24 JUN 2024 · Share this episode: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/372-life-work Sam Harris speaks with George Saunders about his creative process. They discuss George’s involvement with Buddhism, the importance of kindness, psychedelics, writing as a practice, the work of Raymond Carver, the problem of social media, our current political moment, the role of fame in American culture, Wendell Berry, fiction as way of exploring good and evil, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, missed opportunities in ordinary life, what it means to be a more loving person, his article “The Incredible Buddha Boy,” the prison of reputation, Tolstoy, and other topics. George Saunders was born in Amarillo, Texas, and raised in Chicago. He is the author of twelve books, including https://amzn.to/3xpKA1W, which won the 2017 Booker Prize for the best work of fiction in English, and https://amzn.to/3Vra8Ul, a finalist for the National Book Award. He is also the author of https://amzn.to/4baSb1W, a book about the Russian short story. In 2013, he was named one of the world’s 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine. He has taught in the Creative Writing Program at Syracuse University since 1997. Website: https://georgesaundersbooks.com/about-george-saunders   Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the https://www.wakingup.com/makingsense 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.

14 JUN 2024 · Share this episode: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/371-what-the-hell-is-happening Sam Harris speaks to Bill Maher about the state of the world. They discuss the aftermath of October 7th, the cowardice and confusion of many celebrities, gender apartheid, the failures of the Biden campaign, Bill’s relationship to his audience, the differences between the left and right, Megyn Kelly, loss of confidence in the media, expectations for the 2024 election, the security concerns of old-school Republicans, the prospect of a second Trump term, totalitarian regimes, functioning under medical uncertainty, Bill’s plan to stop doing stand-up (maybe), looking back on his career, his experience of fame, Jerry Seinfeld, and other topics. Bill Maher has been on TV for 30 years. His new book https://amzn.to/3Vs9kP1 reached number one on the NYT bestseller list. Watch his podcast Club Random on Youtube or listen everywhere. Website: http://billmaher.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/billmaher   Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the https://www.wakingup.com/makingsense 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.

6 JUN 2024 · Share this episode: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/370-gender-apartheid-and-the-future-of-iran In today’s housekeeping, Sam explains his digital business model. He and Yasmine Mohammed (co-host) then speak with Masih Alinejad about gender apartheid in Iran. They discuss the Iranian revolution, the hypocrisy of Western feminists, the morality police and the significance of the hijab, the https://www.mystealthyfreedom.org/ campaign, kidnapping and assassination plots against Masih, lack of action from the U.S. government, the effect of sanctions, the cowardice of Western journalists, the difference between the Iranian population and the Arab street, the unique perspective of Persian Jews, Islamism and immigration, the infiltration of universities, and other topics. Yasmine Mohammed is the founder and President of Free Hearts Free Minds, a nonprofit charity that provides mental health support for freethinkers living within Muslim majority countries—where the 'crime' of renouncing religion can be punished by execution. ​Her book, https://amzn.to/4bM61ZX, is a memoir that recalls her experiences growing up in a fundamentalist Islamic household and her arranged marriage to a member of Al-Qaeda. In it, she sheds light on the religious trauma that so many women still today are unable to discuss. Unveiled has been translated into fifteen languages so far, including German, Finnish, Catalan, Swedish, French, Farsi, Arabic, Indonesian, Urdu, Spanish, and Italian. Copies of her book in Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, and Indonesian can be accessed https://translationsproject.org/arabic/ for free courtesy of The Richard Dawkins Foundation. She is also the host of the Yasmine Mohammed Podcast where she has conversations with inspirational people from restrictive religious or cult backgrounds who have fought and who have overcome. Website: http://www.yasminemohammed.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/YasMohammedxx   Masih Alinejad is an Iranian-American journalist, a women’s rights campaigner, and the author of the best-selling memoir https://amzn.to/3RhpRnz. In 2023, TIME named Alinejad as one of the women of the year and she was elected President of the World Liberty Congress. She is one of the most prominent and vocal figures challenging the Islamic Republic of Iran. In 2014, she launched the My Stealthy Freedom campaign against compulsory hijab, which became the largest civil disobedience movement in the history of the Islamic Republic. Today, Masih continues to write and host Tablet, a satirical weekly show on VOA, and is campaigning to #EndGenderApartheid in Iran and Afghanistan. Website: https://worldlibertycongress.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlinejadMasih

30 MAY 2024 · Share this episode: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/369-escaping-death Sam Harris speaks with Sebastian Junger about danger and death. They discuss Sebastian's career as a journalist in war zones, the connection between danger and meaning, his experience of nearly dying from a burst aneurysm in his abdomen, his lingering trauma, the concept of "awe," psychedelics, near-death experiences, atheism, psychic phenomena, consciousness and the brain, and other topics. Sebastian Junger is The New York Times bestselling author of https://amzn.to/3X1KVSC, https://amzn.to/4c0zHC8 https://amzn.to/3R3tRrG, https://amzn.to/3WXQJwA, https://amzn.to/3X0jCrW, and https://amzn.to/3yEuyRT, and co-director of the documentary film Restrepo, which was nominated for an Academy Award. He is also the winner of a Peabody Award and the National Magazine Award for Reporting. His most recent book is https://amzn.to/3R83v7Q. Website: https://www.sebastianjunger.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/sebastianjunger   Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the https://www.wakingup.com/makingsense 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 MAY 2024 · Share this episode: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/368-freedom-censorship Sam Harris speaks with Greg Lukianoff about free speech and cancel culture. They discuss the origins of political correctness, free speech and its boundaries, the bedrock principle of the First Amendment, technology and the marketplace of ideas, epistemic anarchy, social media and cancellation, comparisons to McCarthyism, self-censorship by professors, cancellation from the Left and Right, justified cancellations, the Hunter Biden laptop story, how to deal with Trump in the media, the state of higher education in America, and other topics. Greg Lukianoff is the President & CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). He earned his undergraduate degree from American University and his law degree from Stanford, and he worked for the ACLU of Northern California and other organizations before joining FIRE in 2001. He is one of America’s most passionate defenders of free speech. He has written about the issue in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. He also co-wrote https://amzn.to/4b82p47 with Jonathan Haidt and, most recently, https://amzn.to/3QFfwlb with Rikki Schlott. Website: http://thefire.org, https://greglukianoff.substack.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/glukianoff   Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the https://www.wakingup.com/makingsense 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.

13 MAY 2024 · Share this episode: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/367-campus-protests-antisemitism-and-western-values Sam Harris discusses the recent protests on college campuses, why focusing narrowly on the problem of "antisemitism" will be counterproductive, widespread confusion about the threat of Islamic extremism, and the necessary defense of Western values.

7 MAY 2024 · Share this episode: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/366-urban-warfare-2-0 Sam Harris speaks with John Spencer about the reality of urban warfare and Israel's conduct in the war in Gaza. They discuss the nature of the Hamas attacks on October 7th, what was most surprising about the Hamas videos, the difficulty in distinguishing Hamas from the rest of the population, combatants as a reflection of a society's values, how many people have been killed in Gaza, the proportion of combatants and noncombatants, the double standards to which the IDF is held, the worst criticism that can be made of Israel and the IDF, intentions vs results, what is unique about the war in Gaza, Hamas's use of human shields, what it would mean to defeat Hamas, what the IDF has accomplished so far, the destruction of the Gaza tunnel system, the details of underground warfare, the rescue of hostages, how noncombatants become combatants, how difficult it is to interpret videos of combat, what victory would look like, the likely aftermath of the war, war with Hezbollah, Iran's attack on Israel, what to do about Iran, and other topics. John Spencer is an award-winning scholar, professor, author, and combat veteran. He currently serves as the Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point, Co-Director of the Urban Warfare Project, and host of the https://mwi.westpoint.edu/category/podcasts/urban-warfare-project-podcasts/ podcast. He is also a founding member of the https://www.runi.ac.il/en/research-institutes/government/subtwg/. John served 25 years in the U.S. Army, having held ranks from Private to Sergeant First Class and Second Lieutenant to Major. He was an active duty Army officer during two combat tours in Iraq.  His research focuses on military operations in dense urban areas, megacities, and urban and subterranean warfare. Spencer holds a Master of Policy Management from Georgetown University, and his writings have appeared in the Time magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and many other publications. He is considered one of the world’s leading experts on urban warfare and has served as an advisor to everyone from top four-star generals to world leaders. He is the coauthor of https://amzn.to/3Qw24jg. Website: http://www.johnspenceronline.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpencerGuard   Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the https://www.wakingup.com/makingsense 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.

1 MAY 2024 · Share this episode: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/365-reality-check Sam Harris begins by remembering his friendship with Dan Dennett. He then speaks with David Wallace-Wells about the shattering of our information landscape. They discuss the false picture of reality produced during Covid, the success of the vaccines, how various countries fared during the pandemic, our preparation for a future pandemic, how we normalize danger and death, the current global consensus on climate change, the amount of warming we can expect, the consequence of a 2-degree Celsius warming, the effects of air pollution, global vs local considerations, Greta Thunberg and climate catastrophism, growth vs degrowth, market forces, carbon taxes, the consequences of political stagnation, the US national debt, the best way to attack the candidacy of Donald Trump, and other topics. David Wallace-Wells is a best-selling science writer and essayist who focuses on climate change, technology, and the future of the planet and how we live on it. David has been a National Fellow with the New America Foundation, a columnist and deputy editor of the New York Magazine, and was previously at The Paris Review. Currently, David is a writer for The New York Times and a columnist for the New York Times Magazine. He is the author of https://amzn.to/44k8U0Z. Twitter: https://twitter.com/dwallacewells   Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the https://www.wakingup.com/makingsense 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.  

23 APR 2024 · Share this episode: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/364-facts-values Sam Harris revisits the central argument he made in his book, https://amzn.to/3WjfT8m, about the reality of moral truth. He discusses the way concepts like “good” and “evil” can be thought about objectively, the primacy of our intuitions of truth and falsity, and the unity of knowledge. A transcript of this podcast is available on https://www.samharris.org/blog/facts-values-clarifying-the-moral-landscape.   Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the https://www.wakingup.com/makingsense 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.

15 APR 2024 · Share this episode: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/363-knowledge-work Sam Harris speaks with Cal Newport about our use of information technology and the cult of productivity. They discuss the state of social media, the "academic-in-exile effect," free speech and moderation, the effect of the pandemic on knowledge work, slow productivity, the example of Jane Austen, managing up in an organization, defragmenting one's work life, doing fewer things, reasonable deadlines, trading money for time, finding meaning in a post-scarcity world, the anti-work movement, the effects of artificial intelligence on knowledge work, and other topics. Cal Newport is a professor of computer science at Georgetown University where he is also a founding member of the Center for Digital Ethics. In addition to his academic work, Newport is a New York Times bestselling author who writes for a general audience about the intersection of technology, productivity, and culture. His most recent book is called https://amzn.to/43Z72up. His books have sold millions of copies and been translated into over forty languages. He is also a contributor to The New Yorker and hosts the popular https://www.thedeeplife.com/listen/ podcast. Newport lives with his wife and three sons in Takoma Park, Maryland. Website: https://calnewport.com/   Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the https://www.wakingup.com/makingsense 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.