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Making Sense with Sam Harris

#480 — The Economics of Everything

Making Sense with Sam Harris

Waking Up with Sam Harris

Society & Culture, Science

4.629.7K Ratings

🗓️ 12 June 2026

⏱️ 25 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Sam Harris speaks with economist and Substack writer Noah Smith about the U.S. national debt, wealth inequality, and the economic consequences of AI. They discuss the mechanics of debt and inflation, the case for fiscal austerity, why the U.S. squandered low interest rates, modern monetary theory, how AI may restructure labor and ownership, the anti-billionaire politics of the American left, the degrowth movement and its failures, demographic decline and fertility trends, the role of smartphones in eroding democratic culture, and other topics.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

You're listening to Making Sense with Sam Harris.

0:04.5

This is the free version of the podcast so you'll only hear the first part of today's conversation.

0:09.1

If you want the full episode and every episode, you can subscribe at samharris.org.

0:14.6

There are no ads on this show.

0:16.2

It runs entirely on subscriber support.

0:19.0

If you enjoy what we're doing here and find it valuable,

0:21.3

please consider subscribing today. I'm here with Noah Smith. Noah, thanks for joining me.

0:27.5

Hey, thanks for having me on. You've got a great substack, which many people will have read.

0:31.5

It's Noah Opinion, a pun on your name. No opinion. No opinion. But they can find you, no doubt, under your name as well over there on Substack.

0:40.7

There's a lot to cover.

0:41.7

I mean, you touch many interesting topics, but summarize your background first,

0:46.2

and then we'll just jump into your wheelhouse.

0:48.9

All right.

0:49.2

Well, background.

0:50.3

I was originally a physics major in college.

0:52.5

Then I lived in Japan for a while.

0:55.0

Then I did a PhD in economics at the University of Michigan,

0:58.4

worked for a couple of years as a finance professor at Stony Brook in New York,

1:02.5

and then quit to become a writer.

1:06.3

Yeah.

1:06.3

And so now I just write about economics.

1:08.1

Well, you're good at that.

...

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