Between global crises and personal problems, modern life is overflowing with things to worry about, including many issues that feel too big to even address. Yet, our ability to influence these problems and how much we worry about them are not equal to each other – and in fact, getting lost in thoughts of anxiety can reduce our ability to act. Given the direct line between individual inner states and civilizational dysfunction, what global change might be possible if we train ourselves to observe thought, rather than be unconsciously consumed and paralyzed by it?

In this episode, Nate is joined by philosopher and neuroscientist Sam Harris to explore how cultivating inner awareness could help us – both as individuals and a society – navigate civilizational crises. Sam argues that virtually all human suffering flows from one source: the mind's incessant, largely unnoticed identification with thought. Sam makes the case that, at scale, these distracted minds cumulate into people who are helplessly identified with their own inner worlds, their tribes, and their identity rather than able to hold a broader view. He offers a deep dive on the foundations of meditation, mindfulness, and awareness techniques as a way to help navigate our thoughts and remain grounded in the present. Ultimately, he suggests that in order to steer toward better futures, we might need to invest in cultivating both saner individuals and wiser systems in parallel.

Whether the threat is a cancer diagnosis or civilizational overshoot, the question is the same: how much suffering do you have to carry between now and the future? What if the inner work of moving through grief toward equanimity is actually a precondition for effective action? And if the most consequential decisions in human history are being made by people who have never once examined the nature of their own minds, how will their own mental states reflect onto the reality of our shared outcomes?

(Conversation recorded on February 18th, 2026)

About Sam Harris:

Sam Harris is the author of five New York Times best sellers. His books include The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation, The Moral Landscape, Free Will, Lying, Waking Up, and Islam and the Future of Tolerance (with Maajid Nawaz). The End of Faith won the 2005 PEN Award for Nonfiction. His writing and public lectures cover a wide range of topics – neuroscience, moral philosophy, religion, meditation practice, human violence, rationality – but generally focus on how a growing understanding of ourselves and the world is changing our sense of how we should live. He also hosts the Making Sense Podcast, which was selected by Apple as one of the "iTunes Best" and has won a Webby Award for best podcast in the Science & Education category.

Sam received a degree in philosophy from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA. He has also practiced meditation for more than 30 years and has studied with many Tibetan, Indian, Burmese, and Western meditation teachers, both in the United States and abroad. Sam has created the Waking Up app for anyone who wants to learn to meditate in a modern, scientific context.

Show Notes and More

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