Logo

Making Sense with Sam Harris

Transcribe your files Podcasts Home

Join neuroscientist, philosopher, and best-selling author Sam Harris as he explores important and controversial questions about the human mind, society, and current events.

Sam Harris is the author of five New York Times bestsellers. His books include The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation, The Moral Landscape, Free Will, Lying, Waking Up, and Islam and the Future of Tolerance (with Maajid Nawaz). The End of Faith won the 2005 PEN Award for Nonfiction. His writing and public lectures cover a wide range of topics—neuroscience, moral philosophy, religion, meditation practice, human violence, rationality—but generally focus on how a growing understanding of ourselves and the world is changing our sense of how we should live.

Harris's work has been published in more than 20 languages and has been discussed in The New York Times, Time, Scientific American, Nature, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and many other journals. He has written for The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Economist, The Times (London), The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, The Annals of Neurology, and elsewhere.

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

#229 — A Few Thoughts for a New Year

Making Sense with Sam Harris

  • 3K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 29:41

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris analyzes a few disturbing trends and shares his hopes for 2021. SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all content on samharris.org/subscribe

#228 — Doing Good

Making Sense with Sam Harris

  • 3.6K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 02:14:43

In this episode of the podcast, 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 support, the apparent tension between wealth and altruism, how best to think about generosity over the course of one's lifetime, and other topics. SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all content on samharris.org/subscribe

#227 — Knowing the Mind

Making Sense with Sam Harris

  • 2.1K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 46:48

In this episode of the podcast, Stephen Laureys interviews Sam Harris about meditation practice and the scientific study of the mind. They discuss why Sam began to practice meditation, the difference between dualistic and nondualistic mindfulness, the search for happiness, wisdom vs knowledge, our relationship with death, the Buddhist doctrine of rebirth, the hard problem of consciousness, the role of introspection in science, meditation and free will, the self and the brain, the difference between voluntary and involuntary actions, dangerous knowledge, the mystery of being, the power of hypnosis, and other topics. SUBSCRIBE to continue listening and gain access to all content on samharris.org/subscribe  

Making Sense with Sam Harris

Making Sense with Sam Harris

  • 1.2K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 01:41

Join Sam Harris as he explores some of the most important questions about the human mind, society, and current events. SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all content on samharris.org/subscribe.

#226 — The Price of Distraction

Making Sense with Sam Harris

  • 1.7K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 44:17

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Adam Gazzaley about the way our technology is changing us. They discuss our limited ability to process information, our failures of multitasking, "top-down" vs "bottom-up" attention, self-interruptions and switching costs, anxiety, boredom, "digital medicine," neuroplasticity, video games for training the mind, the future of brain-machine interface, and other topics. SUBSCRIBE to continue listening and gain access to all content on samharris.org/subscribe  

#225 — Republic of Lies

Making Sense with Sam Harris

  • 2.3K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 31:35

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris discusses President Trump's failure to concede the 2020 presidential election. SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all content on samharris.org/subscribe

#224 — The Key to Trump's Appeal

Making Sense with Sam Harris

  • 2K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 08:22

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris describes his new understanding of why people support President Trump. SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all content on samharris.org/subscribe

#223 — October 30, 2020

Making Sense with Sam Harris

  • 1.3K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 01:35:34

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris and Andrew Sullivan sing the praises of President Trump. SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all content on samharris.org/subscribe

#222 — A Pandemic of Incompetence

Making Sense with Sam Harris

  • 1.3K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 01:05:01

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Nicholas Christakis about the Covid-19 pandemic. They discuss the breakdown of trust in institutions and experts, the corruption of science by politics, the ineptitude of the Trump administration in handling the pandemic, whether the gravity of Covid-19 has been exaggerated, preparing for future pandemics, whether Covid deaths are being over-reported, bad incentives in the medical system, tracking "excess death" statistics, the prospect that the novel coronavirus will evolve to become more benign, the efficacy of current treatments, safety concerns about a rushed vaccine, the importance of public health communication, when life might return to normal, the economic impact of the pandemic, long term social changes, the future of universities, Nicholas's personal habits during the pandemic, the importance of rapid testing, and other topics. SUBSCRIBE to continue listening and gain access to all content on samharris.org/subscribe

#221 — Success, Failure, & the Common Good

Making Sense with Sam Harris

  • 1.6K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 46:48

In this episode of the podcast, 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 the self-made man, the moral significance of luck, the backlash against "elites" and expertise, how we value human excellence, the connection between wealth and value creation, the ethics of the tax code, higher education as a sorting mechanism for a caste system, alternatives to 4-year colleges, and other topics. SUBSCRIBE to continue listening and gain access to all content on samharris.org/subscribe

#220 - The Information Apocalypse

Making Sense with Sam Harris

  • 1.3K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 47:59

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Nina Schick about the growing epidemic of misinformation and disinformation. They discuss the coming problem of “deep fakes,” the history of Russian “active measures” against the West, the weaponization of the EU migration crisis, Russian targeting of the African-American community, the future of Europe, Trump and rise of political cynicism, QAnon, the prospect of violence surrounding the 2020 Presidential election, and other topics. SUBSCRIBE to continue listening and gain access to all content on samharris.org/subscribe.

#219 — The Power of Compassion

Making Sense with Sam Harris

  • 1.7K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 48:17

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with James R. Doty about his memoir “Into the Magic Shop.” They discuss the significance of childhood stress, the possibility of changing one’s core beliefs about oneself, the relationship between surgeons and their patients, the nature of compassion, the Dalai Lama, the relationship between wealth and empathy, the worsening problem of social inequality, the physiology of compassion, the broken healthcare system in the U.S., and other topics. SUBSCRIBE to continue listening and gain access to all content on samharris.org/subscribe  

#218 — Welcome to the Cult Factory

Making Sense with Sam Harris

  • 2K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 47:22

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 rise in teen depression and suicide, political polarization, conspiracy theories, information warfare, the decoupling of power and responsibility, the distinctions between platforms and publishers, the cancellation of Alex Jones, social media-inspired ethnic cleansing, concerns about the upcoming presidential election, culture as an operating system, and other topics. SUBSCRIBE to continue listening and gain access to all content on samharris.org/subscribe

#217 — The New Religion of Anti-Racism

Making Sense with Sam Harris

  • 2.6K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 01:11:49

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with John McWhorter about race, racism, and “anti-racism” in America. They discuss how conceptions of racism have changed, the ubiquitous threat of being branded a “racist,” the contradictions within identity politics, recent echoes of the OJ verdict, willingness among progressives to lose the 2020 election, racism as the all-purpose explanation of racial disparities in the U.S., double standards for the black community, the war on drugs, the lure of identity politics, police violence, the enduring riddle of affirmative action, the politics of “black face,” and other topics. SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all content on samharris.org/subscribe

#216 — September 3, 2020

Making Sense with Sam Harris

  • 1.2K views
  • over 3 years ago
  • 50:49

In this episode of the podcast, 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 the media, the cases of Jacob Blake and Kyle Rittenhouse, how to understand police videos, the risks of vigilantism, the politicization of race, the problem of deep fakes, Trump not actually wanting to be president, the prospect that Trump might attempt to pardon himself, and other topics. SUBSCRIBE to continue listening and gain access to all content on samharris.org/subscribe