Israel, Hamas, and the Battle for Civilization | Sam Harris & Douglas Murray

Making Sense episode #410

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Sam Harris speaks with Douglas Murray about Douglas’s new book, On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Civilization. They discuss Douglas’s recent experience on Joe Rogan’s podcast, the need for experts, conspiracy theories, the origins and aims of Hamas, the moral asymmetries between Israel and Hamas, what makes jihadism a uniquely dangerous ideology, Hamas’s attack on the Nova music festival, Douglas’s associations with Trump and Trumpism, Elon Musk and X, antisemitism on the Right, and other topics.

Douglas Murray is a journalist and bestselling author of 8 books, including On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Civilization (2025), The War on the West (2022), The Madness of Crowds (2019), and The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam (2017). He has been a contributor to Spectator since 2000 and an associate editor since 2012. He is a columnist at the New York Post and regularly writes for The Telegraph and The Sun. He is also a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal.

Website: douglasmurray.net

X: @DouglasKMurray

00:00 Douglas’s Appearance on Joe Rogan’s Podcast
11:52 The Case for Expertise
34:27 Revisionist History and Conspiracies
41:41 Confusion Around Israel and Hamas
59:21 The Unique Evils of Taking Hostages and Jihadism