#317 — What Do We Know About Our Minds?

Sam Harris speaks with David Frum about the current state of American politics. They discuss the extent of Trump's corruption, his immigration crackdowns, what's going well under Trump 2.0, Trump's support for Ukraine and Israel, U.S. foreign policy, nuclear proliferation, Israel's security and internal political conflicts, perceptions of the war in Gaza, the Trump administration's professed support for Jews, the fallout of DOGE, Trump's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, and other topics. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at samharris.org/subscribe.

23 Jul 27min

Sam Harris speaks with Marc Lipsitch about pandemic preparedness. They discuss what we learned from Covid, loss of trust in institutions, how to effectively communicate scientific information in the current media landscape, vaccine hesitancy, the safety of mRNA vaccines, the origins of Covid, gain-of-function research, virus hunting, the Trump administration's assault on scientific research and universities, future pandemic threats, and other topics. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at samharris.org/subscribe. 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.

21 Jul 27min

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. They discuss Nazi Grok, immigration, ICE raids, Jeffrey Epstein, how to stay focused in the age of distraction, and rapid fire questions. Produced by Griffin Katz

16 Jul 26min

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. They discuss Epstein's "client list," how to safeguard democracy, populism, wealth inequality, the allure of socialism, how to manage feeling overwhelmed by current events, and rapid fire questions. Produced by Griffin Katz

8 Jul 19min

Sam Harris speaks with Haviv Rettig Gur about Israel and her enemies. They discuss Israel's war with Iran and America's role in the conflict, Israel's military capabilities, Iran's nuclear program, what a ground invasion of Iran could look like, how Iranians view the regime, antisemitism, the history of Zionism, Islam and jihadism, extremism on the Israeli far right, religious fanaticism, Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Ehud Olmert, the hostages in Gaza, and other topics. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at samharris.org/subscribe.

19 Jun 2h 4min

In this latest episode of the "More From Sam" series, 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 assassination of Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman and the recent uptick in political violence, Elon's comments about Trump's involvement with Jeffrey Epstein, Iran, deportations, the LA protests, Sam's recent appearance on Jordan Peterson's podcast, and rapid fire questions. Produced by Griffin Katz

17 Jun 17min

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 an intelligence explosion might look like, the capacity of LLMs to intentionally deceive, the economic implications of recent advances in AI, AI safety testing, the potential for governments to regulate AI development, AI coding capabilities, how we'll recognize the arrival of superintelligent AI, and other topics. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at samharris.org/subscribe. 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.

12 Jun 20min

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 recorded on June 4th, but in light of today's events, Sam and Jaron recorded an additional segment (on June 5) about the latest news on Trump and Musk's fallout, which is included at the end of this episode. They also discuss the real results of DOGE, the Big Beautiful Bill, Jordan Peterson, the role of religion in modern society, and other topics. Produced by Griffin Katz

6 Jun 15min