#490 — Lies, Bulls**t, and the Rule of Law

Sam Harris and former federal prosecutor Preet Bharara met to diagnose the state of public discourse and the rule of law. The conversation was prompted by a shared sense that something has gone wrong—not just with political debate, but with the basic conditions for having a shared reality. Harris argued that the quality of dialogue has genuinely declined, for reasons that are structural, not just nostalgic. He pointed to information siloing from social media, a culture reading less and reading shorter pieces, the rise of "AI slop" and hot takes, and the proliferation of podcasts where hosts and guests bloviate without intellectual or journalistic norms. The appetite for contrarianism and conspiracy thinking has been supercharged, especially since COVID, and respect for institutions, gatekeeping, and expertise has unwound. "It has been in the main disastrous," he said.

The Rogan effect, COVID's shattering, and asymmetric credibility