Episodes

https://youtu.be/qctS25KQzrs Podcast audio: In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Sam Weaver and Ben Bayer discuss the Trump administration's decision to cut federal funding to Columbia University in response to its handling of pro-Hamas protests. They argue that government involvement in universities makes such coercion possible and threatens intellectual freedom. Among the topics covered: How to think about the pro-Hamas protests at Columbia; The nature of Trump’s actions against ...

https://youtu.be/VaNHaT-xlOU Podcast audio: The new ARI Bookshelf podcast series gives you a window into ARI’s educational programs by showcasing our faculty as they discuss books of recent interest. This episode discusses Ta-Nehisi Coates's book on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, The Message. Panelists included Elan Journo, Greg Salmieri, Ibis Slade, and Mohamed Ali.

https://youtu.be/RKtLU6ntECU Podcast audio: “Socratic Wisdom” — knowing our own ignorance — is the ability to differentiate what we do not know from what we do. This is a key component of objectivity, vital for properly weighing and implementing the knowledge we possess and directing ongoing investigation and inquiry. In this talk, Jason Rheins discusses the nature and importance of this introspective clarity and how it is achieved. He covers practical methods and specific tips for identifying o...

https://youtu.be/vFaDm6eo-mk Podcast audio: In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Onkar Ghate and Ben Bayer examine the Trump administration’s recent tariff policy and the legal, economic, and political disruptions they create. Among the topics covered: Why tariffs are not a proper foreign policy instrument to deter the threat from China; Why all justifications for tariffs are arbitrary and collectivistic in nature; How the obsession with trade deficits reveals outright ignorance of...

https://youtu.be/-c6W8JuZsVo Podcast audio: Oppression and authoritarianism have been constant themes in regimes that ruled in the name of Marxism. From the Soviet Union to Cuba and from Yugoslavia to China, individual rights were ignored and violently suppressed. Is such anti-individualism a feature or a bug in Marxism? What about Marx himself? How did he view the individual? Was he the one who planted the seed for the future orgy of anti-individualist violence that has been perpetrated in his ...

https://youtu.be/093vQKWPwvs Podcast audio: Objectivity is the key to avoiding misunderstandings and making one-to-one conversations productive. There are two contexts of knowledge, two value hierarchies, and two “crows” to consider to communicate effectively. In this talk from OCON 2024, Jean Moroney covers the topics: what constitutes subjective vs. objective goals for a conversation, the need to manage emotions as they arise rather than shut them down, and how doing this effectively by “holdi...

https://youtu.be/a3bgumyKdAA Podcast audio: In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Ben Bayer and Nikos Sotirakopoulos dismantle the claim that “real socialism” has never been attempted. Among the topics covered: Why many young Americans support socialism; How Soviet leaders were driven by Marxist ideology; Why Joseph Stalin epitomized Marxist principles; Why dictatorship is the logical outcome of socialist central planning; How the definition of socialism has been watered down to eva...

https://youtu.be/8wKAKmydUlg Podcast audio: Johann Wolfgang Goethe’s dramatic poem Faust is a monumental work of Romantic literature that presents one man’s ceaseless striving to transcend the limitations of human knowledge and experience. By exploring some of the most profound and moving passages from the poem, this talk by Nicolas Krusek provides a glimpse of Goethe’s grand-scale themes and characterizations, and demonstrate the rich rewards to be gained by joining his hero—the “good man” with...

https://youtu.be/HtOmp-fh-Pk Podcast audio: This episode of ARI Bookshelf features Naomi Oreskes’s bookWhy Trust Science? Panelists include Ben Bayer, Jason Rheins, Mike Mazza, and Daniel Schwartz. Why Trust Science? asks when and why non-experts can trust science. It argues that it is the social character of science that makes it trustworthy. Our panelists judge whether the arguments Oreskes gives are convincing and examine her views about the value of consensus and diversity in scientists’ bel...

https://youtu.be/S1DL9777gfk Podcast audio: In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Ben Bayer and Onkar Ghate challenge the myth that America is ruled by plutocrats, exposing how fear of governmental threats drives business decisions. Among the topics covered: How CEOs’ silence in the face of Trump’s destructive tariff policies debunks the myth of plutocracy; How threats from the Trump administration instill fear in America’s top producers; How attacks on Zuckerberg and other CEOs rev...

https://youtu.be/qBTy_9VVhuE Podcast audio: Often, people make the mistake of being too passive about friendship, treating it as something that just happens automatically in life—for instance, maintaining friendships with people one just happened to know growing up, or using shortcuts, such as a shared philosophy, in choosing friends. In this talk, Tristan de Liège explores in detail what it means to pursue friendship in a philosophically minded way—integrating the value of friendship with one’s...

https://youtu.be/9lMQ3idE9bw Podcast audio: Immigration is one of the most contentious topics on today's political landscape. But that has always been true throughout America history. Why have immigration restrictions taken hold in America since the nineteenth century? What ideas animate immigration restrictionists, and what explains their success in restricting immigration in the U.S.? In this talk, Agustina Vergara Cid takes you through the history of the immigration debate in the U.S., uncove...

https://youtu.be/3XFiAQbxtgQ Podcast audio: In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Ben Bayer and Agustina Vergara Cid examine the current controversy over USAID and discuss Ayn Rand’s distinctive critique of the morality behind America’s foreign aid. Among the topics covered: How recent revelations about USAID expose the agency’s absurd, if not malicious, activities; Why Rand viewed foreign aid and its justification in the name of “the public interest” as morally corrupt; The continu...

https://youtu.be/DI1xqqIcj7k Podcast audio: How can we live more egoistically? What makes us want to live more egoistically? Not everyone does. In her talk “Egoism Without Permission – It Begins with Desire” at Objectivist Summer Conference 2024 in Anaheim, Tara Smith explored the connection between these questions, drawing material from her new book Egoism Without Permission: The Moral Psychology of Ayn Rand’s Ethics. Recorded live on June 17 in Anaheim, CA as part of OCON 2024.

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...

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 ...

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 t...

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 a...

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 app...

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 reaso...

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 ...

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 liv...

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 produ...

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,...