Making Sense with Sam Harris
Episodes
#263 — The Paradox of Death
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris reflects on the subjective continuity of consciousness, the nature of identity, and the possibility that death isn’t the end of experienc...
#262 — The Future of American Democracy
05 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Andrew Yang about the state of American democracy. They discuss Andrew’s run for the Presidency, the humiliations of campaign...
#261 — Belief & Identity
30 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Jonas Kaplan about the neuroscience of belief change. They discuss the illusory truth effect, the backfire effect, failures of ...
Absolutely Mental Season Two
24 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam shares a clip from the second season of Absolutely Mental, his audio series with Ricky Gervais. All 10 episodes have been released today (Friday S...
Ask Me Anything #18
20 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Questions answered: Why won’t you discuss COVID vaccines and Ivermectin with Bret Weinstein on the podcast? What do you think about the recent prose...
#260 — The Second Plane
09 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris recalls his experience of September 11th, 2001, and considers the future of American foreign policy. If the Making Sense podcast logo in yo...
#259 — The Reckoning to Come
01 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Balaji Srinivasan about several civilizational challenges and possible paths forward. They discuss the evidence of American dec...
#258 — The Fall of Afghanistan
23 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Peter Bergen about the US exit from Afghanistan, the resurgence of the Taliban, and his new book, “The Rise and Fall of Osama...
#257 — The State of the World
13 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Dambisa Moyo about the state of the world. They discuss public goods, economic growth, capitalism, American economic history, b...
Ask Me Anything #17
08 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the podcast, Sam takes your questions. He begins by addressing the blowback that followed his previous podcast on “vaccine hesita...
#256 — A Contagion of Bad Ideas
23 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Eric Topol about vaccine hesitancy and related misinformation. They discuss the problem of political and social siloing, concer...
#255 — The Future of Intelligence
09 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Jeff Hawkins about the nature of intelligence. They discuss how the neocortex creates models of the world, the role of predicti...
#254 — The Mating Strategies of Earthlings
25 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with David Buss about the differential mating strategies of men and women. They discuss the controversy that surrounds evolutionary ...
#253 — Corporate Courage
17 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Jason Fried about the recent controversy over the “no politics” policy at his company Basecamp. They discuss his business p...
#252 — Are We Alone in the Universe?
10 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Neil deGrasse Tyson about our place in the universe. They discuss our current understanding of extra-solar planets, the prospec...
#251 — Corporate Cowardice
26 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Antonio García-Martínez about his recent firing at Apple. They discuss his experience in tech, his book "Chaos Monkeys," the ...
#250 — Broken Conversations
21 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Jesse Singal about a variety of controversial topics. They discuss fragmentation in the media, bad incentives in journalism, Je...
#249 — Distance & Arrival
14 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris and David Whyte further explore his work in his book Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words. If the...
#248 — Order & Freedom
30 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Michele Gelfand about the difference between tight and loose cultures. They discuss the primacy of cultural norms in governing ...
Special Episode: Engineering the Apocalypse
24 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this nearly 4-hour SPECIAL EPISODE, Rob Reid delivers a 100-minute monologue (broken up into 4 segments, and interleaved with discussions with Sam)...
#247 — Constructing Minds
22 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Lisa Feldman Barrett about the origins and function of the human brain. They discuss how brains evolved, the myth of the “tri...
#246 — Police Training & Police Misconduct
16 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Rener Gracie about police procedure and about the special relevance of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for safely controlling resisting sus...
#245 — Can We Talk About Scary Ideas?
12 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Peter Singer, Francesca Minerva, and Jeff McMahan about the newly launched Journal of Controversial Ideas. They discuss the eth...
#244 — Food, Climate, and Pandemic Risk
06 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Bruce Friedrich and Liz Specht from the Good Food Institute about the way the problems of climate change and pandemic risk are ...
#243 — A Few Points of Confusion
28 Mar 2021
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.
#242 — Psychedelics and the Self
23 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with James Fadiman about the psychedelic experience. They discuss who should and shouldn’t take psychedelics, set and setting, the...
#241 — Final Thoughts on Free Will
12 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris presents his full argument on the illusoriness of free will—and explores its ethical and psychological implications. If the Making Sense ...
#240 — The Boundaries of Self
07 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam speaks with poet David Whyte about his new and on-going series for the Waking Up app, based on his book, Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and...
#239 — Yet Another Call from Ricky Gervais
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ricky Gervais calls Sam to ask if AI will replace comedians. They also discuss the implications of not having free will and if a chimp has ever asked,...
#238 — How to Build a Universe
23 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Frank Wilczek about the fundamental nature of reality. They discuss the difference between science and non-science, the role of...
#237 — Another Call from Ricky Gervais
16 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ricky Gervais calls to discuss Sam's monster joke from their last conversation and then other things happen... If the Making Sense podcast logo in you...
#236 — Rebooting New York City
11 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with mayoral candidate, Andrew Yang, about the future of New York City. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, yo...
#235 — A Call from Ricky Gervais
10 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ricky Gervais calls Sam to ask why we dream? They discuss why puns are terrible and breakdown some of the mechanics of comedy. If the Making Sense pod...
#234 — The Divided Mind
05 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Iain McGilchrist about the differences between the right and left hemispheres of the human brain. They discuss the evolutionary...
#233 — The Groves of Misinformation
02 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Zeynep Tufekci about the problem of misinformation and group-think. They discuss the Covid-19 pandemic, the early failures of j...
#232 — Inequality and Revolution
27 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Jack Goldstone about the rise in social inequality and political instability in the United States. They discuss how wealth is d...
#231 — Crossing the Abyss
17 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with General Stanley McChrystal and Chris Fussell about the radicalization of the far Right under Trump. They discuss the events of ...
#230 — An Insurrection of Lies
11 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris discusses two dangerous misconceptions about the siege of the Capitol. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SU...
#229 — A Few Thoughts for a New Year
06 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris analyzes a few disturbing trends and shares his hopes for 2021. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SUBSCRIBE...
#228 — Doing Good
14 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Will MacAskill about how to do the most good in the world. They discuss the "effective altruism" movement, choosing causes to s...
#227 — Knowing the Mind
07 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Stephen Laureys interviews Sam Harris about meditation practice and the scientific study of the mind. They discuss why Sam began to practice meditatio...
Making Sense with Sam Harris
07 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Join Sam Harris as he explores some of the most important questions about the human mind, society, and current events. If the Making Sense podcast log...
#226 — The Price of Distraction
27 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Adam Gazzaley about the way our technology is changing us. They discuss our limited ability to process information, our failure...
#225 — Republic of Lies
18 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris discusses President Trump's failure to concede the 2020 presidential election. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, yo...
#224 — The Key to Trump's Appeal
03 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris describes his new understanding of why people support President Trump. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SU...
#223 — A Conversation with Andrew Sullivan
30 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris and Andrew Sullivan sing the praises of President Trump. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SUBSCRIBE to gai...
#222 — A Pandemic of Incompetence
28 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Nicholas Christakis about the Covid-19 pandemic. They discuss the breakdown of trust in institutions and experts, the corruptio...
#221 — Success, Failure, & the Common Good
22 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Michael Sandel about the problem with meritocracy . They discuss the dark side of the concept of merit, the pernicious myth of ...
#220 - The Information Apocalypse
17 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Nina Schick about the growing epidemic of misinformation and disinformation. They discuss the coming problem of “deep fakes,”...
#219 — The Power of Compassion
08 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with James R. Doty about his memoir “Into the Magic Shop.” They discuss the significance of childhood stress, the possibility of...
#218 — Welcome to the Cult Factory
24 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Tristan Harris about the ways in which social media is fracturing society. They discuss the ris...
#217 — The New Religion of Anti-Racism
17 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with John McWhorter about race, racism, and “anti-racism” in America. They discuss how conceptions of racism have changed, the u...
#216 — A Conversation with Graeme Wood
03 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Graeme Wood about the breakdown of social order in the U.S. They discuss the recent eruptions of violence, the loss of trust in...
#215 — A Conversation with David Miliband
21 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with David Miliband about his work with the International Rescue Committee. They discuss the crisis of internally displaced peoples ...
#214 — A Conversation with Siddhartha Mukherjee
13 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Siddhartha Mukherjee about our ongoing failure to adequately respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. They discuss the significance of...
#213 — The Worst Epidemic
04 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Gabriel Dance about the global epidemic of child sexual abuse. They discuss how misleading the concept of “child pornography”...
#212 — A Conversation with Kathryn Paige Harden
29 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Kathryn Paige Harden about public controversy over group differences in traits like intelligence and ongoing research in behavi...
#211 — The Nature of Human Nature
17 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Robert Plomin about the role that DNA plays in determining who we are. They discuss the birth of behavioral genetics, the taboo...
#210 — The Logic of Doomsday
09 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with William J. Perry and Lisa Perry about the ever-present threat of nuclear war. They discuss the history of nuclear weapons, the ...
#209 — A Good Life
03 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Scott Barry Kaufman about human well-being. They discuss intelligence and creativity, wisdom and transcendence, the history of ...
#208 — Existential Risk
23 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Toby Ord about preserving the long term future of humanity. They discuss moral biases with respect to distance in space and tim...
#207 — Can We Pull Back From The Brink?
13 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam discusses the recent social protests and civil unrest, in light of what we know about racism and police violence in America. If the Making Sense p...
#206 — A Conversation with David Frum
26 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with David Frum about the shifting political landscape. They discuss the secularization of politics, distrust of the media and other...
#205 — The Failure of Meritocracy
22 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Daniel Markovits about the problems with meritocracy. They discuss the nature of inequality in the United States, the disappear...
#204 — A Conversation with Jonathan Haidt
18 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Jonathan Haidt about the maintenance of a healthy society. They discuss the problem of orthodoxy, the history of political pola...
#203 — A Conversation with Caitlin Flanagan
13 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Caitlin Flanagan about her cancer recurrence and the response to her recent article in The Atlantic discussing it. They discus...
#202 — A Conversation with Andrew Yang
11 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Andrew Yang about the Covid-19 pandemic. They discuss the future of the middle class, Andrew’s experience campaigning for Pre...
#201 — A Conversation with Yuval Noah Harari
01 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Yuval Noah Harari about the Covid-19 pandemic and its future implications. They discuss the failures of global leadership, the ...
#200 — Creatures of Habit
29 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with James Clear about habit formation. They discuss the difference between creating good habits and discontinuing bad ones, the rol...
#199 — A Conversation with Caitlin Flanagan
24 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris and Caitlin Flanagan discuss the ethics of abortion, the fact that universities with immense endowments are laying off staff during the Cov...
#198 — A Conversation with Paul Bloom
16 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris and Paul Bloom discuss the false tradeoff between the economy and public health, putting a price on human life, framing effects for moral q...
#197 — A Conversation with Caitlin Flanagan
12 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Caitlin Flanagan. They discuss the different sorts of experiences people are having during the Covid-19 pandemic, what it has e...
#196 — The Science of Happiness
10 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Laurie Santos about the scientific study of happiness. They discuss people’s expectations about happiness, the experiencing s...
#195 — Social Cohesion is Everything
06 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with General Stanley McChrystal and Chris Fussell about the Covid-19 pandemic. They discuss the nature of the ongoing crisis, the th...
#194 — The New Future of Work
25 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Matt Mullenweg about the evolution of distributed work. They discuss the benefits of working from home, the new norms of knowle...
#193 — Meditation in an Emergency
20 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks about social contagion and about the importance of understanding one's own mind in an emergency. If the Making Sense podcast logo in...
#192 — A Conversation with Paul Bloom
17 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris and Paul Bloom speak about the psychology of adapting to the coronavirus pandemic, the disastrous analogy between coronavirus and flu, the ...
#191 — Early Thoughts on a Pandemic
11 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Amesh Adalja about the spreading coronavirus pandemic. They discuss the contagiousness of the virus and the severity of the res...
#190 — How Should We Respond to Coronavirus?
10 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Nicholas Christakis about the coronavirus pandemic. They discuss the likely effects on society, proactive vs reactive school cl...
#189 — Wealth & Happiness
02 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Scott Galloway about the connection between wealth and happiness. They discuss the problem of wealth inequality, the transfer o...
#188 — A Conversation with Paul Bloom
28 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris and Paul Bloom speak about the virtues of President Trump, the campaign prospects of Bloomberg and Sanders, the asymmetrical norms of the D...
#187 — A Conversation with Paul Bloom
21 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris and Paul Bloom speak about the epidemic of child sexual abuse, the ethics of loyalty, eugenics, existential risk, the Bloomberg and Sanders...
#186 — The Bomb
18 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Fred Kaplan about the ever-present threat of nuclear war. They discuss the history of nuclear deterrence, U.S. first-strike pol...
#185 — A Conversation with Paul Bloom
07 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris and Paul Bloom speak about "Trump Derangement Syndrome," inequality, the relationship between wealth and happiness, the downside of fame, p...
#184 — The Conversational Nature of Reality
03 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with poet David Whyte about the importance of work and relationships, the balance between training and expressing of one's talents, ...
#183 — A Conversation with Paul Bloom
28 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris and Paul Bloom discuss topics in the news including the tragic death of Kobe Bryant. They also explore the paradoxes of moral responsibilit...
#182 — Unlearning Race
23 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Thomas Chatterton Williams about the reality and politics of race. They discuss his book “Self Portrait in Black and White,”...
#181 — The Illusory Self
13 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Richard Lang about how to experience the world beyond the illusion of the self. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player...
#180 — Sex & Power
30 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Meghan Daum about her book “The Problem with Everything.” They discuss contemporary feminism, violence against women, campu...
#179 — The Unquiet Mind
17 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Judson Brewer about addiction, craving, and mindfulness. They discuss the nature of reward-based learning, the role of subjecti...
#178 — The Reality Illusion
11 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Sam and Annaka Harris speak with Donald Hoffman about his book “The Case Against Reality.” They discuss how evolution has failed to select for tru...
#177 — Psychedelic Science
02 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Roland Griffiths about the current state of research on psychedelics. They discuss the historical prohibition against their use...
#176 — Knowledge & Redemption
23 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Lynn Novick about her four-part documentary "College Behind Bars." The film follows the progress of students in the Bard Prison...
#175 — Leaving the Faith
11 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Yasmine Mohammed about her book "Unveiled: How Western Liberals Empower Radical Islam." They discuss her family background and ...
#174 — Life & Mind
04 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Richard Dawkins. They discuss the strangeness of the “gene’s-eye view" of the world, the limits of Darwinian thinking when ...
#173 — Anti-Semitism and Its Discontents
28 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Bari Weiss about her book “How to Fight anti-Semitism.” They discuss the three different strands of anti-Semitism (rightwin...
#172 — Among the Deplorables
21 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Andrew Marantz about his book “Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation...
#171 — Escaping a Christian Cult
08 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Megan Phelps-Roper about her book "Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church." If the Making Sense p...
#170 — The Great Uncoupling
02 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Andrew McAfee about the history of human progress and the modern uncoupling of our prosperity from resource consumption. They d...
#169 — Omens of a Race War
20 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Harris speaks with Kathleen Belew about the white power movement in the United States. They discuss white supremacy, white nationalism, white sepa...