logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2021
3h 41m

Special Episode: Engineering the Apocaly...

SAM HARRIS
About this episode

In this nearly 4-hour SPECIAL EPISODE, Rob Reid delivers a 100-minute monologue (broken up into 4 segments, and interleaved with discussions with Sam) about the looming danger of a man-made pandemic, caused by an artificially-modified pathogen. The risk of this occurring is far higher and nearer-term than almost anyone realizes. 

Rob explains the science and motivations that could produce such a catastrophe and explores the steps that society must start taking today to prevent it. These measures are concrete, affordable, and scientifically fascinating—and almost all of them are applicable to future, natural pandemics as well. So if we take most of them, the odds of a future Covid-like outbreak would plummet—a priceless collateral benefit. 

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.

Up next
Jul 14
#485 — The New Science of Cancer
Sam Harris speaks with Siddhartha Mukherjee about the science of cancer. They discuss the updated edition of The Emperor of All Maladies, whether cancer is one disease or many, why prevention is so hard, inflammation and air pollution as carcinogens, the myth that cell phones cau ... Show More
1h 21m
Jul 8
#484 — Artificial Intimacy
Sam Harris speaks with Paul Bloom about our relationships with AI and the future of human connection. They discuss the surprising pace of AI progress, AI companions as a remedy for loneliness, the importance of mattering to other people, digitally resurrecting the dead, whether A ... Show More
27m 13s
Jul 1
#483 — The Knots We Tie Ourselves Into
Sam Harris speaks with Alain de Botton about the psychology of unhappiness, the secular world's discomfort with ecstasy and ritual, psychedelics as a tool for self-discovery, Freud's legacy, AI as the ultimate mirror, the case against meritocracy, the cancel culture purity trap, ... Show More
22m 54s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2019
How synthetic biology could wipe out humanity -- and how we can stop it | Rob Reid
The world-changing promise of synthetic biology and gene editing has a dark side. In this far-seeing talk, author and entrepreneur Rob Reid reviews the risks of a world where more and more people have access to the tools and tech needed to create a doomsday bug that could wipe ou ... Show More
16m 47s
Jun 2021
#193 – Rob Reid: The Existential Threat of Engineered Viruses and Lab Leaks
Rob Reid is an author and podcaster. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: – Athletic Greens: https://athleticgreens.com/lex and use code LEX to get 1 month of fish oil – Belcampo: https://belcampo.com/lex and use code LEX to get 20% off first order – Fundrise ... Show More
3h 5m
Jun 2023
Ep.15 - "Is this the End?"
In this epic episode of our podcast, we're diving into the intriguing world of the apocalypse!!We talk about different types of apocalypses and the challenges it might bring. So, gather your friends, grab your popcorn and let's embark on this thrilling journey through the apocaly ... Show More
1 h
Oct 2022
How the Pandemic Shortened Life Expectancy and New Drugs on the Horizon: COVID, Quickly, Episode 40
In this episode of the COVID, Quickly podcast, we talk about why we’ve had years shaved off our average collective life since 2020. Also, we talk about “mabs” and why you might want to know what they are. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 
8m 58s
Mar 2022
How science fiction can shape our reality | Your Undivided Attention
The meta-crisis is so vast: climate change, exponential technology, addiction, polarization and more. How do we grasp it, let alone take steps to address it? One of the thinking tools we have at our disposal is science fiction. To the extent that we co-evolve with our stories, sc ... Show More
28m 14s
Aug 2021
From the Vault: Astronomical Suffering and the Terran Diaspora
For many futurists, the long term survival of humanity depends on its ability to become a true interplanetary and even interstellar species. But what is the potential moral cost of such a great technological and cultural leap forward? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, R ... Show More
1h 5m
Jul 2021
How To Avoid Destroying Humanity - Rob Reid - #346
Rob Reid is an entrepreneur, podcaster and an author. The last 15 months have been a terrifying taster of just what a global crisis is like, except it wasn't lethal enough to be a threat to our long term survival - but just because this one wasn't, doesn't mean that more deadly e ... Show More
2h 11m
Dec 2022
58 - The Risks of Science Populism
<p>In today&apos;s different type of episode, we talk about the risks of a subtle kind of scientific misinformation.</p><p><a rel="payment" href="https://patreon.com/whythisuniverse">Support the show</a></p> 
14m 20s