Search

Home > Waking Up with Sam Harris - Subscriber Content > #464 - The Politics of Pragmatism and the Future of California
Podcast: Waking Up with Sam Harris - Subscriber Content
Episode:

#464 - The Politics of Pragmatism and the Future of California
Category: Science & Medicine
Duration: 01:22:07
Publish Date: 2026-03-16 17:30:00
Description:

Sam Harris speaks with Matt Mahan, mayor of San Jose and Democratic candidate for governor of California, about governance, pragmatism, and California's policy failures. They discuss the dysfunction of progressive governance, the homelessness crisis and what San Jose has done to reduce it, the proposed wealth tax and its likely backfire, why California can't build housing affordably, rent control, mandatory psychiatric holds, the influence of special interests in Sacramento, and other topics.

Matt Mahan is the Mayor of San Jose and a candidate for Governor of California. Raised in Watsonville and a Harvard graduate, he began his career in the Peace Corps before teaching on San Jose's East Side. He went on to lead two civic tech startups, Causes and Brigade, focused on civic engagement and nonprofit support.

Elected Mayor in 2022, Mahan has made homelessness and public safety his central priorities. Under his leadership, San Jose reduced unsheltered homelessness by nearly a third through the largest expansion of emergency shelter on the West Coast, and earned recognition as the safest big city in America. He has also worked to accelerate housing development by cutting permitting costs and timelines, and took on utility companies to lower energy costs for residents. In 2024, he was re-elected with 87% of the vote and helped lead the passage of Proposition 36, a statewide ballot measure enabling mandated treatment for repeat offenders in cases involving retail theft, homelessness, and addiction. He announced his run for California governor in January 2026.

 

Website: https://mahanforcalifornia.com

X: https://x.com/MattMahanSJ

Share this episode: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/464-the-politics-of-pragmatism-and-the-future-of-california
Total Play: 0

Users also like

100+ Episodes
Remedy Lodi 9     1
100+ Episodes
Biology 3020 .. 70+     10+
2K+ Episodes
The Joe Roga .. 48K+     2K+
1K+ Episodes
Casefile Tru .. 15K+     600+