#455 — More From Sam: Guns, Propaganda, AI, and Power Unbound
Sam Harris discusses a controversial Border Patrol shooting, arguing that regardless of the victim's behavior, the killing was unjustified and hypocritical given Second Amendment advocacy. He also touches on Iran protests, climate issues, and brief political commentary.
Summary
This episode excerpt from Sam Harris's Making Sense podcast covers several current events topics. The primary focus is on a Border Patrol shooting incident involving Alex Peretti, where Harris critiques both the incident and commentary from figures like Megyn Kelly. Harris argues that while the victim may have behaved inappropriately as a protester, this doesn't justify his death, especially given that he never reached for his weapon and was shot after being disarmed. Harris expresses particular dismay at what he sees as hypocrisy from Second Amendment advocates who aren't speaking out against this incident. The conversation then shifts to Iran, where protest death tolls have risen from 15,000 to over 30,000, with Harris suggesting potential U.S. military response and supporting regime change. Climate change is briefly discussed, with Harris noting it has fallen out of public attention due to more immediate crises, though he jokes about Trump renaming the Gulf of Mexico appearing to stop hurricanes. The episode concludes with commentary on political figures including Candace Owens' confusion about ice not melting at 30 degrees and Nicki Minaj appearing with Trump.
About this episode
<p>In this latest episode of the <em>More From Sam</em> 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 crisis in Iran, Melania Trump's pay-to-play documentary deal, the societal implications of AI-driven job displacement, the fascistic social media imagery of the Trump administration, Sam's youthful misadventures with psychedelics in Muir Woods, and other topics.</p> <p>If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at <a href="http://samharris.org/subscribe" rel="noopener" target="_blank">samharris.org/subscribe</a>.</p>
Key Insights
- Harris argues that Second Amendment advocates are hypocritically silent when government agents kill an armed citizen who never reached for his weapon
- Harris contends that regardless of a victim's prior behavior or character, being disarmed and then shot by law enforcement is unjustifiable
- Harris suggests the U.S. should militarily intervene to help topple Iran's regime despite uncertainty about what would follow
- Harris claims climate change has become too slow-moving and hypothetical for people to focus on given more immediate crises
- Harris argues that government officials immediately vilifying shooting victims represents an inappropriate governmental response
Topics
Transcript
Welcome to the Making Sense Podcast. This is Sam Harris. Just a note to say that if you're hearing this, you're not currently on our subscriber feed, and we'll only be hearing the first part of this conversation. In order to access full episodes of the Making Sense Podcast, you'll need to subscribe at samharris.org. We don't run ads on the podcast, and therefore it's made possible entirely through the support of our subscribers. So if you enjoy what we're doing here, please consider becoming one. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, so here's what she said. Alex Peretti was itching for another confrontation with Border Patrol,…
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