Making Sense with Sam Harris25 Maalis 2025

#404 — What If Consciousness Is Fundamental?

Sam Harris speaks with his wife, Annaka Harris, about LIGHTS ON, her ten-part audio documentary exploring the perplexities of consciousness and the cosmos. They discuss the hard problem of consciousness, whether consciousness is fundamental, what split-brain patients can teach us about consciousness, what consciousness being fundamental could mean for the world of physics, and other topics.

After Annaka's conversation with Sam, we present an excerpt from LIGHTS ON.

Chapter 8: Space and Time features author and science writer George Musser, as well as physicists Lee Smolin and Carlo Rovelli. Annaka draws on their noted expertise to explore some of the most mystifying conclusions in quantum theory, how they may validate certain meditative insights, and the ways in which they challenge our basic understanding of reality.

Everyday experience tells us that space fills the universe; that causes have effects across time; that the future exists only as potential; that consciousness is confined to intelligent creatures, rather than fundamental to the very structure of being. These bedrock assumptions, when examined through both modern physics and contemplative practices, prove surprisingly fragile—and the fabric of existence profoundly counterintuitive.

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Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That's why Sam Harris created the Waking Up app. From rational mindfulness practice to lessons on some of life's most important topics, join Sam as he demystifies the practice of meditation and explores the theory behind it.

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#420 — Countdown to Superintelligence

Sam Harris speaks with Daniel Kokotajlo about the potential impacts of superintelligent AI over the next decade. They discuss Daniel's predictions in his essay "AI 2027," the alignment problem, what a...

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#419 — "More From Sam": Elon vs. Trump, Religion, Jordan Peterson, & Rapid Fire Questions

Sam hopped back on with his manager and business partner, Jaron Lowenstein, to talk about current events and answer some of the questions you all submitted on Substack. This episode was originally rec...

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#418 — A Future for Democrats

Sam Harris speaks with Congressman Ritchie Torres about the future of American politics. They discuss how growing up in public housing inspired Ritchie to pursue a career in politics, how the Biden ad...

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#417 — Philosophy for Life

Sam Harris speaks with Donald Robertson about Stoicism and the good life. They discuss the relationship between wisdom and virtue, ancient versions of psychotherapy, parallels between Stoicism and Bud...

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#416 — "More From Sam": Biden's Big Lie, Review of Tapper Interview, Trump, & a Case Against Israel's Actions in Gaza

Sam hopped back on with his manager and business partner, Jaron Lowenstein, to talk about current events and answer some of the questions you all submitted on Substack. They discuss the Biden cover-up...

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#415 — The Cover-Up

Sam Harris speaks with Jake Tapper about Jake's new book (with Alex Thompson), Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again. They discuss how the mains...

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#414 — Strange Truths

Sam Harris speaks with David Deutsch about quantum physics and current events. They discuss the "many-worlds" interpretation of QM, Schrödinger's cat, constructor theory, quantum computing and whethe...

12 Touko 202522min