Making Sense with Sam Harris

Sam Harris reflects on the 25th anniversary of September 11th. He discusses how witnessing the second plane hit the World Trade Center crystallized what he would later articulate in The End of Faith, arguing that the failure to take religious belief seriously as a motivating force has been a persistent blind spot with severe geopolitical consequences. The episode traces a throughline from 9/11 to October 7th, critiques the intellectual confusion he calls 'Islamo-leftism' and the weaponization of the term 'Islamophobia,' and addresses the moral and strategic costs of the war on terror, including the abandonment of America's Afghan allies.

Sam Harris speaks with journalist James Kirchick about the growing influence of the far left on Democratic Party politics. They discuss Kirchick's article 'The DSA Is a Parasite,' focusing on the Democratic Socialists of America's platform, foreign policy positions, and the strategy of entryism—running candidates as Democrats while holding fundamentally anti-Democratic views. The conversation covers the alliance between Islamists and the far left, the ideology of Third Worldism, and the candidacy of Zohran Mamdani, as well as broader issues of antisemitism on the left, polling on political violence, and Kirchick's departure from The New York Times.

Sam Harris and Preet Bharara examine the erosion of good-faith political debate in America. They explore how fragmented media incentivizes tribalism, why legal attacks on Trump often backfire and strengthen him, and the crucial distinction between lying and bullshitting as described by philosopher Harry Frankfurt. The conversation also diagnoses the Democratic Party's failures and considers what it would take to restore institutional norms ahead of 2028.

In this episode of the More From Sam series, Sam Harris and Jaron Lanier discuss a range of current events. They cover the death of Cambridge professor Jason Arday and the institutions that promoted him, America's deteriorating position in the war with Iran, the witch hunt against Anthony Fauci, AOC's prospects in 2028, two former NBA players trolling the WNBA's eligibility rules, the strange appeal of Nick Fuentes, why pacifism fails against real evil, and a community question on parenthood and mortality.

Sam Harris speaks with psychologist Daniel Kahneman at the Beacon Theatre in NYC. They discuss the replication crisis in science, the two-system model of thinking, where intuitions fail, the power of framing, moral illusions, anticipated regret, the asymmetry between threats and opportunities, the remembering self vs. the experiencing self, and improving the quality of gossip.

In a rare role reversal, Sam Harris is the one answering questions as Neal Brennan interviews him about the experiences that shaped his life and work. The conversation ranges from Harris's childhood—his mother's television career and absent father—to college-era experimentation with MDMA, dropping out of Stanford, and the decade of meditation retreats that followed. Later turns touch on the illusion of self, the limits of pacifism, the pull of spiritual charisma, and Harris's decision to delete Twitter, all woven into a broader reflection on politics, hypocrisy, and the future of American democracy.

Sam Harris speaks with Cameron Berg about whether current AI systems could be conscious. They discuss self-reports in LLMs, the hard problem of consciousness, the risks of creating suffering machines, and parallels to factory farming. The conversation also covers the alignment problem and the moral status of potential AI minds. Annaka Harris's upcoming book Unlocking Consciousness is mentioned.

Sam Harris interviews behavioral geneticist Kathryn Paige Harden about her book Original Sin, exploring how genetics, environment, and luck shape behavior and moral responsibility. They examine why behavioral genetics remains controversial, what heritability actually means, the paradox of how biological explanations can increase blame rather than decrease it, and the ethical implications of embryo selection.

Sam Harris speaks with oncologist and author Siddhartha Mukherjee about the latest cancer science and the updated edition of his landmark book The Emperor of All Maladies. They explore whether cancer is one disease or many, why prevention remains elusive despite our knowledge, the role of inflammation and air pollution as carcinogens, debunk the cell phone cancer myth, discuss liquid biopsies and Bayesian reasoning in diagnosis, examine immunotherapy breakthroughs like CAR T cells, and consider AI's potential in drug discovery and the structural problems in American medical pricing.

Sam Harris and psychologist Paul Bloom explore how AI is reshaping human connection, from AI companions addressing loneliness to the ethics of digitally recreating the dead. They discuss whether AI can be conscious, the importance of mattering to others, and broader questions about technology's role in intimacy and meaning.

Sam Harris speaks with Alain de Botton about the psychology of unhappiness and how we create our own suffering through false expectations and rigid belief systems. The conversation explores the secular world's avoidance of ritual and ecstasy, the role of psychedelics in self-discovery, meritocracy's psychological costs, cancel culture as a purity trap, and what mortality reveals about how we construct meaning.

Sam Harris and co-host Jaron discuss several listener-submitted topics from the Making Sense Community. They touch on the concept of a one-world government, the shifting value of a college degree as AI disrupts careers, and ethical questions around factory farming. The conversation also covers Mahmood Mamdani's DSA-aligned candidates, Trump's handling of the Iran deal, and the story of Tulsi Gabbard's guru.

Richard Dawkins presents Sam Harris with the 2026 Richard Dawkins Award at a live Center for Inquiry event. The two friends discuss consciousness and epiphenomenalism, AI and the Turing test, the scientific basis of morality, failures of democracy and Trump's corruption, philosophy's role in public discourse, belief change, Sam's meditation practice, and Christopher Hitchens' legacy.

Sam Harris speaks with economist Noah Smith about the structural challenges facing the U.S. economy: the mechanics of national debt and inflation, why low interest rates were squandered, AI's potential to restructure labor and ownership, wealth inequality, and demographic decline. They examine whether fiscal austerity or modern monetary theory offers better solutions, why the degrowth movement has failed, and how smartphone culture is reshaping democratic participation.

Sam Harris and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla explore the economic and political consequences of AI-driven automation. They discuss mass job displacement, a trillion-dollar redistribution framework to share AI's gains, wealth tax failures, corporate political alignment, and US-China competition for technological dominance.

Sam Harris speaks with Robin Carhart-Harris, a leading neuroscientist and psychedelic researcher. They discuss the current state of psychedelic science, including the FDA's recent denial of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD and the critical importance of set and setting. Carhart-Harris explains the REBUS model of how psychedelics relax the brain's high-level beliefs, the role of the default mode network in ego dissolution, and what microdosing research has (and hasn't) shown. The conversation also touches on the neuroscience of consciousness and the puzzling phenomenology of DMT entities.

Sam Harris and Jaron Lanier discuss recent geopolitical crises and emerging technologies. Topics include the Trump administration's failed Iran strategy, the information warfare surrounding Gaza and October 7, disputed reporting on Israeli prisoner treatment, the implications of AI-generated music, Claude's recent mathematical breakthrough, and ethical questions around GLP-1 use concealment. The episode balances current events analysis with longer-term technological and ethical concerns.

Sam Harris and Susan Cain explore how AI is reshaping human creativity, writing, and culture. They discuss whether AI will diminish or revitalize the humanities, the role of sadness in human flourishing, and what psychedelics reveal about consciousness and therapeutic potential. The conversation frames AI's emergence as a pivot point for how we value distinctly human work.

Sam Harris and Michael Pollan explore consciousness through multiple lenses: whether it emerged through evolution, its relationship to intelligence, the role of psychedelics in understanding subjective experience, and the possibility of machine consciousness. They examine the illusion of self and grapple with why consciousness exists at all—the central mystery that separates the easy problems of explaining behavior from the hard problem of explaining why experience feels like something.

Sam Harris and Jaron Lanier discuss current events including the launch of Making Sense Community, Sam's conversation with Ben Shapiro, the New York Times's coverage of Hasan Piker, Zohran Mamdani's approach to Islamism, misuse of the word 'genocide,' and AI-driven job displacement. The episode covers media dynamics, political discourse, and technological disruption.

Sam Harris interviews Lloyd Blankfein, former CEO of Goldman Sachs, about finance, power, and moral failure in American institutions. They discuss Blankfein's memoir, Goldman's role as a market maker during the 2008 crisis, the current AI investment bubble, wealth inequality and the rise of billionaires, antisemitism across the political spectrum, Trump-era corruption, and the erosion of shared truth in politics.

Sam Harris and Ben Shapiro discuss the ideological fractures and surprising turns on the political right, including Trump's second-term policies, the rise of conspiracy thinking, antisemitism's role as a foundational conspiracy narrative, and tensions over Israel-Palestine. The conversation explores how principled conservatism has been displaced by tribal loyalty and conspiracy-driven politics.

Sam Harris and Francis Fukuyama discuss the misunderstood thesis of "The End of History," the mutation of conservatism into ethno-nationalism, and the self-defeating extremes of identity politics and neoliberalism. They examine Trump's second term, geopolitical tensions including Iran and Israel, and the resurgence of antisemitism across the political spectrum.

Sam Harris speaks with Rahm Emanuel about the Democratic Party's strategic challenges heading into 2028, including identity politics, antisemitism across the political spectrum, U.S.-China policy, wealth inequality, and Emanuel's potential presidential ambitions. They explore how Democrats lost messaging dominance on cultural issues and examine the party's response to recent global crises.

Sam Harris speaks with Rahm Emanuel about American politics, the state of the Democratic Party, and the 2028 presidential race.

Sam Harris speaks with Tristan Harris about the dangers of AI and the race to build it.

In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events.

Sam Harris speaks with William MacAskill about effective altruism, AI, and the future of humanity.

Sam Harris speaks with Nicholas Christakis about technology, society, and human nature.

In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events.

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.

Sam Harris speaks with Rob Reid about biosecurity, pandemic risk, and the alarming fragility of our defenses against biological catastrophe.

In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events. They discuss whether the U.S.

Sam Harris speaks with Garry Kasparov about the erosion of American democracy and the global authoritarian threat.

Sam Harris speaks with Jonah Goldberg about the state of American conservatism and the Trump presidency.

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 looming end of white-collar work, the impact of Trump's immigration crackdown on U.S.

Sam Harris speaks with Sarah Longwell and Tim Miller about Trump and the future of American politics.

In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events.

Sam Harris speaks with Jonathan Rauch about the emergence of fascism in American politics.

In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events.

In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron dive into the chaotic start to 2026.

Sam Harris speaks with Judea Pearl about causality, AI, and antisemitism.

Sam Harris speaks with John McWhorter about language, ideology, and moral certainty.

Sam Harris on why mindfulness is a practical skill for reclaiming clarity and presence. A solo reflection on how meditation practice changes the texture of daily life — not by adding something but by removing the constant commentary.

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 training your mind the foundation for everything else in the year ahead.

In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events.

Ross Douthat on religion, modernity, and what can steady a culture that feels increasingly unmoored. Harris and Douthat disagree about God but agree that secular society hasn't replaced religion's meaning-making function.

Sam Harris speaks with Ross Douthat about religion, modernity, and what can steady a culture that feels increasingly unmoored. They discuss the case for faith in an age of digital disembodiment, declining birthrates, and looming AI-driven upheaval.

Sam Harris speaks with David Edmonds about moral philosophy and effective altruism.

Sam Harris speaks with Peter Zeihan about Trump's second term and its economic and geopolitical consequences.

Sam Harris speaks with Michael Plant about the philosophy of happiness and effective altruism.

Michael Plant on the philosophy and science of well-being. His Happier Lives Institute argues that mental health interventions are the most cost-effective way to reduce suffering — more effective per dollar than many traditional development programs.

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 Substack.

Sam Harris speaks with George Packer about American democracy and authoritarianism.

Sam Harris speaks with Douglas Wilson about his book Frequently Shouted Questions about Christian Nationalism. They discuss Wilson's debates with Christopher Hitchens, the landscape of American evangelicalism, young-earth creationism, pre- vs.

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 Substack.

Sam Harris speaks with Stephen Marche about his book The Next Civil War: Dispatches from the American Future.

Sam Harris speaks with Robert D. Kaplan about his new book, Waste Land: A World in Permanent Crisis.

Sam Harris speaks with Damon Linker about the erosion of American democracy.

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 Substack.

Ross Douthat makes the case for religious faith in an age of digital disembodiment, declining birthrates, and looming AI-driven upheaval. Harris and Douthat debate whether secular frameworks can provide the meaning and community that religion historically supplied.

Peter Zeihan discusses the economic and geopolitical consequences of Trump's second term, covering tariff policies, deglobalization, the AI investment bubble, China's economic trajectory, and why demographics are destiny in the 21st century.

Sam Harris reflects on the 2024 presidential election results. A solo episode on political polarization, the failure of institutions, and the responsibility of individuals to maintain moral clarity in turbulent times.

Mark Cuban on the 2024 presidential election, political polarization, and the responsibility of public figures to engage with ideas rather than retreat into tribalism.

Nate Silver on risk, prediction, and the psychology of gambling. His book On the Edge explores how professional risk-takers think differently from the rest of us — and what politics can learn from poker.

Sara Imari Walker on the physics of life. Life isn't defined by chemistry but by information — the ability of a system to generate and maintain causal structure over time. Assembly theory as a new framework for understanding what makes matter alive.

Mark Cuban discusses the 2024 presidential election, Trump's ethics, the influence of Elon Musk on politics, immigration policy, wealth inequality, and why he believes capitalism needs guardrails to survive.

Yuval Noah Harari on his book Nexus and how information networks — from the Bible to AI — have always been about power, not truth. Every information revolution creates new forms of social organization and new forms of tyranny.

Nick Bostrom on his book Deep Utopia and what happens after AI solves everything. If superintelligent AI eliminates scarcity, disease, and death — what gives life meaning? The problem of meaning in a post-work world.

Barton Gellman on election integrity and how democracies fail. The mechanisms that protect elections are more fragile than most people realize. Surveillance, misinformation, and institutional erosion threaten democratic self-governance.

Yuval Noah Harari discusses his book Nexus, examining information networks throughout history and arguing that the real danger of AI is not sentience but the creation of the first non-human information network capable of making decisions that shape civilization.

William MacAskill on the future of effective altruism after the FTX collapse. The movement's core ideas survive the scandal: rigorous reasoning about where to direct resources for maximum impact. But institutional failures require honest reckoning.

Nicholas Christakis on how technology reshapes social networks and human nature. Despite technological disruption, the fundamental social behaviors that define us — cooperation, friendship, hierarchy — are remarkably stable across cultures and centuries.

Yoshua Bengio — Turing Award-winning AI pioneer — on why he now supports AI regulation. The same person who helped build deep learning now warns that the technology could pose existential risks without proper safeguards.

Renée DiResta on the state of our information landscape. Former Stanford Internet Observatory researcher on how misinformation, propaganda, and algorithmic amplification create alternate realities. The challenge of maintaining shared truth.

Nate Silver discusses cultural attitudes toward risk, the erosion of trust in institutions, election forecasting, AI existential risk, and why the personality traits that make someone a good poker player also make them a good forecaster.

Anne Applebaum on modern autocracy. Her book Autocracy, Inc. reveals how authoritarian regimes now cooperate as a network — sharing surveillance technology, financial tools, and propaganda techniques across borders.

Greg Lukianoff on free speech and cancel culture. The concept of safetyism has migrated from campus to the broader culture. Lukianoff argues this represents a fundamental misunderstanding of what makes people psychologically resilient.

Sam Harris revisits the central argument of The Moral Landscape: moral truths exist and science can discover them. Values relate to facts about the well-being of conscious creatures. The is-ought gap is a philosophical illusion.

Cal Newport on the crisis in knowledge work. Email and Slack destroyed deep work. His solution: redesign workflows around human cognition rather than forcing human cognition to adapt to digital tools. Slow Productivity as an alternative to hustle culture.

Cass Sunstein on habituation — the psychological mechanism of getting used to things. We habituate to both good and bad. This explains the hedonic treadmill but also political normalization: outrageous things become normal through repetition.

Robert Sapolsky on why free will is an illusion. Every decision traces back to neural firing patterns shaped by genetics, hormones, childhood, and environment. There is no moment where a 'you' independent of biology steps in to choose.

Tristan Harris on the AI arms race. The same attention-extracting dynamics that broke social media are being replicated in the AI race — but with higher stakes. Labs are racing to deploy capabilities faster than safety research can keep up.

Peter Zeihan on the unraveling of the post-WWII global order. Demographics, energy, and geography — not ideology — drive geopolitics. Most countries face demographic collapse. America's geographic advantages make it the last superpower standing.

Coleman Hughes on colorblindness as a moral ideal. His book The End of Race Politics argues that treating people as individuals rather than members of racial groups is both morally superior and more practically effective than race-consciousness.

Rory Stewart on the fraying world order and the hubris of intervention. Walking across Afghanistan taught him that reality is far more complex than policymakers imagine. The West's failures stem from overconfidence in its own understanding.

Sam Harris opens 2024 with a solo reflection on maintaining intellectual and emotional sanity in an increasingly chaotic information environment. The role of contemplative practice in sustaining clear thinking.