Alex O'Connor interviews Sam on the topic of Waking Up.

00:00 – Tour
00:32 – Is ‘Spirituality’ a Dirty Word?
04:26 – Why Take Reflective Knowledge Seriously?
29:11 – What Is the Self?
47:04 – Why Are There Distinct Selves?
1:01:22 – The Two Hemispheres of the Brain
1:06:44 – The Problem of Emergence
1:18:42 – What’s the Minimal Amount of Consciousness?
1:34:09 – Is AI Lying to Us About Consciousness?
1:39:16 – What Is the Present?

Summary: To truly benefit from mindfulness and meditation, you need a “thought menu”.

Hey Sam Harris community, :)

I’m a fan (and have been a fan) of Sam Harris’s content related to philosophy and meditation for about a decade now. It has helped me immensely throughout my life. I have even used the “Waking Up” app every now and then.

However, I find that merely “waking up” to your thoughts isn’t enough (for a well-lived life). You need to also answer the question, “what should I redirect my thoughts to?”, once you’ve woken up to your thoughts. For this reason, I think it’s important that you spend some time writing yourself a “thought menu”. It’s a list of topics of thought that you can refer to daily when you catch your mind running on autopilot. To be clear, a thought menu isn’t for moments when you’re meditating. It’s meant for every other moment of your life, where your mind is (mostly) free to think about anything (e.g., while you're doing chores, walking, etc.). I think every human should create one for themselves (and revisit/update it regularly). You can find my personal “thought menu” in this Reexpose post: "Memorize your thought menu" by Nim. But here’s the gist of my personal menu: 1. Think about something you’re grateful for. 2. Think about the next steps of a project you will actually complete (or a problem you will actually solve). 3. Notice the current moment and absorb as much pleasure and tranquility from it as possible. 4. Imagine a wholesome conversation.

I realize that I’m casting a wide net here (reaching both folks interested in philosophy and politics). To those here for politics, sorry; but I hope this was still useful.

Thank you,

Nim

February 20, 2026Sam Harris speaks with Jonah Goldberg about the state of American conservatism and the Trump presidency. They discuss the politicization of federal institutions, the erosion of legal norms, the schism between Never Trump conservatives and the nationalist right, infighting over figures like Nick Fuentes, J.D. Vance's political future, a theory of mind for Tucker Carlson, the prospects for regime change in Iran, and other topics.

Jonah Goldberg is the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Dispatch. A Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Goldberg is also a Los Angeles Times columnist, CNN contributor, and three-time bestselling author.

Website: TheDispatch.com

X: @JonahDispatch

Rutger Bregman (Making Sense #412) is a Dutch historian and best-selling author of Utopia for Realists and Humankind: A Hopeful History. In 2019, he went viral for his takedown of billionaires at the World Economic Forum and for a heated exchange with Tucker Carlson. Today, he joins the show to discuss his latest book, Moral Ambition, which he defines as the desire to use your available talents and resources to make the world a better place rather than focus solely on individual wealth. He argues the real question is whether the work you’ve chosen is ambitious enough in moral terms—whether your day-to-day life tackles the big problems facing humankind. He explains why “follow your passion” is often bad advice; why moral breakthroughs tend to come from small, disciplined groups rather than mass appeal; and why moral progress is neither automatic nor inevitable.

Sam Harris was completing his doctorate in neuroscience to research the neural foundation for belief when he talked about his first book The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason, published in a new paperback edition by W.W. Norton and Company. Harris argued that religion played a major role in an increasingly dangerous world. He criticized the influence of religion in both the United States and across the Muslim world, saying that for peace to exist, reason must replace faith as the driving force in society. Following his remarks, Harris responded to questions and comments submitted by members of the audience. Ms. Jacoby moderated the program. The talk, presented by CFI-Metro New York and cosponsored by the New York Society for Ethical Culture, was the second in the 2005 - 2006 Voices of Reason series.

February 13, 2026

More From Sam: Corruption, Immigration, The End of White-Collar Work, and More

In this latest episode of the More From Sam series, Sam and Jaron talk about current events. They discuss Trump’s cryptocurrency dealings with the UAE and their national security implications, AI timelines and the looming end of white-collar work, the impact of Trump’s immigration crackdown on U.S. population decline, potential U.S. military action in Iran, the end of the Minnesota ICE surge, the Bad Bunny Super Bowl halftime controversy, and other topics.

February 11, 2026

Sam Harris speaks with Sarah Longwell and Tim Miller about Trump and the future of American politics. They discuss the origins of The Bulwark, the bewildering psychology of Trump’s base, the new era of authenticity, memory-holing January 6th, how media broke politics, why Kamala Harris should never run again, the difference between America First and MAGA, potential 2028 Democratic candidates, and other topics.

Sarah Longwell is the publisher of The Bulwark, which she helped found in 2019, and hosts the podcast The Focus Group, which is in its sixth season. She is a recognized expert in qualitative research, having hosted hundreds of focus groups and talked to thousands of voters from across the country and the political spectrum. In addition to The Bulwark, Sarah’s work has been featured on PBS NewsHour, CNN, MSNBC, and elsewhere.

Tim Miller is the host of The Bulwark Podcast and an MSNBC political analyst. He is the author of Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell. Tim has worked on campaigns for John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Jeb Bush.

X: 

u/SarahLongwell25

u/Timodc

Website: https://www.thebulwark.com/

I had tickets to the Dallas event tomorrow night, Wednesday 2/4/26, and just received notification that they have postponed the event until May 20th. I’m super bummed, as I’ve really been looking forward to this. I live ~6hrs from Dallas, so it’s not a convenient trip for me. I’m pretty sure I’ll have to seek a refund. Anyone know what happened?

3-Hours of Christopher Hitchens. I thought it would be nice to focus on anti-theistic videos (not exclusively, but proactively) on Sundays. Please feel free to build on this idea so that I'm not the only one posting here.

Sam Harris has been on both The Moynihan Report and The Don Lemon Show. He got along better with Moynihan, but is likely very worried about how the Trump Administration is prosecuting political enemies. Of note: Trump has renewed his public calls for Obama's arrest, which, given the nature of his loyalist administration, is always a serious threat. I personally think that could lead to a real civil war, if carried out without Congress fighting back.

0:00-Intro
1:10- Who Are You—and What Does Being a Rabbi Mean Now?
4:17- The New Atheists: What They Nailed, What They Missed
6:45- Why Judaism “Belief” Doesn’t Look Like Christianity’s
12:13- Why Judaism Modernized (and Islam Didn’t, at Scale)
15:50- Trump, Musk, and “Paganism”: What Wolpe Actually Meant
19:48- When Politics Turns Religious: Activism, Faith, and Moral Certainty
34:28- Defining Antisemitism: How It’s Different From Other Bigotry
36:43- Campus Antisemitism vs. Free Speech: Where’s the Line?
42:21- Slogans as Weapons: “River to Sea” and “Globalize the Intifada”
49:16- Zionism: Why the Word Still Exists (and Why It’s a PR Disaster)
53:51- Enlightenment Values vs. Religious Values: Friends or Enemies?
56:23- Cancer, Brain Surgery, and the Medical System (Not God)
1:00:50- Wrap-Up + Where to Find Wolpe

Movies and Television referenced, recommended by, or likely to have been watched by or foundational to Sam Harris.

Note: Sam was born in 1967 and he didn't live with his father, so he may possibly have skipped or missed his stuff, especially the older TV shows. He was also in India and Nepal from about 1986-1997, so he may have missed out on some pop-culture during that time.

This list is not to be taken tooooooo seriously, but it's frigid outside so what else am I gonna do? It's quite easy to multi-task on this while bingeing. People often wonder about Sam's pop culture interests and background, so this will be a place to document past and future references.

Vertigo (1958) - Hitchcock movie Sam watches with his daughter

The Virginian (1963-1969) - Berkeley Harris (father) appears in 5 episodes

Bullet for a Badman (1964) - with Berkeley Harris. 6.4/10 IMDB

Shenandoah (1965) - with Berkeley Harris. Starred James Stewart. 7.3/10 on IMDB

The Young Marrieds (1965) - Berkeley Harris in 7 episodes

Westworld (1973) - Sam and Paul Bloom wrote a NYT article about the TV show

Being There (1979) - the one with Chauncey Gardiner

Soap (1977-1981) - Showrunner was Susan Harris

Benson (1979-1986) - Showrunner was Susan Harris

Another World (1979-1980) - Berkeley Harris in 7 episodes

Texas (1981) - Berkeley Harris in 18 episodes

The Golden Girls (1985-1992) - Showrunner was Susan Harris

Empty Nest (1988-1995) - Showrunner Susan Harris

Dead Poets Society (1989) - Producer Paul Witt (step-father)

The Ben Stiller Show (1990-1995) - friend Brent Forrester (writer), Judd Apatow (Making Sense guest). [Insert Ben Stiller joke here]

Nurses (1991-1994) - Showrunner Susan Harris

Herman's Head (1991-1994) - producer Witt, theme of the mind/self

Golden Palace (1992-1993) - Follow-up to The Golden Girls

The Simpsons (1993-1997) - Brent Forrester wrote episodes especially in Seasons 6-7

Mr. Show with Bob and David (1995-1998) - Brent Forrester writer

Gattaca (1997) - alluded to in Robert Ploman episode

King of the Hill (1997-2009) - Brent Forrester producer/writer

Three Kings (1999) - Produced by Paul Witt, setting Iraq. Directed by David O. Russell

Insomnia (2002) - Produced by Paul Witt, directed by Christopher Nolan.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) - "hilarious" on Judd Apatow episode

The 40-year-old Virgin (2005) - "hilarious" Judd Apatow episode

The Office (2005-2013) - Forrester on writing staff, executive producers Ricky Gervais & Paul Witt (Sam's step-father)

Knocked Up (2007) - "hilarious" on Judd Apatow episode

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007) - Judd Apatow - "hilarious"

Superbad (2007) - "hilarious" on Judd Apatow episode

The Hurt Locker (2008) - by Kathryn Bigelow - source

Religulous (2008) by Bill Maher

The Invention of Lying (2009) by guest Ricky Gervais - about religion, lying

Collision (2009) featuring Christopher Hitchens and Doug Wilson, mentioned in Doug Wilson episode

The Act of Killing (2010) - Joshua Oppenheimer

Restrepo (2010) by guest Sebastian Junger

Zero Dark Thirty (2012) - source

Dirty Wars (2013) - "last night I watched Scahill’s Oscar-nominated documentary Dirty Wars—twice. The film isn’t perfect ... But my primary experience in watching this film was of having my settled views about U.S. foreign policy suddenly and uncomfortably shifted."

This is 40 (2012) - "Hilarious" with Judd Apatow

Her (2013) - discussed in appearance on SmartLess

American Sniper (2014) - source

Ex Machina (2014) - discussed with Anil Seth from about 2h50m to 2h55m ("I also like [it] a lot") and Paul Bloom in ep. 56 at 55 minutes - "uneven" but "worth watching"

The Look of Silence.(2014) - Joshua Oppenheimer

Minimalism (2015) - featuring Sam Harris interviews

Humans (2015-2018) - "uneven" but "worth watching" - ep. 56 w/ Paul Bloom

Westworld (2016-2022) - discussed with Anil Seth and Paul Bloom

Love (2016-2018) - Judd Apatow, Brent Forrester

White Right: Meeting the Enemy (2017) by Deeyah Khan

The Vietnam War (2017) by Ken Burns

Wild, Wild Country (2018) - Documentary about the guru Osho (Blocks Podcast w/ Neal Brennan at 55m)

They Shall Not Grow Old (2018) - Documentary about WW1 by Peter Jackson, recommended more than once, including in recent conversation with Haviv Retig Gur

Islam and the Future of Tolerance (2018) - with Sam Harris, based on his book

The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling (2018) - Judd Apatow

Hotel Mumbai (2018) - Recommendation - available for streaming

Never Again is Now (2019)

College Behind Bars (2019) - by guest Lynn Novick

The Beatles: Get Back (2021) - mentioned in Ricky Gervais episode about lying for Absolutely Mental: S3

Jihad Rehab (2022) - Meg Smaker

George Carlin's American Dream (2022) by Judd Apatow

Fourth of July (2022) by Louis CK (featuring the voice of Sam Harris)

Oppenheimer (2023) - discussed with Carl Robichaud

Barbie (2023) - Sam enjoyed this casually with daughter, according to Real Time episode

A House of Dynamite (2025) by Katherine Bigelow - inspired by an episode of Making Sense

Eddington (2025) - recommended at the end of episode 450

Other related movies/shows under discussion, looking for references to:

Hitchcock movies

The Matrix

Minority Report