Making Sense with Sam Harris - Subscriber Content

Sam Harris speaks with biologist David Krakauer about information, intelligence, the role of IQ, complex systems, technological advancement, the future of humanity, and other topics. David Krakauer is President and William H. Miller Professor of Complex Systems at the Santa Fe Institute. His research explores the evolution of intelligence on earth. This includes studying the evolution of genetic,...

Essays mentioned in this podcast: Reflections on “Free Will” by Daniel C. Dennett The Marionette’s Lament by Sam Harris

Sam Harris reads and discusses the second chapter of “The End of Faith.” However, the first hour of this podcast focuses on Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and the political implications of the recent terrorist attack in Orlando. Discussion of The End of Faith begins at 1:04:30.

Neil deGrasse Tyson is the head of Hayden Planetarium in New York City and the first occupant of its Frederick P. Rose Directorship. He is also a research associate of the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. His research interests include star formation, exploding stars, dwarf galaxies, and the structure of our Milky Way. Tyson is the recipient of nineteen honorar...

Juliette Kayyem is one of the nation’s leading experts in homeland security. A former member of the National Commission on Terrorism, and the state of Massachusetts’ first homeland security advisor, Kayyem served as President Obama’s Assistant Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security where she handled crises from the H1N1 pandemic to the BP Oil Spill.  Presently a faculty member at Harvard...

In this episode of the Making Sense podcast, Sam Harris reads and discusses the first chapter of The End of Faith.

Sam Harris speaks with philosopher David Chalmers about the nature of consciousness, the challenges of understanding it scientifically, and the prospect that we will one day build it into our machines. David Chalmers is Professor of Philosophy and co-director of the Center for Mind, Brain, and Consciousness at New York University, and also holds a part-time position at the Australian National Univ...

Anxiety is a monster that is crippling and paralyzed and keeps you in a loop of debiliating negative emotions even when one desperately wants out. What are the causes? What can one do to help themselves? What steps big or small do you suggest? What are your thoughts on immortality or at least living a very very long time as pursued by researchers like Aubrey de Grey? Do you think it's possible? Do...

Sam Harris talks to Omer Aziz about Islam, Islamism, free speech, and related topics.

Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist at the NYU-Stern School of Business. He received his Ph. D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992, and spent most of his career (1995-2011) at the University of Virginia. Haidt’s research examines the intuitive foundations of morality, and how morality varies across cultures–including the cultures of American progressives, conservatives, and libertaria...

Michael Weiss is a Senior Editor at The Daily Beast and co-author of the New York Times bestseller ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror . He also edits The Interpreter, an online translation and analysis journal devoted to all things Russian and Ukrainian. To support the Making Sense podcast, please visit: https://www.samharris.org/support

Sam Harris responds to criticism of his views on the Apple-FBI controversy and then speaks with Maryam Namazie about friendly fire among secularists, profiling, the immigration crisis in Europe, and other topics. Maryam Namazie is an Iranian-born atheist, a secularist, and a human rights activist. She is a spokesperson for a variety of organizations, including Fitnah (a movement for women’s libera...

Sam Harris offers a few more thoughts on Clinton vs Sanders, as well as on the ethics of strong encryption. He then speaks with Uma Valeti, cardiologist and CEO of Memphis Meats , about the future of food production.

Sam shares his thoughts on Eiynah Nice Mango's "Open Letter to Sam Harris" alleging that Douglas Murray is a bigot. How should we differentiate labels used for clarity and labels used in a way that encourages tribalism? What about the idea of "free won't" as opposed to "free will"?Why are you planning to vote for Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders? Sam shares his thoughts on Noam Chomsky's interv...

Jocko Willink is a retired Navy SEAL officer, and co-founder of Echelon Front , where he is a leadership instructor, speaker, and executive coach. Jocko spent 20 years in the U.S. Navy SEAL Teams, starting as an enlisted SEAL and rising through the ranks to become an officer. As commander of SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser during the battle of Ramadi, he orchestrated SEAL operations that helpe...

Scott Reitz is a thirty-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police department. He worked in the elite Metropolitan Division and finally as a member of ‘D’ platoon (SWAT). He remained there for ten years until he became the primary firearms and tactics instructor for the whole of Metro Division and all LAPD advanced in-service firearms/tactics training. In addition to his work with the LAPD, Reitz has...

Sam addresses Twitter controversy regarding Fareed Zakaria, Dalia Mogahed, and John Esposito. What progress have you made toward becoming vegetarian or vegan? If the Islamic reformation/modernization movement doesn't succeed, what do you think should be the alternative? Do you think your reliance on hypotheticals and thought experiments has become a hindrance to making headway and discourse on imp...

Sam Harris talks to physicist David Deutsch about the reach and power of human knowledge, the future of artificial intelligence, and the survival of civilization. David Deutsch is best known as the founding father of the quantum theory of computation, and for his work on Everettian (multiverse) quantum theory. He is a Visiting Professor of Physics at Oxford University, where he works on “anything...

Further reading: Migrant Crisis? Europe Hasn’t Seen Anything Yet by Douglas Murray

Sam Harris speaks with MIT cosmologist Max Tegmark about the foundations of science, our current understanding of the universe, the risks of future breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, and other topics. Max Tegmark is a professor of physics who has published more than two hundred technical papers and been featured in dozens of science documentaries. His work with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey...

Sam Harris responds to misrepresentations of his views (again).

Paul Bloom is the Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor of Psychology at Yale University. His research explores how children and adults understand the physical and social world, with special focus on morality, religion, fiction, and art. He has won numerous awards for his research and teaching. He is past-president of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology, and co-editor of Behavioral and Brain Sc...