Making Sense - by Sam Harris (Paperback)

About the Book

"A dozen of the best conversations from the podcast Making Sense, on topics that range from the nature of consciousness and free will, to politics and extremism, to acting ethically"--

Book Synopsis

A New York Times New and Noteworthy Book

From the bestselling author of Waking Up and The End of Faith, an adaptation of his wildly popular, often controversial podcast

"Civilization rests on a series of successful conversations." --Sam Harris

Sam Harris--neuroscientist, philosopher, and bestselling author--has been exploring some of the most important questions about the human mind, society, and current events on his podcast, Making Sense. With over one million downloads per episode, these discussions have clearly hit a nerve, frequently walking a tightrope where either host or guest--and sometimes both--lose their footing, but always in search of a greater understanding of the world in which we live. For Harris, honest conversation, no matter how difficult or controversial, represents the only path to moral and intellectual progress.

This book includes a dozen of the best conversations from Making Sense, including talks with Daniel Kahneman, Timothy Snyder, Nick Bostrom, and Glenn Loury, on topics that range from the nature of consciousness and free will, to politics and extremism, to living ethically. Together they shine a light on what it means to "make sense" in the modern world.

Review Quotes

"In a nation and at a time that seems to have lost all capacity for nuance and reason in its public discourse, Making Sense serves a deep and important purpose: allowing people to discuss pressing matters in careful and yet exciting ways, to the benefit of us all. Sam Harris, ever brilliant, is a national treasure." - Nicholas Christakis, author of Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society
"Sam has given us one of the greatest podcasts in the world for clear thinking. We are better equipped to face the perils and uncertainties of life with it in the air. It's a stand-out leader in a cluttered field and being Sam's guest on it was a career highlight." - Derren Brown, author of Happy: Why More or Less Everything is Absolutely Fine
"Of all the podcasts available, the one nobody should miss is Making Sense. Every episode is stimulating. In an era when everyone seems to have lost their reason, here is one of the few places where reason remains safe." - Douglas Murray, author of The Strange Death of Europe and The Madness of Crowds
"There are precious few spaces in the media landscape where difficult, rigorous and respectful conversations can play out at substantial length, without agenda. Sam Harris created the model for such illuminating exchange, and the Making Sense podcast is a treasure trove of discussions with many of the most compelling and fascinating minds of our era." - Thomas Chatterton Williams, contributing writer, The New York Times Magazine, author of Self Portrait in Black and White.
"Free and open debate, in the best sense of the word. . . . The book's advantage over the podcast is that readers can linger as they need to and cherry-pick interviews at will. Recommended for anyone who wants to spend time with intelligent minds wrestling not with each other but with understanding." - Kirkus Reviews
"Making Sense is a refueling station for the mind, and I visit it regularly. As an interviewer, Sam is both rigorous and generous. His show is completely devoid of the cheap shots and tribal bickering that characterize so much of podcasting. Making Sense is joyful play of the mind, without a trace of the partisan cretinism that disfigures the vast majority of our discourse these days." - Graeme Wood, staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of The Way of the Strangers: Encounters with the Islamic State
"Making Sense is one of the most thought-provoking podcasts that I've come across. Sam Harris does an incredible job probing--and finding answers to--some of the most important questions of our times." - Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of The Emperor of All Maladies and The Gene: An Intimate History
"It's no wonder that Sam attracts a huge audience. He is a thinker with his own ideas, so his interviews are some of the most interesting conversations you are ever likely to hear." - Peter Singer, author of Animal Liberation
"Sam Harris is tremendous at his job; sharp, skeptical in just the best sense, and full of curiosity and openness. He's a terrific questioner, and he greatly enlivens and improves public discourse." - Cass Sunstein, author of Can It Happen Here?: Authoritarianism in America
"In the huge world of interviewers, Sam Harris stands out at the top for his probing questions, and for his own thoughtful views." - Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and Steel
"To the raging controversies of the day, Sam Harris adds a voice of civility and reason." - Lawrence Wright, author of The Looming Tower