Podcasts · Science · Society & Culture

Making Sense with Sam Harris

Sam Harris

300 episodes

Join neuroscientist, philosopher, and five-time New York Times best-selling author Sam Harris as he explores important and controversial questions about the mind, society, current events, moral philosophy, religion, and rationality—with an overarching focus on how a growing understanding of ourselves and the world is changing our sense of how we should live.

More about the show

Sam is also the creator of the Waking Up app. Combining Sam's decades of mindfulness practice, profound wisdom from varied philosophical and contemplative traditions, and a commitment to a secular, scientific worldview, Waking Up is a resource for anyone interested in living a more examined, fulfilling life—and a new operating system for the mind.

Waking Up offers free subscriptions to anyone who can't afford one, and donates a minimum of 10% of profits to the most effective charities around the world. To learn more, please go to WakingUp.com.

Sam Harris received a degree in philosophy from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA.

Episodes page 1 of 6

  1. #499 — The Birth of AGI

    · 21 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Kevin Roose about the race to build artificial general intelligence. They discuss Roose's book The AGI Chronicles, the scaling laws behind AI's rapid progress, Dario Amodei's "big blob of…

  2. #498 — More From Sam: Bond Villains, Useful Idiots, Firing Squads, and More

    · 23 min

    In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events. They discuss Alex Gibney's documentary on Elon Musk, Dara Horn's insights into antisemitism, the Democrats' Hasan Piker…

  3. #497 — The Confidence Man

    · 22 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Alex Gibney about his new documentary, Musk. They discuss Sam's former friendship with Musk, the line between visionary and con man, the myth of Tesla's founding, the staged self-driving video,…

  4. #496 — The Oldest Lie

    · 1 h 40 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Dara Horn about antisemitism, Jewish identity, and the failure of institutions. They discuss Horn's new book, why Jews predate the categories of religion and nationality, antisemitism as a lie…

  5. #495 — Foreign Policy for Sale

    · 18 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Anne Applebaum about corruption, authoritarianism, and America's retreat from the world. They discuss her Atlantic cover story, the revolutionary project behind Trump's second term, US support…

  6. #494 — A Coin Toss for the Future

    · 1 h 33 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Ryan Greenblatt about AI misalignment and the risk of losing control of increasingly capable systems. They discuss the Hugging Face incident, the spectrum of concern about AI risk, why companies…

  7. #493 — Two Reasons to Meditate

    · 13 min

    Meditation can help us live better. It can also help us understand what is true about our own minds. These motivations might seem fundamentally different, but Sam explains why they're two aspects of the same project.…

  8. #492 — The Second Plane, 25 Years Later

    · 38 min

    On the 25th anniversary of September 11th, Sam discusses the significance of the second plane, the writing of The End of Faith, the failure to take jihadist belief seriously, the costs of the war on terror, the…

  9. #491 — The Suicide of the Left

    · 26 min

    Sam Harris speaks with James Kirchick about the far left's growing influence over Democratic politics. They discuss Kirchick's article "The DSA Is a Parasite," the group's platform and foreign policy, entryism, the…

  10. #490 — Lies, Bulls**t, and the Rule of Law

    · 24 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Preet Bharara about the collapse of good faith debate in American politics. They discuss the fragmentation of media, the treatment of Anthony Fauci, the rush to prosecute political opponents,…

  11. #489 — More From Sam: A Fabulist at Cambridge, the Strait of Hormuz, AOC in 2028, and More

    · 24 min

    In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events. They discuss the death of Cambridge professor Jason Arday and the institutions that promoted him, America's deteriorating…

  12. #150 — The Map of Misunderstanding (From the Archive)

    · 48 min

    From the archive: In this 2019 episode, Sam Harris speaks with Daniel Kahneman at the Beacon Theatre in NYC. They discuss the replication crisis in science, System 1 and System 2, where intuitions reliably fail, expert…

  13. #488 — Ego, Ecstasy, and Equanimity

    · 13 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Neal Brennan about the experiences that shaped his life and work. They discuss Sam's mother's television career, growing up with an absent father, his struggles with perfectionism, his first…

  14. #487 — Is AI Already Conscious?

    · 1 h 26 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Cameron Berg about whether AI systems are or could become conscious. They discuss self-reports in LLMs, what models say when deception is switched off, the "bliss attractor" state, consciousness…

  15. #486 — Luck All the Way Down

    · 21 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Kathryn Paige Harden about behavioral genetics, moral luck, and the problem of blame. They discuss Harden's book Original Sin, the controversy over Charles Murray and Ezra Klein, why behavioral…

  16. #485 — The New Science of Cancer

    · 1 h 21 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Siddhartha Mukherjee about the science of cancer. They discuss the updated edition of The Emperor of All Maladies, whether cancer is one disease or many, why prevention is so hard, inflammation…

  17. #484 — Artificial Intimacy

    · 27 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Paul Bloom about our relationships with AI and the future of human connection. They discuss the surprising pace of AI progress, AI companions as a remedy for loneliness, the importance of…

  18. #483 — The Knots We Tie Ourselves Into

    · 23 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Alain de Botton about the psychology of unhappiness, the secular world's discomfort with ecstasy and ritual, psychedelics as a tool for self-discovery, Freud's legacy, AI as the ultimate mirror,…

  19. #482 — More From Sam: The Iran Deal, College in the AI Age, Mamdani's DSA, and More

    · 22 min

    In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events. They discuss topics from Making Sense Community, including one-world government, the value of a degree as AI reshapes…

  20. #481 — Sam Harris Receives the 2026 Richard Dawkins Award

    · 55 min

    Richard Dawkins presents Sam Harris with the 2026 Richard Dawkins Award at a live Center for Inquiry event. After the tribute, the two friends discuss consciousness and epiphenomenalism, AI and the Turing test, the…

  21. #480 — The Economics of Everything

    · 25 min

    Sam Harris speaks with economist and Substack writer Noah Smith about the U.S. national debt, wealth inequality, and the economic consequences of AI. They discuss the mechanics of debt and inflation, the case for…

  22. #479 — When Robots Take Over

    · 15 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Vinod Khosla about AI, economic disruption, and political risk. They discuss the prospect of mass job displacement, a trillion-dollar policy framework to redistribute AI's gains, the failure of…

  23. #478 — The Psychedelic Mind

    · 30 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Robin Carhart-Harris about psychedelic research and its therapeutic potential. They discuss the current state of the field, the FDA denial of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD, the critical role of…

  24. #477 — More From Sam: Iran's Unraveling, The Gaza Information War, AI-Generated Music, and More

    · 22 min

    Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence against civilians during the October 7 attacks (33:49 - 34:35). Listener discretion is advised. In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam…

  25. #476 — The Bittersweet Age

    · 23 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Susan Cain about writing, creativity, and what AI means for human culture. They discuss the future of books and reading, the tells AI inherits from good writers, why the advent of AI may spark a…

  26. #475 — The Hard Problem of Consciousness

    · 26 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Michael Pollan about consciousness, the mind, and the self. They discuss Pollan's new book, the relationship between consciousness and intelligence, whether consciousness is a product of…

  27. #474 — More From Sam: Hasan Piker, Islamism, Making Sense Community, and More

    · 17 min

    In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events. They discuss the launch of Making Sense Community, Sam's Ben Shapiro conversation, the New York Times's embrace of Hasan…

  28. #473 — Money, Power, and Moral Failure

    · 22 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Lloyd Blankfein about finance, politics, and the state of American society. They discuss Blankfein's memoir, Goldman Sachs and its role as a market maker, the 2007-2008 financial crisis, the AI…

  29. #472 — Strange Days on the Right

    · 16 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Ben Shapiro about their pre-election debate and the fractures on the right. They discuss Trump's second term surprises, familial corruption, tariff policy, the ideological world of Tucker…

  30. #471 — The End of History, Revisited

    · 19 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Francis Fukuyama about liberal democracy, American politics, and global order. They discuss the misunderstood thesis of "The End of History," how conservatism has mutated into ethno-nationalism,…

  31. #470 — Democrats at a Crossroads

    · 22 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Rahm Emanuel about American politics, the state of the Democratic Party, and the 2028 presidential race. They discuss Emanuel's possible presidential run, identity politics and the left's…

  32. #469 — Escaping an Anti-Human Future

    · 1 h 49 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Tristan Harris about the dangers of AI and the race to build it. They discuss the new documentary The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, the lessons of The Social Dilemma, the arms race…

  33. #468 — More From Sam: Gratitude, Bad Conversations, Conspiracy Addiction, Waffle House Teleportation, and More

    · 33 min

    In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events. They discuss how to cultivate gratitude and navigate anxiety in uncertain times, the role of mindfulness in coping with…

  34. #467 — EA, AI, and the End of Work

    · 30 min

    Sam Harris speaks with William MacAskill about effective altruism, AI, and the future of humanity. They discuss the post-FTX recovery of the EA movement, global health and pandemic preparedness, the limits of…

  35. #466 — What Is Technology Doing to Us?

    · 19 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Nicholas Christakis about technology, society, and human nature. They discuss the harms of modern communication technology, polarization and anomie, how AI agents can improve human cooperation,…

  36. #465 — More From Sam: Iran, Jihadism, Conspiracism, AI Disruption, the Manosphere, and More

    · 36 min

    In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events. They discuss the Iran war and the Trump administration's shambolic messaging, antisemitism and moral confusion on the left…

  37. #464 — The Politics of Pragmatism and the Future of California

    · 1 h 22 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Matt Mahan, mayor of San Jose and Democratic candidate for governor of California, about governance, pragmatism, and California's policy failures. They discuss the dysfunction of progressive…

  38. #463 — Privatizing the Apocalypse

    · 22 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Rob Reid about biosecurity, pandemic risk, and the alarming fragility of our defenses against biological catastrophe. They discuss the controversial USAID program DEEP VZN, the dangers of…

  39. #462 — More From Sam: The Iran War, American Amorality, Addressing Hopelessness, Tucker, and More

    · 20 min

    In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events. They discuss whether the U.S. was right to take military action against Iran, the new era of American amorality, antisemitism…

  40. #461 — Dictators Always Tell You What They'll Do

    · 29 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Garry Kasparov about the erosion of American democracy and the global authoritarian threat. They discuss Trump's systematic corruption, the GOP's moral collapse, the 2026 midterms as a decisive…

  41. #460 — When the Center Cannot Hold

    · 22 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Jonah Goldberg about the state of American conservatism and the Trump presidency. They discuss the politicization of federal institutions, the erosion of legal norms, the schism between Never…

  42. #459 — More From Sam: Corruption, Immigration, The End of White-Collar Work, and More

    · 9:56

    In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events. They discuss Trump's cryptocurrency dealings with the UAE and their national security implications, AI timelines and the…

  43. #458 — The Bulwark Against MAGA

    · 59 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Sarah Longwell and Tim Miller about Trump and the future of American politics. They discuss the origins of The Bulwark, the bewildering psychology of Trump's base, the new era of authenticity,…

  44. #457 — More From Sam: The Epstein Files, The Newsom Factor, Don Lemon's Arrest, AI Market Disruption, and More

    · 16 min

    In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events. They discuss Sam's unexpected appearance in the Epstein files, the revolting behavior of various public figures named, the…

  45. #456 — American Fascism

    · 21 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Jonathan Rauch about the emergence of fascism in American politics. They discuss Rauch's article, "Yes, It's Fascism," the 18 criteria of fascism, the glorification and unapologetic use of state…

  46. #455 — More From Sam: Guns, Propaganda, AI, and Power Unbound

    · 12 min

    In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events. They discuss the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, the lack of outrage from gun culture, the escalating humanitarian…

  47. #454 — More From Sam: Minnesota, Greenland, Iran, S**thole Countries, and More

    · 17 min

    In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron dive into the chaotic start to 2026. They discuss the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis, the Trump administration's response and rhetoric, the "evil…

  48. #453 — AI and the New Face of Antisemitism

    · 22 min

    Sam Harris speaks with Judea Pearl about causality, AI, and antisemitism. They discuss why LLMs won't spawn AGI, alignment concerns in the race for AGI, Pearl's public life after the murder of his son Daniel, the…

  49. #452 — Is Wokeness Finally Dead?

    · 21 min

    Sam Harris speaks with John McWhorter about language, ideology, and moral certainty. They discuss the rise and persistence of "wokeness" and DEI, the legacy of George Floyd's death, the role of social media in…

  50. #451 — The One Resolution That Matters Most

    · 9:29

    As digital distraction increasingly fragments our attention, Sam explains why mindfulness is a practical skill for reclaiming clarity and presence. Begin a mindfulness practice using the Waking Up app, and make…

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