Sam Harris
Sam Harris, a neuroscientist and author, writes and hosts the Making Sense podcast on ethics, politics, religion and health.
What HN says
HN 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.
Stats for nerds
280HN people shared it
118linked in comments
1Kstory points
Mar 2025last shared
Top posts on HN
- 1The Fireplace Delusion12 people · 431 points · first shared 2012 · 288 comments on HN
- 2Drugs and the Meaning of Life (2011)10 people · 324 points · first shared 2011 · 261 comments on HN
- 3The Fireplace Delusion11 people · 35 points · first shared 2018 · 15 comments on HN
- 4Can We Pull Back from the Brink?6 people · 21 points · first shared 2020 · 1 comments on HN
- 5Self-Defense and the Law (2013)2 people · 19 points · first shared 2013 · 1 comments on HN
- 6The Pleasures of Drowning4 people · 16 points · first shared 2012 · 6 comments on HN
- 7On the Freedom to Offend an Imaginary God1 person · 13 points · first shared 2012 · 2 comments on HN
- 8Bruce Schneier explains security to neurologist who profiles Muslims2 people · 11 points · first shared 2012 · 3 comments on HN
- 9The Truth about Violence (2011)5 people · 10 points · first shared 2011 · Discussion on HN
- 10The Limits of Discourse – Sam Harris and Noam Chomsky6 people · 8 points · first shared 2015 · Discussion on HN
What HN people wrote when they linked it
- ta1602267597Jan 2021
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. - fossuserJul 2020
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/
- throwkeepJun 2021
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/
- monroewalkerMay 2022
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-to-give
[2] https://www.effectivealtruism.org/ - jcarpioDec 2021
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-of-pleasure
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&share_id=B345E52F
Thanks for listening. Best of luck.
- getpostSep 2020
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=rLWzMH8psFUPeter Attia #51 – Robert Sapolsky, Ph.D.: The pervasive effect of stress – is it killing you?
https://peterattiamd.com/robertsapolsky/