The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast

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.

https://youtu.be/duUDf-WuSVk Podcast audio: In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Onkar Ghate and Nikos Sotirakopoulos discuss how to make one’s life purposeful, without falling for the sacrificial tropes popular in our culture. Among the topics covered: Why aiming at a challenging, effortful life should not be equated with suffering; How to evaluate Jordan Peterson’s notion that meaning is found outside of one’s life; What is wrong with pursuing purpose by bearing others' burdens; Why achievement, not suffering, is the essence of human life and morality. Recommended in this podcast are Ayn Rand’s novels Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. The podcast was recorded on December 17, 2024 and released on January 1, 2025. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Watch archived podcasts here.

https://youtu.be/0hJO4ofx6VU Podcast audio: In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Ben Bayer and Agustina Vergara Cid explore the true meaning of Christmas by examining the history and philosophical significance of our holiday practices. Among the topics covered: The secular meaning of Christmas; A proper view of Christmas’s commercial aspects; Why some people are antagonistic towards the Christmas spirit; How the doctrine of original sin undermines Christmas joy. Mentioned in this podcast are Ben Bayer’s articles “Give the Gift of a Guilt-Free Christmas” and “The Meaningful Delights of a Worldly Christmas,” and Onkar Ghate’s essay “An Atheist’s Tribute to Christmas.” This podcast was recorded on December 18, 2024 and released on December 23, 2024. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcast. Watch archived podcasts here.

https://youtu.be/2sZU9hJLFWg Podcast audio: In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo analyze the moral significance of the fall of the Assad regime in Syria and its replacement by jihadists. Among the topics covered: Why authoritarian regimes, like Assad’s, are fundamentally weak and unstable; How the future of the Middle East is constrained by anti-freedom ideologies; How the media coverage of Assad’s fall is blind to the crucial role of ideas; How altruism prevents us from seeing others regimes, like Hamas, as evil; Why America’s security depends on deterring bad actors, not nation-building. Mentioned in this podcast are Onkar Ghate’s and Elan Journo’s co-authored book Failing to Confront Islamic Totalitarianism, Journo’s book What Justice Demands: America and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict , and Journo’s and Yaron Brook’s coauthored essay "The Banality of Putin and Xi." This podcast was recorded on December 17, 2024 and posted on December 20, 2024. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcast. Watch archived podcasts here.

https://youtu.be/jSUq16CPQwc Podcast audio: In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Onkar Ghate and Nikos Sotirakopoulos discuss the reaction to the assassination of the UnitedHealthcare CEO and the hatred towards businessmen in America. Among the topics covered: Examples of the culture treating businessmen as a persecuted minority; How CEOs provide value in health care despite government controls; Why saying that denying medical claims is violence perpetuates real violence; How seeing health care as a “right” distorts people’s view of insurance companies; How socialized medicine turns health care providers into serfs, not traders. Mentioned in this podcast is Ayn Rand’s lecture “America’s Persecuted Minority: Big Business,” also available in her book Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal. The podcast was recorded on December 13, 2024 and posted on December 18, 2024. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcast. Watch archived podcasts here.

Brandon Lisi, the Archivist at the Ayn Rand Institute and an expert on Rand's life, joins the discussion to shed light on the newly-found 1960 interview with Mike Wallace. They explore the historical context of the 'lost' interview, highlighting Rand's dynamic role as a public intellectual during the Cold War. Lisi reveals how Rand's intellectual confidence emerged, her sharp critiques of American leadership, and the significance of preserving such pivotal archives. Exciting upcoming projects from the Ayn Rand Archives are also teased!

https://youtu.be/UA8uWCfm81k Podcast audio: In this episode of New Ideal, Ben Bayer and Agustina Vergara Cid discuss Donald Trump’s promise to enact mass deportations of millions of illegal immigrants. Among the topics covered: How Trump’s plan to enact mass deportations would have massive costs; Why the Alien Enemies Act does not justify mass deportations; How the Alien Enemies Act would grant Trump immense new powers; Why mass deportations would fail to secure our borders or enhance national security; Why mass deportations would threaten the rights of American citizens; The importance of respecting the rule of law while also treating peaceful illegal immigrants justly. Mentioned in this podcast is the New Ideal podcast episode with Ben Bayer and Agustina Vergara Cid “The Absurdity of Calling the U.S.-Mexico Border Crisis an 'Invasion'.” The podcast was recorded on December 5, 2024, and posted on December 6, 2024. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcast. Watch archived podcasts here.

The discussion delves into the troubling bias in Western media's coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, highlighting a pro-Palestinian agenda that often compromises objectivity. Reporters grapple with the ethical dilemma of moral judgment versus unbiased reporting. The speakers argue that media narratives frequently downplay Hamas's actions, distorting public perception. They critique the oversimplified moral frameworks used in reporting, calling for a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics at play.