#488 — Ego, Ecstasy, and Equanimity episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 4, 2026 · 12 MIN

#488 — Ego, Ecstasy, and Equanimity

from Making Sense with Sam Harris

Sam Harris speaks with Neal Brennan about the experiences that shaped his life and work. They discuss Sam's mother's television career, growing up with an absent father, his struggles with perfectionism, his first experience with MDMA, dropping out of Stanford, meditation retreats, spiritual charisma and claims of psychic powers, the illusion of self, the limits of pacifism, deleting Twitter, Trump and the politics of shamelessness, hypocrisy and vice signaling, the future of American democracy, 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 samharris.org/subscribe.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Aug 4, 2026

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

#488 — Ego, Ecstasy, and Equanimity

0:00 12:30

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Making Sense with Sam Harris?

This episode is 12 minutes long.

When was this Making Sense with Sam Harris episode published?

This episode was published on August 4, 2026.

Can I download this Making Sense with Sam Harris episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!