandemic preparedness. They discuss what we learned from Covid, loss of trust in institutions, how to effec...
#424 — "More From Sam": Nazi Grok, ICE, Epstein, Social Media, Rapid Fire Questions
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this latest episode of the “More From Sam” series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events and answer some of the questions you all submitted o...
#423 — “More From Sam”: Democracy, Populism, Wealth Inequality, News-Induced Anxiety, & Rapid Fire Questions
08 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this latest episode of the “More From Sam” series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events and answer some of the questions you all submitted o...
#422 — Zionism & Jihadism
19 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Haviv Rettig Gur about Israel and her enemies. They discuss Israel’s war with Iran and America’s role in the conflict, Isra...
#421 — “More From Sam”: Political Violence, Iran, Deportations, Protests, & Rapid Fire Questions
17 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this latest episode of the “More From Sam” series, Sam hopped back on with his manager and business partner, Jaron Lowenstein, to talk about cu...
#420 — Countdown to Superintelligence
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Daniel Kokotajlo about the potential impacts of superintelligent AI over the next decade. They discuss Daniel’s predictions i...
#419 — "More From Sam": Elon vs. Trump, Religion, Jordan Peterson, & Rapid Fire Questions
06 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam hopped back on with his manager and business partner, Jaron Lowenstein, to talk about current events and answer some of the questions you all subm...
#418 — A Future for Democrats
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Congressman Ritchie Torres about the future of American politics. They discuss how growing up in public housing inspired Ritchi...
#417 — Philosophy for Life
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Donald Robertson about Stoicism and the good life. They discuss the relationship between wisdom and virtue, ancient versions of...
#416 — “More From Sam”: Biden's Big Lie, Review of Tapper Interview, Trump, & a Case Against Israel's Actions in Gaza
23 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam hopped back on with his manager and business partner, Jaron Lowenstein, to talk about current events and answer some of the questions you all subm...
#415 — The Cover-Up
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Jake Tapper about Jake’s new book (with Alex Thompson), Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disast...
#414 — Strange Truths
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with David Deutsch about quantum physics and current events. They discuss the “many-worlds” interpretation of QM, Schrödinger’...
#413 — “More From Sam”: Trump & Israel, Corruption, Free Speech Violations, the Democrats, & Ezra Klein
06 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam hopped back on with his manager and business partner, Jaron Lowenstein, to talk about current events and answer some of the questions you all subm...
#412 — Better Things & Better People
02 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Rutger Bregman about Rutger’s new book, Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference. They discuss ...
#411 — The Victimhood Pandemic
25 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Scott Barry Kaufman about Scott’s new book, Rise Above: Overcome a Victim Mindset, Empower Yourself, and Realize Your Full Po...
#410 — The Whole Catastrophe
20 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Douglas Murray about Douglas’s new book, On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Civilization. They discuss ...
#409 — "More From Sam": Religion, Deportations, Douglas Murray vs. Rogan, & Bill Maher's Dinner with Trump
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam hopped back on with his manager and business partner, Jaron Lowenstein, to discuss current events and answer some of the questions you all submitt...
#408 — Finding Equanimity in Chaos
14 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Harris interviews Sam Harris for Dan’s podcast, 10% Happier. They discuss how meditation helped Sam after evacuating his home during the LA fire...
#407 — Can We Ever Return to Normal Politics?
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Jon Favreau about the state of American politics. They discuss the Trump administration’s wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abre...
#406 — The Legacy of Christianity
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Tom Holland about his book, Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World. They discuss the enduring influence of Chr...
#405 — "More From Sam": Tariffs, SignalGate, Trump, Elon, Douglas Murray, & Joe Rogan
04 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
By far the most common feedback we hear from you guys is the following: “We want more from Sam.” More of his thoughts on current events, more freq...
#404 — What If Consciousness Is Fundamental?
25 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with his wife, Annaka Harris, about LIGHTS ON, her ten-part audio documentary exploring the perplexities of consciousness and the co...
#403 — Sanity Check on Trump 2.0
10 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Jonah Goldberg about the damage Trump is doing domestically and abroad. They discuss Trump’s tariffs, Curtis Yarvin and the T...
#402 — The Geopolitics of Trump 2.0
28 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Niall Ferguson about the current geopolitical situation. They discuss how Trump is handling the war in Ukraine, Europe’s chan...
#401 — Christian Nationalism and the New Right
18 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Katherine Stewart about her new book, Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy. They discuss Pro...
#400 — The Politics of Information
06 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Helen Lewis about the culture wars. They discuss the role of journalists, DEI, political polarization, feminism, transgender ac...
#399 — The Politics of Catastrophe
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Rick Caruso about the Los Angeles fires. They discuss how mismanagement may have contributed to the severity of the fires, who’...
#398 — Thoughts Without a Thinker
21 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam provides an update about his experience of the LA fires and shares a few selections from the Waking Up app. If the Making Sense podcast logo in yo...
#397 — A New Year's Message from Sam
01 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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. Le...
#396 — The Way Forward
20 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Matthew Yglesias about the future of Democratic politics. They discuss where the Democrats went wrong, the failure of identity ...
#395 — Intellectual Authority and Its Discontents
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris discusses the breakdown of trust in institutions, the nature of intellectual authority, the danger of bad incentives, the epidemic of consp...
#394 — Bringing Back the Mammoth
03 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Ben Lamm about his work at Colossal Biosciences. They discuss his efforts to de-extinct the woolly mammoth, the Tasmanian tiger...
#393 — Is History Repeating Itself?
26 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Simon Sebag Montefiore about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the history of the Jews, and the rise of global antisemit...
#392 — Technology & Culture
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Christine Rosen about how technology is changing our culture. They discuss the courage of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, lost practices like ...
#391 — The Reckoning
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris discusses the result of the 2024 presidential election, the lessons that the Democratic Party should draw from it, and the implications of ...
#390 — Final Thoughts on the 2024 Presidential Election
01 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Mark Cuban about the 2024 presidential election. They discuss Trump’s ethics, his apparent political indestructibility, elect...
#389 — The Politics of Risk
25 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Nate Silver about cultural attitudes toward risk and the state of American politics. They discuss the erosion of trust in liber...
#388 — What Is Life?
21 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Sara Imari Walker about a scientific understanding of life. They discuss the contributions of physics to this topic, Erwin Schr...
#387 — Politics & Power
15 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Ambassador Rahm Emanuel about the state of world order and American politics. They discuss the mystery of Japan’s economic he...
#386 — Information & Social Order
07 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Yuval Noah Harari about his new book, Nexus, and its application to current crises. They discuss humanity’s capacity for self...
#385 — AI Utopia
30 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Nick Bostrom about ongoing progress in artificial intelligence. They discuss the twin concerns about the failure of alignment a...
#384 — Stress Testing Our Democracy
23 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Barton Gellman about election integrity and the safeguarding of American democracy. They discuss the war games he's run to test...
#383 — Where Are the Grown-Ups?
17 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris talks about the recent assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the cesspool of X, Tucker Carlson’s conversation with Darryl Cooper, freedo...
#382 — The Eye of Nature
06 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Richard Dawkins about his new book The Genetic Book of the Dead, the genome as a palimpsest, what scientists of the future may ...
#381 — Delusions, Right and Left
26 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with “Destiny” (Steven Bonnell) about politics and public debate. They discuss how he approaches debate, “Trump derangement sy...
#380 — The Roots of Attention
23 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Amishi Jha about attention and the brain. They discuss how attention is studied, the failure of brain-training games, the relat...
#379 — Regulating Artificial Intelligence
12 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Yoshua Bengio and Scott Wiener about AI risk and the new bill introduced in California intended to mitigate it. They discuss th...
#378 — Digital Delusions
02 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Renée DiResta about the state of our information landscape. They discuss the difference between influence and propaganda, shif...
#377 — The Future of Psychedelic Medicine 2
26 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Dr. Jennifer Mitchell and Dr. Sarah Abedi about recent developments in research on psychedelics. They discuss the history of th...
#376 — How Democracies Fail
19 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris and Anne Applebaum discuss the nature of modern autocracies and how democracies fail. They discuss the power of ideas, why autocracies seek...
#375 — On the Attempted Assassination of President Trump
16 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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.
#374 — Consciousness and the Physical World
09 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Christof Koch about the nature of consciousness. They discuss Christof’s development as a neuroscientist, his collaboration w...
#373 — Anti-Zionism Is Antisemitism
02 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Michal Cotler-Wunsh about the global rise of antisemitism. They discuss the bias against Israel at the United Nations, the natu...
#372 — Life & Work
24 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with George Saunders about his creative process. They discuss George’s involvement with Buddhism, the importance of kindness, psyc...
#371 — What the Hell Is Happening?
14 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks to Bill Maher about the state of the world. They discuss the aftermath of October 7th, the cowardice and confusion of many celebriti...
#370 — Gender Apartheid and the Future of Iran
06 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s housekeeping, Sam explains his digital business model. He and Yasmine Mohammed (co-host) then speak with Masih Alinejad about gender apar...
#369 — Escaping Death
30 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Sebastian Junger about danger and death. They discuss Sebastian's career as a journalist in war zones, the connection between d...
#368 — Freedom & Censorship
21 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Greg Lukianoff about free speech and cancel culture. They discuss the origins of political correctness, free speech and its bou...
#367 — Campus Protests, Antisemitism, and Western Values
13 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris discusses the recent protests on college campuses, why focusing narrowly on the problem of "antisemitism" will be counterproductive, widesp...
#366 — Urban Warfare 2.0
07 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with John Spencer about the reality of urban warfare and Israel's conduct in the war in Gaza. They discuss the nature of the Hamas a...
#365 — Reality Check
01 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris begins by remembering his friendship with Dan Dennett. He then speaks with David Wallace-Wells about the shattering of our information land...
#364 — Facts & Values
23 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris revisits the central argument he made in his book, The Moral Landscape, about the reality of moral truth. He discusses the way concepts lik...
#363 — Knowledge Work
15 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Cal Newport about our use of information technology and the cult of productivity. They discuss the state of social media, the "...
#362 — Six Months of War
09 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris and Josh Szeps (episode co-host) speak with Douglas Murray about the ongoing war in Gaza. They discuss public opinion about the war, the pr...
#361 — Sam Bankman-Fried & Effective Altruism
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with William MacAskill about the implosion of FTX and the effect that it has had on the Effective Altruism movement. They discuss th...
#360 — We Really Don’t Have Free Will?
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Robert Sapolsky about the widespread belief in free will. They discuss the limits of intuition, the views of Dan Dennett, compl...
#359 — Getting Used to It
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Cass Sunstein about habituation and its consequences. They discuss habituation to positive and negative experiences, marriage, ...
#358 — The War in Ukraine
11 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Yaroslav Trofimov about the War in Ukraine. They discuss the widespread false assumptions that Russia would win a swift victory...
#357 — America & World Order
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Bret Stephens about America’s place in the world. They discuss the waning Pax Americana, American isolationism, Republican fo...
#356 — Islam & Freedom
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris and Rory Stewart debate whether Islam poses a unique threat to open societies. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, yo...
#355 — A Falling World
21 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Peter Zeihan about the unraveling world order. They discuss the Bretton Woods system, America’s role in securing the global s...
#354 — Is Moral Progress a Fantasy?
16 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with John Gray about the possibility of moral and political progress. They discuss historical and current threats to freedom of thou...
#353 — Race & Reason
11 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Coleman Hughes about race, racism, and social justice. They discuss the ideal of "color blindness," race and crime, Coleman's e...
#352 — Hubris & Chaos
04 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Rory Stewart about the fraying world order. They discuss the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the problems with nation building, c...
#351 — 5 Myths about Israel and the War in Gaza
30 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A transcript of this podcast is available on Sam’s blog. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SUBSCRIBE to gain access...
#350 — Sharing Reality
23 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Jonathan Rauch and Josh Szeps about the foundations of knowledge and the fragmentation of society. They discuss the state of th...