Sam Harris
samharris.org · Personal blog · on HN since 2010
Sam Harris, a neuroscientist and author, writes and hosts the Making Sense podcast on ethics, politics, religion and health.
What HN saysHN commenters recommend his podcast for its guests and cite his essays on moral clarity and intellectual authority, though one disagrees with him on identity politics.
280HN people shared it
208linked it in comments
118stories submitted
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5 months agolast shared
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Most-shared posts
- 1The Fireplace Delusion12 people · 431 points · first shared 2012 · 288 comments on HN
- 2The Fireplace Delusion11 people · 35 points · first shared 2018 · 15 comments on HN
- 3Drugs and the Meaning of Life (2011)10 people · 324 points · first shared 2011 · 261 comments on HN
- 4Podcast10 people · first shared 2015
- 5The Fireplace Delusion (2012)8 people · 4 points · first shared 2021 · discussion on HN
- 6The Worst Epidemic [audio]7 people · 2 points · first shared 2020 · 1 comments on HN
- 7Can We Pull Back from the Brink?6 people · 21 points · first shared 2020 · 1 comments on HN
- 8The Limits of Discourse – Sam Harris and Noam Chomsky6 people · 8 points · first shared 2015 · discussion on HN
- 9Arms race for attention, ethics of persuasion, consequences of ad-based economy6 people · 4 points · first shared 2017 · discussion on HN
- 10The Truth about Violence (2011)5 people · 10 points · first shared 2011 · discussion on HN
- 11Sam Harris and Glenn Greenwald "Islamaphobia"5 people · 2 points · first shared 2013 · discussion on HN
- 12The Pleasures of Drowning4 people · 16 points · first shared 2012 · 6 comments on HN
- 13Waking Up Podcast #311: Did SARS-CoV-2 escape from a lab?4 people · 1 points · first shared 2023 · discussion on HN
- 14Lying4 people · first shared 2020
- 15How to meditate4 people · first shared 2013
What HN people wrote when they linked it
flancian · 2020-01-19
Sam Harris's: Making Sense (used to be called Waking Up).
https://samharris.org/
I don't agree with him on everything -- he's a bit to the center/right of me in some areas, particularly around what he calls "identity politics". But regardless his guests are usually great, and I agree with him on the core of his philosophy: atheism, rational debate with others, and better knowing oneself through meditation.
ithkuil · 2025-03-07
A good interview with him: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/346-the-best-…
jraby3 · 2025-01-18
If all you do is look at the death count then it's easy to use a number and point against Israel.
You need to go deeper. The best article I've scene on the subject for some moral clarity is here:
https://www.samharris.org/blog/the-bright-line-between-good-and-evil
bamboozled · 2025-01-08
Sam Harris has a great summary of this: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/395-intellect…
It's so true in my opinion "doing research" is has often become, "finding a view that agrees with my world view" and to add to that, using that view to reinforce my beliefs.
It's really diabolical.
mhb · 2024-01-03
I listened to him on this podcast and then attempted to follow up by reading the book, but the book (Outlive) was way too much for me.
https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/328-health-lo…
manuelmoreale · 2023-11-05
There’s also this episode with Sam Harris that is worth listening to: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/waking-up-conversations/psychedelic…
Eumenes · 2023-10-09
I agree with almost everything you said. I'm all for more education and improvements.
> Sam Harris's post, (https://www.samharris.org/blog/the-fireplace-delusion) also has this air of incredulity that anyone would burn wood since science shows that it produces harmful byproducts.
This is the last thing I expected to read on the wood burning debate, an arrogant piece for everyone's favorite atheist. I'm sure he doesn't need to think about heating cost in his condo in Hollywood.
dr-smooth · 2023-08-23
Sam Harris recently had an excellent podcast episode with Carl Robichaud (of the Longview Nuclear Risk Policy Fund) on this topic:
https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/330-the-dooms…
fidrelity · 2022-12-19
Not tech related although often touching on AI:
- Making sense with Sam Harris: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts
If you're interested in bootstrapping and indie hacking I can also recommend:
- The bootstrapped founder: https://bootstrapped-founder.transistor.fm/episodes
jacobgorm · 2022-11-30
This podcast episode by Sam Harris finally convinced me to close my Twitter account. Worth a listen https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/304-why-i-lef…
anonporridge · 2022-10-15
Tangentially related is the recently rebroadcasted episode with Yasmine Mohammed, who wrote the book "Unveiled: How Western Liberals Empower Radical Islam". Related to the woke mob losing it's sanity when it comes to Islam and specifically relevant to the recent Iranian protests.
Incredibly sad, but fantastic interview.
https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/298-leaving-t…
bwhaley · 2022-10-08
> Notexisting is worse than pain and suffering.
That’s a stretch.
Far more important to come to terms with mortality than extend life indefinitely.
Is it even still living to have a heartbeat but with motor control, limited or no ability to speak, and no memory? Is “living” in this way best for the next of kin?
I found a recent episode of the Making Sense podcast in this topic to be thought provoking. You might give it a listen.
https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/297-preparing…
monroewalker · 2022-05-26
Agreed, earning more so you can give more is the most pragmatic approach to having the largest possible positive impact. There was a really good conversation on Sam Harris's podcast about this with Sam Bankman-Fried [1].
Based on the question though, the OP's goal might either be to (1) maximize impact or (2) just earn a living while also feeling good about their company's impact. If (1) is the goal, I'd say listen to that podcast, look into effective altruism [2], and find the highest paying job you can. If (2) is the goal, I'd recommend including GoFundMe and Rivian in the list of companies to check out!
[1] https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/271-earning-t…
[2] https://www.effectivealtruism.org/
bin_bash · 2022-04-09
Sam Harris did a great long form essay where he described this concept very well: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lying_(Harris_book)
He even goes into detail about Santa.
EDIT: I think the bit about Santa is only in the audiobook, but he talks about it in this article: https://www.samharris.org/blog/the-high-cost-of-tiny-lies
As far as a question like that, I might not answer it literally truthfully. I’d probably say something like “oh it’s nothing.” Both me and them understand I don’t mean I was literally not thinking about anything, I mean to say I don’t want to talk about it. As long as that’s understood by everyone it’s not false speech.
jcarpio · 2021-12-18
Some good stuff here. I’ll add my $0.02.
David Brooks talk on meaning (and how financial/social freedom isn’t as great as you think) https://youtu.be/iB4MS1hsWXU
Paul Bloom and Sam Harris talk about PB’s new book The Limits of Pleasure (hedonism, happiness, meaning…)- https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/waking-up-conversations/the-limits-…
SH opinion on meaning, paraphrased: a narrative you can tell yourself and others about what you are doing. (Watch out for philosophical pseudo questions) Mindfulness & Meaning -- from the Waking Up app. Click on the link to listen now.
https://dynamic.wakingup.com/course/2e0d71?source=content%20share&…
Thanks for listening. Best of luck.
throwawaysea · 2021-09-28
The unplanned yet avoidable fall of Afghanistan has been an epic disaster of foreign policy that will hurt American credibility for decades, as it allows a resurgence of various terrorist groups and spawns a new wave of human rights crises. There has been a lot written about it, particularly from independent media - I recommend this recent interview of Paul Bergen by Sam Harris as an overview (https://samharris.org/podcasts/258-fall-afghanistan/). To me it is unconscionable that dissent can be punished and deterred in this manner, especially in America. The optics of it are damning and moreover it is actually unethical.
FabHK · 2021-08-27
Pertinent book recommendations:
Success and Luck: Good Fortune and the Myth of Meritocracy, Robert H. Frank [https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvc77k7k] Great read, entertaining and insightful, many anecdotes, and also simulation results.
The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good?, Michael Sandel (of Harvard ethics YouTube superstar fame) [https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2020/09/montage-michael-sandel-against… Still on my agenda. Podcast with the author and Sam Harris: [https://samharris.org/podcasts/221-success-failure-common-good/]
throwkeep · 2021-06-16
That's what I'm trying to figure out too. The narrative is the biggest change so far. Low quality videos and eye witness reports aren't exactly new.
Sam Harris, who I consider trustworthy, was given a heads up about what's to come:
"I got contacted by somebody who gave me a heads up with respect to all of this happening and he more or less told me listen, when this other shoe drops you’re going to be in the position of having to acknowledge that all the experts are on the same page, and there’s just this blanket declaration that we’re in the presence of alien technology, and we don’t know what to make of it. So prepare your brain for that and figure out what you’re going to do."
https://samharris.org/podcasts/252-alone-universe/
misiti3780 · 2021-04-24
Sam Harris has a new, very interesting podcast with Rener Gracie about police training and how inadequate it is across the entire United States. Officers in California get one - 4 hour course every two years to learn how to subdue criminals, and of the 4 hours, only one is actually spent training, the other three are instruction.
Rener Gracie is obviously famous for Brazilian jiu-jitsu but he also trains police on how to subdue criminals in a safe way. He has some interesting ideas about how to identify bad cops also.
It was worth the listen.
https://samharris.org/podcasts/246-police-training-police-misconduct/
cbozeman · 2021-03-07
That is total horseshit.
Yes, there are points in time when posters have attempted to post child pornography there, but it gets taken down swiftly and gets reported to moderators as swiftly as its posted.
Your "epicentre" of child pornography on the Internet is Facebook, not 4chan.[1]
[1]: https://samharris.org/subscriber-extras/213-worst-epidemic/
ta1602267597 · 2021-01-19
I particularly appreciate Sam Harris' take on the event in light of the prior BLM protests : https://samharris.org/podcasts/230-insurrection-lies/
It's interesting he notes the ripple effects BLM protests in the capitol coming to head here. ~28:03 in the podcast
>[00:28:03]
It could be something that reaches all the way to Trump, or it could be due to the fact that the mayor of D.C. didn't like the heavy handed federal response to the BLM demonstrations that happened in D.C., in particular when Trump orchestrated his photo op in front of the church. So ironically, it could be a fairly woak mayor is resistance to heavy handed policing that left the capital undefended. That would be amazing to have that be the underlying cause of what is now being alleged to be proof positive of the truth of white supremacy and white privilege governing law enforcement in this country.
Reedx · 2020-12-15
This is worth a read for a nuanced, holistic look at the stats.
https://samharris.org/can-pull-back-brink/
HouseAtTheSea · 2020-11-11
Just in relation to the connection of technological advancement, porn and sexualized violence: There is also a great (and frankly frightening) podcast episode by Sam Harris with Gabriel Dance about child sexual abuse and how the Internet has played a huge role in making it an even bigger problem: https://samharris.org/podcasts/213-worst-epidemic/
mstokholm · 2020-10-28
Sam Harris has a great podcast about nuclear launch codes (among many other things) and how the current setup is really not that great: https://samharris.org/podcasts/210-logic-doomsday/
ciarannolan · 2020-09-13
The podcast, for anyone interested: https://samharris.org/podcasts/107-life-actually-worth-living/
> In this episode of the Making Sense podcast, Sam Harris speaks with David Benatar about his philosophy of “anti-natalism.” They discuss the asymmetry between the good and bad things in life, the ethics of existential risk, the moral landscape, the limits and paradoxes of introspection, the “experience machine” thought experiment, population ethics, and other topics.
getpost · 2020-09-11
Sapolsky himself struggles with depression, which he claims is genetic, IIRC. Not that I know anything, but I was struck that someone with his knowledge and intellect seemed to have given up attempting to treat it. He maintained psychological defenses that made me wonder whether he'd received adequate care.
I'm not sure where I heard this, but likely it's one of the following podcasts, which are worthwhile.
Sam Harris #91 - The Biology of Good and Evil
https://samharris.org/podcasts/91-biology-good-evil/
YT version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLWzMH8psFU
Peter Attia #51 – Robert Sapolsky, Ph.D.: The pervasive effect of stress – is it killing you?
https://peterattiamd.com/robertsapolsky/
tdons · 2020-08-17
I've made a conscious effort to stop lying after reading
https://samharris.org/books/lying/
Can recommend, it feels great.
therealdrag0 · 2020-08-10
Are you familiar with how much child pornography has ballooned from social media? I hadn’t until I listened to this podcast with NYT investigative journalist. Worth considering how serious the trade offs are https://samharris.org/podcasts/213-worst-epidemic/
fossuser · 2020-07-24
I find all these pretty great:
- Persuasion (liberal democracy, free society): https://www.persuasion.community/
- Money Stuff (finance, also sort-of comedy?): https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/authors/ARbTQlRLRjE/matthew-s-levine
- Stratechery (tech companies and strategy): https://stratechery.com/
- Stay Tuned with Preet & Cafe Insider (law and politics): https://cafe.com/stay-tuned-podcast/
- The Morning Paper (CS papers): https://blog.acolyer.org/about/
- Slate Star Codex (rationality, currently in a weird state): https://slatestarcodex.com/
Some new ones I subscribed to, but haven't read a lot of:
- Sam Harris: https://samharris.org/
- Andrew Sullivan: https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/coming-soon
- Benedict Evans: https://www.ben-evans.com/
collyw · 2020-07-02
Sam Harris did an excellent podcast (in my opinion) touching on the topics you mentioned.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmgxtcbc4iU
or text
https://samharris.org/can-pull-back-brink/