Samuel Benjamin Harris (born April 9, 1967, in Los Angeles, California) is an American neuroscientist, philosopher, author, and podcast host. He gained prominence as one of the 'Four Horsemen' of New Atheism alongside Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Daniel Dennett, particularly through his 2004 bestselling book 'The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason', which won the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction. Harris's work spans neuroscience, philosophy of mind, free will, meditation, psychedelics, politics, terrorism, and artificial intelligence, often blending scientific rigor with philosophical inquiry. He pursued higher education at Stanford University, where he earned a degree in philosophy, before completing a Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). A long-time practitioner of meditation for over 30 years, he has studied with teachers from Tibetan, Indian, Burmese, and Western traditions, which informs his writings and apps like Waking Up, focused on secular mindfulness. As co-founder and chief executive of the nonprofit Project Reason, established to promote science and secularism, Harris advocates for reason in public discourse. His popular podcast, Making Sense (formerly Waking Up), delves into current events, science, and ethics, featuring interviews with leading thinkers and amassing a significant audience. Throughout his career, Harris has authored several influential books, including 'Letter to a Christian Nation' (2006), 'The Moral Landscape' (2010), and 'Free Will' (2012), challenging religious dogma and proposing science-based ethics. He has faced criticism for his views on Islam and profiling in counter-terrorism but remains a key figure in intellectual debates on belief systems and human potential. Harris continues to lecture, write, and engage in public discourse from his base in the United States.