Episodes

https://youtu.be/z5ptDg7iHlA Podcast audio: In this episode of New Ideal Live, Robertas Bakula interviews three of ARI's fellows to discuss their upcoming talks at Objectivist Summer Conference in Anaheim, California, which is being held from June 13 to 18. Among the topics covered: Jason Rheins’ talk “Socratic Wisdom,” concerning the value of knowing your own ignorance; Tristan de Liège’s talk “How to Value Friendship,” which will explore how the principles of Objectivism can help us deepen our...

https://youtu.be/N3B8VRLXjeg Podcast audio: In this episode of New Ideal Live, Sam Weaver and Onkar Ghate discuss the nature and significance of the Trump phenomenon. Among the topics covered: Why Trump’s base of support is significant; Why it’s important to study the Trump phenomenon; The meaning and consequences of Trump’s 2016 election Trump’s anti-intellectual character; Understanding Trump’s persistent support; Analyzing Trump’s presidency; The current state of political violence in America...

https://youtu.be/LJ20jmhEE7s Podcast audio: In this episode of New Ideal Live, Ben Bayer and Nikos Sotirakopoulos discuss the Libertarian Party’s (LP) convention, especially the speeches by Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and what it reveals about the nature of the libertarian movement. Among the topics covered: Why chaos in the Libertarian Party is a result of disunity about what liberty even is; Why the one point of unity in the LP is their stance against Israel’s war in Gaza; How the ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_yz-9X11ck Podcast audio: In this episode of New Ideal Live, Onkar Ghate and Nikos Sotirakopoulos discuss why and how DEI has become so dominant in American institutions, from universities to corporate businesses, despite its questionable nature. Among the topics covered: How DEI is sold as a form of justice for historically marginalized groups; How “diversity” relies on a package deal; How “inclusion” results in moral relativism; How “equity” means equality of r...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXGhis0_6Jw Podcast audio: In this episode of New Ideal Live, Ben Bayer interviews Harry Binswanger, a philosopher and longtime friend of Ayn Rand’s, about his observations as a graduate student at Columbia during the 1968 protests and how those protests compare to those taking place now at Columbia and other campuses. Among the topics covered: How the 1968 protesters hoped to bring about a communist revolution; Why the university tolerated the protesters and cede...

https://youtu.be/8NdmIOYTB4s Podcast audio: In this episode of New Ideal Live, Ben Bayer is interviewed by Ziemowit Gowin about his article on the phenomenon of academic plagiarism following the resignation of Harvard University president, Claudine Gay. They discuss why academia’s greater interest in combating issues such as sexism and racism over academic dishonesty is consistent with their deeper view of morality. Among the topics covered: Bayer's personal experience combating student plagiari...

https://youtu.be/RGhQLpYXo6Y Podcast audio: In this episode of New Ideal Live, Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo discuss the ongoing anti-Israel campus protests and analyze the demand that universities divest from Israel. Among the topics covered: How the divestment crusade is animated by hatred of Israel, not concern for the Palestinians; The dishonest claim that Israel practices apartheid; How the protesters whitewash Hamas' vicious treatment of homosexuals; Why Christianity is the root of the celeb...

https://youtu.be/Bg9BFE1-49Y Podcast audio: In this episode of New Ideal Live, Onkar Ghate and Nikos Sotirakopoulos discuss Milton Friedman’s impact as a public intellectual and how his advocacy of the free market differed from Ayn Rand’s radical philosophical case for capitalism. Among the topics covered: Why Milton Friedman is an essentially positive influence on free market thought; How Friedman’s moral conventionality reinforced the ideas he tried to oppose; The importance of stating the ide...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O0HkJbbj4E Podcast audio: In this episode of New Ideal Live, Onkar Ghate and Ben Bayer discuss the protests on university campuses against Israel’s war of self-defense and what they say about the state of our culture. Among the topics covered: Why the anti-Israeli campus protests are rightly labelled as being pro-Hamas; How there is a double standard in the public’s response to mass protests in general; How the anti-Israeli protests are motivated by altruism and ...

https://youtu.be/FjsC7I-Qa4A Podcast audio: In this episode of New Ideal Live, Mike Mazza and Aaron Smith discuss Mazza’s recently published article about why academic philosophers tend to get Rand’s ideas wrong so frequently and the parochialism involved in many of their critiques. Among the topics covered: What Mazza aimed to explain in this article; Why responding to academic critics is important; What it means for philosophers to engage in parochialism; How the methods of academic philosophe...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5Lm2YpZvyI Podcast audio: In this episode of New Ideal Live, Elan Journo offers initial commentary on Iran’s April 13 attack on Israel. Among the topics covered: How Iran’s attack on Israel is a consequence of its Islamic and imperial nature; How America’s failure to recognise and confront Iran’s nature emboldens it; Why America and Israel are morally justified in replacing Iran’s evil regime. Mentioned in this podcast are Elan Journo’s book What Justice Demands:...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeuU6AbIDOo Podcast audio: In this episode of New Ideal Live, Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo give a preview of ARI’s 2024 presidential election coverage and comment on some of the major political issues at stake in the election. Among the topics covered: How ARI uses Objectivism to analyze elections and the wider political culture; What the Trump phenomenon says about the state of our political culture; The unprincipled nature of the political responses to recent dom...

https://youtu.be/UmxjJI50gss Podcast audio: In this episode of New Ideal Live, Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo analyze Argentinian President Javier Milei’s interview at AynRandCon in Buenos Aires. Among the topics covered: How the event fell short of ARI’s goal of illuminating points of agreement and disagreement with Milei; How to evaluate Milei as a President, considering his strange statements about abortion and mysticism; The contradiction between Milei’s ostensible rejection of collectivism and...

https://youtu.be/Xh0xF5hACkw Podcast audio: In this episode of New Ideal Live, Sam Weaver and Nikos Sotirakopoulos discuss the recent California ethnic studies mandate. They evaluate the ideological nature of the curriculum and its assault on knowledge, the philosophical ideas that made it possible, and why it must be opposed intellectually. Among the topics covered: How ethnic studies emerged from an activist assault on the idea of objective truth; Evidence that the proposed curriculum is non-o...

https://youtu.be/L3RBJNhglek Podcast audio: In this episode of New Ideal Live, Ben Bayer and Elan Journo discuss the recent United Nations “ceasefire” resolution. They argue it is yet another example of the West’s moral reluctance to condemn evil regimes and to provide a principled defense of Israel’s right to self-defense. Among the topics covered: The fact that Hamas seeks to destroy Israel because it is a bastion of civilization; Why the UN resolution is a pro-Hamas document; How the UN’s pol...

https://youtu.be/UPHqvTkKFcA Podcast audio: In this special episode of New Ideal Live, Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo discuss the recent announcement of the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Apple and analyze the injustice of criminalizing a company for giving customers an experience they want. Among the topics covered: Why the DOJ’s antitrust case against Apple is significant to all American business; How Apple is targeted because of its business success, not its failures; How an...

https://youtu.be/07j7MQNdJhQ Podcast audio: In this episode of New Ideal Live, Onkar Ghate and Agustina Vergara Cid discuss the state of the immigration debate between Democrats and Republicans. They show how both parties appeal to fear and collectivism in their opposition to immigration, and explain why a proper solution to the border crisis requires policies that favor free economic migration. Among the topics covered: How both Democrats and Republicans are hostile to immigration; How the righ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTvoxqlq9x4 Podcast audio: In this episode of New Ideal Live, Ben Bayer and Nikos Sotirakopoulos examine President Biden’s State of the Union address and what it reveals about the goals of today’s political leadership. They discuss the anti-mind premise driving both political tribes and how it leads to statist policies that destroy wealth and create economic hardship. Among the topics covered: Understanding the values of the current political leadership; Biden’s a...

https://youtu.be/oV-deDzZNH8?si=MbfQzzp1Qa6D4tLC Podcast audio: In this special episode of New Ideal Live, Ben Bayer responds to a PragerU video which argues that moral wisdom requires a “fear of God.” Bayer argues that a fear of God undercuts moral wisdom and is driven by a fear of the intellectual independence that moral wisdom requires. Among the topics covered: The proposal that a fear of God provides the basis for an objective morality; How the fear of God makes objective moral guidance imp...

https://youtu.be/s4xpmys7ejo Podcast audio: In this special episode of New Ideal Live, Elan Journo comments on Zack Snyder’s recent conversation with Joe Rogan about his admiration for Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead and why his film adaptation was rejected by Netflix. Journo discusses why so many creators like Snyder find Rand’s novels so compelling yet she is still considered “taboo,” the philosophical motives behind the hostility towards Rand, and the immense value readers can get from her heroes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=SYvTdaE9zfI Podcast audio: In this episode of New Ideal Live, Elan Journo and Ziemowit Gowin discuss how the Biden administration’s altruistic foreign policy undermines Israel’s war of self-defense against Hamas. Among the topics covered: How America’s inconsistent support of Israel subverts its war of self-defense; How the morality of altruism leads people to unjustly blame Israel for the fallout of Hamas’ attack; Why the altruistic decision to airdro...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTntTkvIr3g Podcast audio: In this episode of New Ideal Live, Ben Bayer and Agustina Vergara Cid discuss the philosophical and legal implications of the recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that embryos created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) should be considered children. Among the topics covered: The facts and reasoning behind the Alabama Supreme Court case; How the court’s decision is a logical result of anti-abortion reasoning; Why conception or human DNA ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJvI1XA7Bt8 Podcast audio: In this episode of New Ideal Live, Mike Mazza and Ziemowit Gowin discuss Tucker Carlson’s recent interview with Vladimir Putin, and Carlson’s attempt to undercut America by whitewashing life in Russia. Among the topics covered: Mainstream media’s reaction to Carlson’s interview; How interviewing dictators gives them an undeserved sense of moral legitimacy; How the interview only repeated Putin’s stale propaganda; Why it’s absurd to think...

In this episode of New Ideal Live, Ben Bayer and Nikos Sotirakopoulos discuss the problem of tribalism in our political culture. Exploring issues such as the Israel-Hamas war and the debates over immigration and abortion, they show how both the left and right are guilty of an anti-conceptual mentality that has degraded our political discourse. Among the topics covered: How tribalism has made today's political atmosphere toxic; The left's tribal support for Palestine; How the tribal mentality is ...