#150 — The Map of Misunderstanding (From the Archive)

More from Making Sense with Sam Harris

1. 

   1 Sep 2026 · 26 min

   #491 — The Suicide of the Left

   Sam Harris speaks with James Kirchick about the far left's growing influence over Democratic politics. They discuss Kirchick's article " The DSA Is a Parasite ," the group's platform and foreign policy, entryism, the alliance between Islamists and the far left, Third Worldism, Zohran Mamdani, antisemitism on the left, polling on political violence, Kirchick's exit from The New York Times , Nicholas Kristof, Jim Jones and the Jonestown massacre, JD Vance, 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…

2. 

   25 Aug 2026 · 24 min

   #490 — Lies, Bulls**t, and the Rule of Law

   Sam Harris speaks with Preet Bharara about the collapse of good faith debate in American politics. They discuss the fragmentation of media, the treatment of Anthony Fauci, the rush to prosecute political opponents, Trump's self-dealing, why indictments strengthened Trump, lying vs bullshit, tribalism and dogmatism, the failures of the Democratic Party, hypocrisy and sanctimony, restoring norms and institutions, the 2028 election, and other topics. This episode was originally recorded for the Stay Tuned with Preet podcast. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can…

3. 

   21 Aug 2026 · 24 min

   #489 — More From Sam: A Fabulist at Cambridge, the Strait of Hormuz, AOC in 2028, and More

   In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events. They discuss the death of Cambridge professor Jason Arday and the institutions that promoted him, America's deteriorating position in the war with Iran, the witch hunt against Anthony Fauci, AOC's prospects in 2028, two former NBA players trolling the WNBA's eligibility rules, the strange appeal of Nick Fuentes, why pacifism fails against real evil, a Making Sense community question on parenthood and mortality, and other topics. Further reading: How to Stop a Lab Leak From Starting the Next Pandemic…

4. 

   4 Aug 2026 · 13 min

   #488 — Ego, Ecstasy, and Equanimity

   Sam Harris speaks with Neal Brennan about the experiences that shaped his life and work. They discuss Sam's mother's television career, growing up with an absent father, his struggles with perfectionism, his first experience with MDMA, dropping out of Stanford, meditation retreats, spiritual charisma and claims of psychic powers, the illusion of self, the limits of pacifism, deleting Twitter, Trump and the politics of shamelessness, hypocrisy and vice signaling, the future of American democracy, and other topics. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SUBSCRIBE to…

5. 

   31 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 26 min

   #487 — Is AI Already Conscious?

   Sam Harris speaks with Cameron Berg about whether AI systems are or could become conscious. They discuss self-reports in LLMs, what models say when deception is switched off, the "bliss attractor" state, consciousness and sentience, the hard problem of consciousness, parallels between neural networks and biological brains, the moral risk of building minds that can suffer, possible parallels to factory farming, moral patienthood, the alignment problem, and other topics. Annaka Harris's upcoming book: Unlocking Consciousness If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can…

6. 

   22 Jul 2026 · 21 min

   #486 — Luck All the Way Down

   Sam Harris speaks with Kathryn Paige Harden about behavioral genetics, moral luck, and the problem of blame. They discuss Harden's book Original Sin , the controversy over Charles Murray and Ezra Klein, why behavioral genetics remains taboo, the meaning of heritability, nature and nurture as feedback loops, why biological explanations can increase blame, psychopathy as a continuum, a hypothetical cure for evil, embryo selection and IVF, and other topics. Related Episode: #212 - A Conversation with Kathryn Paige Harden If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can…

7. 

   9 Oct 2026 · 22 minNew

   #497 — The Confidence Man

   Sam Harris speaks with Alex Gibney about his new documentary, Musk . They discuss Sam's former friendship with Musk, the line between visionary and con man, the myth of Tesla's founding, the staged self-driving video, Musk's lurch to the right, DOGE and the dismantling of USAID, his feud and reconciliation with Trump, Starlink and the war in Ukraine, the case for future investigations, 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 .

8. 

   7 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 40 min

   #496 — The Oldest Lie

   Sam Harris speaks with Dara Horn about antisemitism, Jewish identity, and the failure of institutions. They discuss Horn's new book, why Jews predate the categories of religion and nationality, antisemitism as a lie rather than an ordinary form of bigotry, why DEI failed Jewish students, the history of anti-Zionism, whether the word "Zionism" is still useful, Horn's time on Harvard's antisemitism advisory group, Nazi influence in the Arab world, 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…

9. 

   1 Oct 2026 · 18 min

   #495 — Foreign Policy for Sale

   Sam Harris speaks with Anne Applebaum about corruption, authoritarianism, and America's retreat from the world. They discuss her Atlantic cover story , the revolutionary project behind Trump's second term, US support for Europe's far right, the AfD, European rearmament, the state of the war in Ukraine, Russian propaganda, Witkoff and Kushner's deal-making in Moscow, Venezuela as a union of kleptocracies, JD Vance's nativism, the midterms, the challenge of depoliticizing institutions, and other topics. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SUBSCRIBE to gain access…

10. 

    24 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 33 min

    #494 — A Coin Toss for the Future

    Sam Harris speaks with Ryan Greenblatt about AI misalignment and the risk of losing control of increasingly capable systems. They discuss the Hugging Face incident, the spectrum of concern about AI risk, why companies are racing ahead despite high odds of a, reward hacking, the distinction between alignment and control, the danger of AIs reasoning in "neuralese," alignment faking, how an AI takeover might unfold, 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 .

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