Avsnitt
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https://youtu.be/ZhqJzc75qeI
Podcast audio:
A new ARI podcast series, ARI Bookshelf, gives you a window into ARI’s educational programs by showcasing our faculty as they discuss books of recent interest. This episode discusses Kennon M. Sheldon’s book Freely Determined. Panelists include Ben Bayer, Jason Rheins, Greg Salmieri, and Gena Gorlin.
Freely Determined offers a psychologist’s case against popular forms of determinism and argues that mental health depends on a belief in one’s agency.
Our panelists examine Sheldon’s arguments and positions from a wider philosophical perspective and indicate its strengths and weaknesses. They find value in his answers to scientific arguments for determinism but question his account of motivation. They also discuss the value of psychological research and the relationship between philosophy and the sciences.
The discussion covered:
Panelists’ general take on the book;
The history of arguments for and against free will;
How mental health may depend on a belief in one’s agency;
The book’s distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation;
The book’s vague conceptualization of the self;
Why progress in psychology is messy.
The video with the episode was originally released on September 10, 2024. -
https://youtu.be/QT4O5p3oSAA
Podcast audio:
In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Onkar Ghate and Ben Bayer discuss why ARI comments on current events and why applying Objectivism to cultural issues is central to its essence as a philosophy for living on earth.
Among the topics covered:
How ARI’s commentary fits its mission;
Why applying Objectivism to current events is essential to understanding the philosophy;
Why persuading minds about Objectivism requires distinguishing it from mainstream ideas;
What is wrong with the objection that no one can speak for Ayn Rand;
What to expect from ARI’s commentary in the future.
Mentioned in this podcast are Ayn Rand’s essay “What Can One Do?” in Philosophy: Who Needs it?, and Onkar Ghate and Ben Bayer’s discussion “How Can We Change People's Minds About Ayn Rand's Controversial Ideas?”
The podcast was recorded on March 10, 2025 and released on March 12, 2025. Listen to the discussion below. Listen and subscribe where you get your podcasts from. Watch archived podcasts here. -
Saknas det avsnitt?
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https://youtu.be/YjhHIgZzO3k
Podcast audio:
In this episode of The ARI Bookshelf, Jason Rheins, Ben Bayer, Don Watkins, and Alex Silverman examine two contrasting perspectives on the influence of Christianity: Tom Holland’s Dominion and Charles Freeman’s The Closing of the Western Mind and The Reopening of the Western Mind.
While Holland’s widely discussed book argues that Christianity is the foundation of science and Western values, Freeman’s books present a contrary view. Our panelists bring their expertise to evaluate the arguments in both books, assessing their historical and philosophical accuracy.
The discussion covered:
The central arguments of the books;
Why the Church feared Aristotelian philosophy;
How Freeman’s books provide a more thorough and philosophical analysis than Holland’s;
How Holland diminishes Greek influence on modernity;
How Holland appropriates secular ideas and thinkers into Christianity;
The role of Christianity in the abolition of slavery;
The relationship between Christianity and science;
Why Holland’s book gained popularity while Freeman’s did not.
The video premiered on March 11, 2025. -
https://youtu.be/V8yIcXmoAnQ
Podcast audio:
Fifty years ago, Ayn Rand journeyed to West Point to speak to a new senior-level course offered by the Department of English. She told the cadets — and the world — who needed philosophy, and why. Now, from Shoshana Milgram, you can learn from archival documents and new interviews why and when she was invited, which readings the course contained, how she prepared, and what about her lecture astonished her hosts.
Recorded live on June 14 in Anaheim, CA as part of OCON 2024. -
https://youtu.be/h1tIDRzi9Ho
Podcast audio:
In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast Ziemowit Gowin interviews Elan Journo and Onkar Ghate on Trump’s stance on the Ukraine-Russia war, which led him to call President Zelensky a dictator and publicly berate him in the Oval Office.
Among the topics covered:
What America’s approach to the Ukraine-Russia war should be;
How Trump’s Oval Office blowup at Zelensky reveals his amorality;
The mindset driving Trump’s sympathy for Putin and his approach to negotiation;
When it would be proper to negotiate with an aggressor;
The long-term consequences of America’s pro-Russia shift.
Mentioned in this podcast is Ayn Rand’s essay “The Anatomy of Compromise” in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. Recommended for further reading are Elan Journo’s essay “Why John Mearsheimer Gets Ukraine Wrong,” Ziemowit Gowin’s essay “European Appeasement Emboldened Putin’s Aggression,”and Journo’s and Ben Bayer’s essay “Putin’s War Embodies National Conservatism’s Ideology.”
The podcast was recorded on March 5, 2025 and released on March 7, 2025. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Watch archived podcasts here. -
https://youtu.be/ad5KEuKz1a8
Podcast audio:
How does science work, and how does it differ from religion or pseudo-science? According to Karl Popper’s “falsificationism,” science, unlike religion and pseudo-science, doesn’t claim certainty; it aims only to disprove its hypotheses, and this is the source of its rationality. Popper proposed his theory as an alternative to the view that science distinguishes itself by proving its conclusions inductively.
In this lecture, Mike Mazza discuss the reasons behind Popper’s anti-inductivism and falsificationism and how they undercut the rationality of science.
Recorded live on June 16 in Anaheim, CA as part of OCON 2024. -
https://youtu.be/gFXDYaKnCVw
Podcast audio:
In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo examine Jeff Bezos' decision to reorient The Washington Post's opinion section toward issues of personal and economic freedom.
Among the topics covered:
How Bezos' move reflects a genuine appreciation for the American ideals that enabled his success;
How Ayn Rand's critique of discretionary government power should concern Elon Musk;
Why the new opinion section must confront the Trump administration's threats to freedom;
How the backlash against Bezos overlooks the reality that business leaders are victims of government controls who ought to defend their rights;
The role of the mixed economy in corrupting the American system.
Recommended in this podcast are Ayn Rand’s essay “America’s Persecuted Minority: Big Business” and the resources at ARI’s new pro-business initiative, The Atlas Circle.
The podcast was recorded on February 26, 2025 and posted on February 28, 2025. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Watch archived podcasts here. -
https://youtu.be/1fLxvFQCScA
Podcast audio:
Philosophy is for living. But how do you get the most value out of your philosophy? This is a question the panelists have been exploring from a variety of perspectives, ranging from psychology to moral philosophy to personal development. Gena Gorlin, Tara Smith, Tal Tsfany, and Don Watkins, shared their thoughts on how to leverage Objectivism for success and happiness, addressing questions such as “What are common struggles people face in trying to live by Objectivism?” and “What are underappreciated aspects of Ayn Rand’s philosophy that can empower people to enjoy life more?”
Recorded live on June 15 in Anaheim, CA as part of OCON 2024. -
https://youtu.be/UVujQHg1kZo
Podcast audio:
In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Ben Bayer and Nikos Sotirakopoulos challenge the exploitation theory of value at the root of many attacks on capitalists by both the political left and right.
Among the topics covered:
How the exploitation theory is entrenched in mainstream political thought;
How the exploitation theory fails to grasp how the capitalist produces value;
How mainstream defenses of capitalists fail to grasp how they produce value;
How capitalists benefit all of us immensely by increasing our productivity;
Rejecting the Marxist “pyramid of exploitation” for Rand’s “pyramid of ability.”
Mentioned in this podcast is Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged.
The podcast was recorded on February 21, 2025, and released on February 26, 2025. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Watch archived podcasts here. -
https://youtu.be/0SSL_XThHdQ
Podcast audio:
A new ARI podcast series gives you a window into ARI’s educational programs by showcasing our faculty as they discuss books of recent interest. The series, the ARI Bookshelf, premiered on August 6 with an episode discussing Wolfram Eilenberger’s book The Visionaries. Panelists included Ben Bayer, Jason Rheins, Greg Salmieri, and Shoshana Milgram.
The visionaries of the book’s title are four mid-twentieth century female philosophers: Simone de Beauvoir, Hannah Arendt, Simone Weil, and Ayn Rand.
Through interweaving biographies of these four figures, the book aims to show, as its subtitle puts it, “the power of philosophy in dark times.” According to Ben Bayer, “this was a very interesting book to read, especially because of the kind of novelistic quality of it, where you’re not just reading about their ideas, but you’re seeing what’s happening in their lives […] against the backdrop of some pretty dramatic geopolitical events of the period.”
Among the topics covered:
Panelists’ general takes on the book;
How Simone Weil’s philosophy causes her to martyr herself;
The thematic unity of the four figures;
The significance of the four figures being women;
The book’s sloppy treatment and misrepresentation of Rand;
How the book whitewashes evil;
Why the book may be worth reading.
The video premiered on August 6, 2024. -
https://youtu.be/y-WB-fhVJls
Podcast audio:
In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Onkar Ghate and Tristan de Liège discuss why the traditional conception of forgiveness is evil and indicate how to think of it from an Objectivist perspective.
Among the topics covered:
How forgiveness is conventionally understood;
Why the idea of “forgive and forget” enables injustice;
Why forgiving a murderous dictator like Putin would be horrific;
Why a rational view of forgiveness must be rooted in justice;
The story of Mosab Hassan Yousef as an example of earning forgiveness;
How healing from injustice comes from maintaining a positive value context, not forgiveness;
Whether there is need for a separate concept of forgiveness.
Recommended in this podcast are the Ayn Rand Lexicon entries on “Mercy,” “Justice,” and “Moral Judgment.” The podcast was recorded on February 14, 2025 and posted on February 19, 2025. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Watch archived podcasts here. -
https://youtu.be/yOx0pcktQtI
Podcast audio:
What is at stake in the Russia/Ukraine and the Israel/Hamas conflicts? What are America’s interests in the chaotic Middle East? How do we evaluate China’s global ambitions and its claims on Taiwan? What’s the impact of foreign policy on the 2024 campaign trail? How does Objectivism help us unpack these and related issues? Panel discussion featuring Yaron Brook, Peter Schwartz, and Scott McDonald, moderated by Elan Journo, with extensive audience Q&A.
Recorded live on June 16 in Anaheim, CA as part of OCON 2024. -
https://youtu.be/9GjD66edA0g
Join one of ARI's many online educational courses. Our new "Flex" option allows you to take these courses at your own pace, whenever you have the time, while also still retaining the benefit of having your questions answered and your assignments graded by a real instructor. Browse our catalog now: https://aru.aynrand.org/
In the age of social media everyone’s a self-proclaimed pundit, tweeting or posting on current events whether or not they possess any relevant knowledge or expertise. Meanwhile, our culture is saturated with stale, conventional thinking. People are taken in far too easily by false alternatives, tribalism, and superficial perspectives utterly lacking in nuance or principle.
In this sample class—based on the full-length ARU course of the same name—Yaron Brook and Onkar Ghate will share their insights into how they approach thinking about current events, how they acquire sufficient knowledge to comment meaningfully on any given topic, and how they use Objectivism as a lens to clarify even the thorniest of issues.
Recorded live on June 15 in Anaheim, CA as part of OCON 2024. -
https://youtu.be/a-SwX91pj2Q
Podcast audio:
In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Elan Journo and Ben Bayer discuss the moral travesty of the Gaza deal and the intellectual bankruptcy it reveals in foreign policy thinking.
Among the topics covered:
Why the Gaza deal will not bring peace but ensure further aggression by Hamas;
How the lopsided hostage release deal is a win for Hamas;
How the Gaza deal is short-sighted and self-sacrificial;
How Trump’s “real estate” deal would reward Gazans for their aggression;
How the Gaza deal reveals a blindness to the role of ideas in motivating aggression.
Recommended in this podcast are ARI’s “Resources on Israel, Palestine, and the Middle East," Elan Journo’s book What Justice Demands, and Ben Bayer’s article “We Ignore the Unconditional Right to Self-Defense at Our Peril."
The podcast was recorded on February 12, 2025, and released on February 14, 2025. Listen and subscribe wherever you get you podcasts. Watch archived podcasts here. -
https://youtu.be/Oly3eYzZiTg
Podcast audio:
Accelerate your understanding of Objectivism today by joining one of our many online educational courses. Our new "Flex" option allows you to take these courses at your own pace, whenever you have the time, while also still retaining the benefit of having your questions answered and your assignments graded by a real instructor. Sign up now: https://aru.aynrand.org/
This sample class is based on the full-length ARU course of the same name by Don Watkins and Tal Tsfany. The full course explores the principles and attitudes that will help guide students in their work, career, and the world of business more generally. A major focus is on what the application of these ideas looks like, explored in part through a series of interviews and discussions with Objectivist businessmen, entrepreneurs, intellectuals, and professionals in various fields.
The session focuses on the nature of a fulfilling career, how to select a career, and key tips for building a fulfilling career.
Recorded live on June 17 in Anaheim, CA as part of OCON 2024. -
https://youtu.be/wmo0zqU_dIQ
Podcast audio:
In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Ben Bayer and Robertas Bakula discuss the latest developments of the Department of Justice’s vicious antitrust persecution of Google.
Among the topics covered:
How the antitrust attack on Google is driven by hatred of its productive virtues;
How the DOJ's remedies for Google's alleged crime punish their success;
Google’s failure to challenge the government’s right to persecute them;
Why calling out the evil of antitrust would give Google the moral high ground;
How the Trump administration is just as bad as Biden’s on antitrust prosecution;
What Google and other persecuted businesses can do to defend themselves.
Recommended in this podcast are “Open Letter to Google’s Sundar Pichai and Team,” which is the first project of ARI’s Atlas Circle initiative, the previous podcast episode on “The Vicious Antitrust Case Against Google,” and Ayn Rand’s essay, “America’s Persecuted Minority: Big Business.”
The podcast was recorded on February 5, 2025 and released on February 7, 2025. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Watch archived podcasts here. -
https://youtu.be/hPO8IQvENTY
Podcast audio:
In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Elan Journo interviews, Bud Brigham, a lifelong entrepreneur and the founder of multiple successful companies, most notably Atlas Energy Solutions. Mr. Brigham built his career on a vision of innovation and an uncompromising commitment to individualism, values deeply informed by Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism. In this interview, Mr. Brigham shares how The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged inspired him to take bold risks and create lasting value in the energy sector.
Among the topics covered:
Introduction to the Roundtable and to Bud Brigham;
What motivates Brigham’s continuing entrepreneurship;
How Brigham’s companies innovated to overcome economic and technological challenges;
Brigham’s battle to build the innovative Dune Express, the world’s second-longest conveyor belt transporting fracking sand;
How Objectivist ideas have inspired and empowered Brigham’s career;
How Brigham works to encourage industry peers to stand up on principle against demands for regulation;
Brigham’s advice for young entrepreneurs;
Brigham’s favorite passage from Ayn Rand.
The interview with Mr. Brigham occurred at a recent ARI Donor Roundtable on January 25, an event usually available exclusively for donors. If you'd like to participate in the next Roundtable event, consider joining ARI as a supporter. -
https://youtu.be/fEOGBX9R05w
Podcast audio:
In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Ben Bayer and Elan Journo discuss Trump’s blanket pardon of all the people involved in the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
Among the topics covered:
How Trump’s blanket pardon lets outrageous evil off the hook;
How Trump’s claims about the 2020 elections and the January 6 attack are arbitrary;
How Trump and many Republicans are attempting to rewrite reality;
How the pardons normalize political violence and reflect the tribalism of our culture;
Why the blanket pardoning is an attack on the Constitution and the rule of law.
Recommended in this podcast are the podcast episodes “The Storming of the Capitol” and “The January 6 Hearings.”
The podcast was recorded and posted on January 22, 2025. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Watch archived podcasts here. -
https://youtu.be/87jSEwTQLgk
Podcast audio:
In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Onkar Ghate and Ben Bayer analyze Mark Zuckerberg's recent comments on Facebook’s policy changes and whether they truly represent a victory for free speech.
Among the topics covered:
How Facebook’s content moderation is not a violation of free speech;
How the government’s intimidation of Facebook is a violation of free speech;
How both the Biden and Trump administrations intimidate Facebook;
How CEOs, like Zuckerberg, morally sanction the attacks against them;
Why CEOs, like Zuckerberg, need a principled defense from intellectuals.
Mentioned in this podcast are Ayn Rand’s article “’Have Gun, Will Nudge’” in The Objectivist Newsletter and Ben Bayer’s article “Facebook: Censor or Victim?”
The podcast was recorded on January 15, 2025 and released on January 16, 2025. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Watch archived podcasts here. -
https://youtu.be/HYUiFLJ3_Yg
Podcast audio:
In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Tristan de Liège and Nikos Sotirakopoulos discuss David Goggins’ idea that suffering is central to the pursuit of values.
Among the topics covered:
The popular idea that embracing suffering is essential to a successful life;
David Goggins’ incredible life and character;
Why life is not fundamentally about overcoming suffering;
What makes Goggins’ message inspiring, despite its misconceptions;
Why Objectivism views happiness, not suffering, as the ultimate purpose of life.
Recommended in this podcast are Ben Bayer’s “Don’t Resign Yourself to Suffering, Combat It” and the podcast episode on “Should We Accept Suffering as Part of Life?”
The podcast was recorded on January 6, 2025 and released on January 9, 2025. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Watch archived podcasts here. - Visa fler
