In this episode of the Waking Up podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Deeyah Khan about her groundbreaking films “Jihad” and “White Right.” They discuss her history as a target of religious intolerance, her adventures with neo-Nazis and other white supremacists, the similarities between extremist groups, the dangers of political correctness, and other topics. Deeyah Khan … Continued

In this episode of the Waking Up podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Derren Brown about his work as a “psychological illusionist.” They discuss the power of hypnosis, the power of expectations, the usefulness of Stoic philosophy, and other topics. Derren Brown began his UK television career in December 2000 with a series of specials called … Continued

Episode #142 without the 7 minute support pitch. In this episode of the Waking Up podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Johann Hari about his books Chasing the Scream and Lost Connections. Johann Hari is the New York Times bestselling author of Chasing the Scream, which is being adapted into a feature film. He was twice … Continued

Episode #141 without the 7 minute support pitch. In this episode of the Waking Up podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Rebecca Traister about her new book Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger. Rebecca Traister is writer at large for New York magazine and a contributing editor at Elle. A National Magazine Award finalist, she has … Continued

Sam talks to the head of TED, Chris Anderson, about using reason to build our morality. Sam makes the case that reason can indeed answer moral questions, and then explores the many controversies that emerge from that claim. Moral superiority? Cultural superiority? Moral progress? Chris and Sam dig in to discuss the right ways to … Continued

Brian Greene is world-renowned for his groundbreaking discoveries in the field of superstring theory, including the co-discovery of mirror symmetry and the discovery of spatial topology change. He is the director of Columbia’s Center for Theoretical Physics. Professor Greene is known to the public through his New York Times best selling books and numerous media … Continued

Episode #140 without the 7 minute support pitch! In this episode of the Waking Up podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Matt Taibbi about the state journalism and the polarization of our politics. They discuss the controversy over Steve Bannon at the New Yorker Festival, monetizing the Trump phenomenon, the Jamal Kashoggi murder, the Kavanaugh hearing, … Continued

Maria Popova is a reader, writer, interestingness hunter-gatherer, and curious mind at large. She’s previously written for Wired UK, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab, among others, and is a MIT Futures of Entertainment Fellow. Her blog is BrainPickings.org Twitter: @brainpicker Janna Levin is the Tow Professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University, and has … Continued

Q&A with Joseph Goldstein