Sam Harris speaks with George Saunders about his creative process. They discuss George's involvement with Buddhism, the importance of kindness, psychedelics, writing as a practice, the work of Raymond Carver, the problem of social media, our current political moment, the role of fame in American culture, Wendell Berry, fiction as way of exploring good and evil, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, missed opportunities in ordinary life, what it means to be a more loving person, his article "The Incredible Buddha Boy," the prison of reputation, Tolstoy, and other topics. If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at <a href="http://samharris.org/subscribe">samharris.org/subscribe</a>. Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That's why Sam Harris created the <a href="https://www.wakingup.com/makingsense">Waking Up</a> app. From rational mindfulness practice to lessons on some of life's most important topics, join Sam as he demystifies the practice of meditation and explores the theory behind it.

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#372 — Life & Work

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Sam Harris Episodes Around June 24, 2024

#357 — America & World Order

#358 — The War in Ukraine

#359 — Getting Used to It

#360 — We Really Don't Have Free Will?

#361 — Sam Bankman-Fried & Effective Altruism

#362 — Six Months of War

#363 — Knowledge Work

#364 — Facts & Values

#365 — Reality Check

#366 — Urban Warfare 2.0

#367 — Campus Protests, Antisemitism, and Western Values

#368 — Freedom & Censorship

#369 — Escaping Death

#370 — Gender Apartheid and the Future of Iran

#371 — What the Hell Is Happening?

#372 — Life & Work

#373 — Anti-Zionism Is Antisemitism

#374 — Consciousness and the Physical World

#375 — On the Attempted Assassination of President Trump

#376 — How Democracies Fail

#377 — The Future of Psychedelic Medicine 2

#378 — Digital Delusions

#379 — Regulating Artificial Intelligence

#380 — The Roots of Attention

#381 — Delusions, Right and Left

#382 — The Eye of Nature

#383 — Where Are the Grown-Ups?

#384 — Stress Testing Our Democracy

#385 — AI Utopia

#386 — Information & Social Order

#387 — Politics & Power

Summary