Making Sense with Sam Harris - Subscriber Content

#469 - Escaping an Anti-Human Future

Sam Harris speaks with Tristan Harris about the dangers of AI and the race to build it. They discuss the new documentary The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, the lessons of The Social Dilemma, the arms race dynamics between AI labs, the "intelligence curse" and its implications for human political power, the psychology of tech CEOs indifferent to extinction risk, the possibilities of US-China coordination on AI safety, and other topics. Tristan Harris, described by The Atlantic as “the closest thing Silicon Valley has to a conscience,” is a technology ethicist and co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, a nonprofit dedicated to aligning technology with humanity’s best interests. Tristan gained international recognition when he was featured in the Emmy-winning Netflix documentary, The Social Dilemma, seen by over 150 million people in 190 countries and 30 languages. Named to the TIME100 AI list in 2023, Tristan is “a tech leader committed to ensuring that we get this generation of AI right, because we simply can’t afford to get it wrong.” Most recently, Tristan is featured in The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, a new documentary from Focus Features in theaters March 27, 2026. Website: humanetech.com X: @tristanharris Share this episode: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/469-escaping-an-anti-human-future

#468 - More From Sam: Gratitude, Bad Conversations, Conspiracy Addiction, Waffle House Teleportation, and More

In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events. They discuss how to cultivate gratitude and navigate anxiety in uncertain times, the role of mindfulness in coping with AI-driven job displacement, the slowing of religious decline in America, a FEMA official's claim that he teleported to a Waffle House, the irresponsibility of conspiracy-fueled podcasting, Sam on which conversations are worth having, and other topics. Share this episode: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/468-more-from-sam-gratitude-bad-conversations-conspiracy-addiction-waffle-house-teleportation-and-more

#467 - EA, AI, and the End of Work

Sam Harris speaks with William MacAskill about effective altruism, AI, and the future of humanity. They discuss the post-FTX recovery of the EA movement, global health and pandemic preparedness, the limits of quantifiable ethics, the intelligence explosion, risks of concentrated AI power, what a post-scarcity world might look like, and other topics. Will MacAskill is an associate professor of moral philosophy at Oxford University, and author of Doing Good Better, Moral Uncertainty and What We Owe The Future. He cofounded the nonprofits 80,000 Hours, Centre for Effective Altruism, and Giving What We Can, and helped to launch the effective altruism movement, which encourages people to use their time and money to support the projects that are most effectively making the world a better place. Website: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/ X: @willmacaskill Share this episode: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/467-ea-ai-and-the-end-of-work

#466 - What Is Technology Doing to Us?

Sam Harris speaks with Nicholas Christakis about technology, society, and human nature. They discuss the harms of modern communication technology, polarization and anomie, how AI agents can improve human cooperation, the social implications of humanoid robots, Christakis’s experience at the center of the woke moral panic at Yale, the Trump administration’s assault on American universities and science, the collapse of public trust in institutions, and other topics. Nicholas A. Christakis, MD, PhD, MPH, is the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science at Yale University. His work is in the fields of network science and biosocial science. He directs the Human Nature Lab and is the Co-Director of the Yale Institute for Network Science. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2006; the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2010; the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2017; and the National Academy of Sciences in 2024. Website: https://humannaturelab.net/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NAChristakis X: @NAChristakis Share this episode: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/466-what-is-technology-doing-to-us

#465 - More From Sam: Iran, Jihadism, Conspiracism, AI Disruption, the Manosphere, and More

In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events. They discuss the Iran war and the Trump administration’s shambolic messaging, antisemitism and moral confusion on the left and right, the spread of conspiracism, finding contentment in uncertain times, AI’s looming disruption of white-collar work, wealth inequality and the ultra-rich’s failures of philanthropy, Louis Theroux’s documentary on the manosphere, and other topics. Share this episode: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/465-more-from-sam-iran-jihadism-conspiracism-ai-disruption-the-manosphere-and-more