Making Sense with Sam Harris

Anne Applebaum discusses how the Trump administration is systematically dismantling traditional American foreign policy institutions and replacing them with ideologues, business associates, and far-right sympathizers who are advancing a revolutionary agenda both domestically and internationally. She argues this represents a fundamental shift in how America operates on the world stage, with specific examples in Europe, Ukraine, and Venezuela.

The speaker identifies two foundational reasons to meditate: psychological/ethical (living better and suffering less) and intellectual/curiosity-driven (understanding the nature of mind and reality). Both motivations converge on the central insight that freedom comes from recognizing the illusion of the self and experiencing consciousness prior to identification with thought.

Sam Harris reflects on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, arguing that the second plane hitting the South Tower proved jihadism was a coordinated, ideologically-driven threat rooted in religious belief. He critiques both American foreign policy failures and the Western left's confusion about Islamic extremism, contending that ideas have consequences and that jihadism remains a persistent threat unrelated to legitimate political grievances.

Sam Harris and James Kirchick discuss what they view as the Democratic Party's dangerous alignment with Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), a group they characterize as communist rather than democratic socialist. They examine how mainstream Democrats have failed to distance themselves from DSA-affiliated figures like NYC Mayor Eric Adams, attributing this partly to intellectual intimidation by the left and partly to historical patterns of leftist sympathy toward radical movements.

Sam Harris and Preet Bharara discuss the decline of good faith discourse, the role of social media and podcasts in spreading misinformation, the politicization of criminal prosecution, and analyze Trump's political appeal as rooted in demographic receptiveness to conspiracy theories rather than political genius.

Sam Harris discusses several major contemporary issues including the Jason Airda plagiarism scandal at Cambridge, the Iran conflict and Strait of Hormuz situation, and Dr. Fauci's role in COVID-19 policy, arguing that institutional failures and ideological capture on the left have compromised public trust and competence across multiple domains.

This episode features a conversation between Sam Harris and psychologist Daniel Kahneman, discussing cognitive biases, the replication crisis in psychology, and the nature of human decision-making. Kahneman delves into the concepts of System 1 and System 2 thinking, the implications of framing in decision-making, and the challenges of understanding and addressing complex social issues like climate change.

Sam Harris interviews a philosopher of mind and public intellectual about his career, intellectual approach, and upbringing by his mother Susan Harris, a pioneering television writer and creator of Golden Girls and Soap who became one of the most successful sitcom writers in history.

Cameron Berg discusses the relationship between AI, consciousness, and the moral implications of creating potentially conscious systems. The conversation highlights the importance of understanding consciousness in AI to avoid unintended suffering and promote alignment.

Siddhartha Mukherjee discusses major advances in cancer prevention, detection, and treatment since his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, emphasizing that cancer is not one disease but hundreds of distinct genetic entities. He highlights the emerging role of AI in drug discovery and clinical trials, while addressing the challenges of liquid biopsy false positives through Bayesian reasoning and the importance of risk stratification.

Sam Harris and Paul Bloom discuss AI's rapid development and its psychological impact on human connection, particularly regarding artificial intimacy, loneliness, and the question of whether AI companions can fulfill genuine human needs for mattering and social connection.

Alain de Botton discusses how secular societies have lost the psychological and communal functions that religion provided, particularly around rituals, ecstasy, and meaning-making. He argues that modern culture needs to creatively reconstruct what religions did well—such as orchestrating emotional transitions and normalizing intense experiences—without reviving religious belief itself.

Sam Harris discusses topics crowdsourced from his Making Sense community, including his evolved views on world government, consciousness and materialism, philosophy's intellectual value, meaning and purpose, wealth inequality, AI's impact on careers, and the value of college education.

Sam Harris receives the 2026 Richard Dawkins Award in a ceremony hosted by the Center for Inquiry, followed by a wide-ranging conversation between Harris and Dawkins covering consciousness, AI, morality, democracy, Trump, and the legacy of Christopher Hitchens. The discussion spans philosophy of mind, the moral landscape, political corruption, and the challenges of navigating misinformation in the digital age. The event concludes with audience Q&A touching on persuasion, psychedelics, and Carl Sagan's warnings about pseudoscience.

Sam Harris interviews economist Noah Smith about the U.S. national debt, covering its mechanics, risks, and potential solutions. They discuss how rising interest rates compound debt problems, the failure of MMT as a framework, and why a combination of tax increases and spending cuts is necessary. The conversation also briefly touches on how smartphones have damaged society.

Sam Harris interviews venture capitalist Vinod Khosla about the economic and political implications of AI, focusing on job displacement, wealth concentration, and the potential for AI to create a deflationary economy. Khosla argues that AI will displace up to 50% of jobs by 2035 but sees a future of micro-entrepreneurs and near-free services. His primary concern is not AI existential risk but rather political backlash slowing AI development.

Sam Harris interviews Robin Carhart-Harris, a UCSF researcher, about the current state of psychedelic science and therapy. They discuss the FDA denial of MDMA therapy approval, the importance of therapeutic context, quality control concerns, and contraindications for psychedelic use. The conversation covers both the promising clinical results and the significant risks and challenges facing the field.

Sam Harris interviews Lloyd Blankfein, former CEO of Goldman Sachs, about his memoir 'Streetwise,' the 2008 financial crisis, wealth inequality, and current economic risks. Blankfein explains Goldman's role as a financial intermediary, defends their conduct during the crisis, and reflects on how regulatory responses and human nature shape economic cycles. The conversation also touches on market rationality, the disconnect between markets and the real economy, and growing concerns about inequality and political dysfunction.

Sam Harris and Ben Shapiro engage in a post-mortem debate on Trump's second term, revisiting predictions Shapiro made before the 2024 election. Harris challenges Shapiro on Trump's tariff policies, familial corruption, the pardoning of January 6th rioters, and whether Shapiro's 'lesser of two evils' framework adequately accounts for unprecedented presidential misconduct. Shapiro defends a policy-outcomes-focused view while conceding surprise at the scale of Trump family corruption.

Sam Harris interviews political scientist Francis Fukuyama to revisit his 'End of History' thesis, explore the meaning of liberalism, and assess the current threats to liberal democracy from both the populist right and identity-politics left. They discuss China as a potential rival model, the self-defeating tendencies within liberalism, and the state of American democracy under Trump.