Sam Harris

He is trained in martial arts (MA) and practices Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

He donates a significant portion of the revenue generated by each of his new podcast chapter to various charitable organizations.

Samuel Benjamin “Sam” Harris was born on April 9, 1967 in Los Angeles, California, the USA. His mother is TV producer Susan Harris, a secular Jew, and his father is actor Berkeley Harris who belongs to a Quaker background.

Harris was raised by his mother after his parents divorced when he was two. He once stated that his upbringing was completely secular and that his parents hardly discussed religion.

He began attending Stanford University to study English. However, in his second year, he moved to Nepal and India where he studied meditation with Hindu and Buddhist religious teachers for eleven years. In 1997, Harris returned to Stanford, earning his B.A. degree in philosophy in 2000.

Later, he enrolled at University of California, Los Angeles from where he received his Ph.D. degree in cognitive neuroscience in the year 2009.

Sam Harris’ first book titled ‘The End of Faith’ was published in 2004. It was well received and became a best-seller. Four year later, he published his second book. Titled ‘Letter to a Christian Nation,’ it is in the form of an open letter written in response to the feedback he got following the publication of ‘The End of Faith.’

Harris' writing mainly focuses on criticism of religion and neuroscience. He has formerly blogged for the ‘Huffington Post,’ ‘The Washington Post’ and ‘Truthdig.’ Moreover, his articles have appeared in numerous publications, such as ‘The New York Times,’ ‘Newsweek,’ ‘The Los Angeles Times’ and ‘The Boston Globe.’

Till date, the philosopher has made several radio and TV appearances, including on ABC News, The O'Reilly Factor, Tucker, NPR, Book TV, Real Time, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.

In 2005, he made an appearance in the documentary movie ‘The God Who Wasn't There’. The following year, he was a featured speaker at the ‘Beyond Belief: Science, Religion, Reason and Survival’ conference.

Harris has also appeared multiple times on the ‘Point of Inquiry’ radio podcast. In April 2007, he debated with Rick Warren for Newsweek magazine.

Sam Harris serves as the chief executive as well as one of the founders of Project Reason. This non-profit foundation is dedicated to make society aware about secular values and scientific knowledge. Its advisory board consists of various scientists, atheists, and sceptics, including Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Bill Maher, and Richard Dawkins.