The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast

In this episode of New Ideal Live, Ben Bayer and Elan Journo discuss the philosophical assumptions behind the calls to regulate Facebook in light of recent allegations of a former Facebook employee who claims the company’s various platforms encourage addiction and spread misinformation. Among the topics covered: Background on the recent attacks on Facebook;The essence of Frances Haugen’s regulatory “oversight” proposal and its deterministic assumptions;The cultural prejudice revealed by the gleeful embrace of the whistleblower’s claims;The nonobjectivity of Haugen’s claim that Instagram causes mental health problems in children;Why it’s unwarranted to say that users are “addicted” to Instagram;The brazen distortion of the statistics about suicidal thoughts among Instagram users;How Haugen’s proposal ignores obvious factors behind the uptick in teenage anxiety and depression;The overt paternalism of the call to regulate Facebook and how it ignores people’s ability to make choices;The sweeping determinism implied by Haugen’s view of how Facebook spreads misinformation;The motivation behind Haugen’s call to regulate Facebook;Why the hearing with Haugen was held. Mentioned in the discussion are Ayn Rand’s essay “The Comprachicos,” available in her book The Return of the Primitive: The Anti-Industrial Revolution; Alan Greenspan’s essay “The Assault on Integrity,” available in the book Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal; and Ben Bayer’s essay “How to Empower Students to Break Out of Safe Spaces.” This podcast was recorded on October 27, 2021. Listen to the discussion below. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch archived podcasts here. Marquee image: Stock photo posed by model; illustrative purposes only. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmxENVYFK7Y Podcast audio:

In this episode of New Ideal Live, Elan Journo and Ben Bayer discuss the Republican Party’s brazen attacks on free markets. Among the topics covered: Why conservatives once appeared to be defenders of economic freedom;How conservatives betrayed economic freedom in the twentieth century;Why it’s important to criticize Republicans as well as Democrats;Unjust government vaccine mandates vs. vaccines as conditions of voluntary employment;Why Republican state bans on business vaccine requirements and passports violate freedom of association;How the Florida social media “censorship” ban violates economic and intellectual freedom;How the Texas social media “censorship” ban violates economic and intellectual freedom;How we can tell there is a broader Republican push against economic freedom;Why government pressure on private companies is not a justification for regulating the companies;Why ARI speaks up in defense of the freedom of social media companies. Mentioned in the discussion are Ayn Rand’s essay “Conservatism: An Obituary,” Elan Journo’s essay “What Was Ayn Rand’s View of ‘Conservatism’?,” Ben Bayer’s essay “Ominous Threats to the Marketplace of Ideas” and his article  “Facebook: Censor or Victim?.” Also mentioned is an episode of New Ideal Live titled “Vaccine False Alternatives: Bribes vs. Mandates.” This podcast was recorded on October 13, 2021. Listen to the discussion below. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch archived podcasts here. https://youtu.be/QE0fH7k5vrI Podcast audio:

In this episode of New Ideal Live, Ben Bayer, Tristan De Liège and Sam Weaver answer questions about Objectivism submitted by the podcast’s audience.  Among the topics covered: Is atheism a necessary part of the philosophy of Objectivism?Why atheism is not a positive belief system;Objectivism’s commitment to reason as an absolute vs. theism;The arbitrariness of the belief in God;Why theism contradicts major principles of Objectivism in every branch of philosophy.How can we guard against “parroting” others when we rely on expertise?The difference between blind faith and rational reliance on testimony;How expert testimony yields at least probable belief sufficient for action;Dishonest motivations for rejecting expert testimony.Why does Objectivism emphasize the spiritual aspect of sex, as opposed to its biological function?Why rational moral values are based on biological facts;The role of selectivity in the spiritual value of work and sex;The role of pleasure in human values;What a “spiritual value” means in Objectivism. Mentioned in the discussion are the Ayn Rand Lexicon entries on “God,” “Religion” and “Sex”; Leonard Peikoff’s book Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand and his course “Introduction to Logic,” and Greg Salmieri’s course “Objective Thinking.” This podcast was recorded on October 13, 2021. Listen to the discussion below. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch archived podcasts here. If you’d like to ask a question to be answered on a future episode, please send an email with “Podcast question” in the subject header to newideal@aynrand.org. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwDjJ3V6VJU Podcast audio:

In this episode of New Ideal Live, Aaron Smith, Ben Bayer and Keith Lockitch discuss ARI’s ambitious plans for growing the Ayn Rand University, an alternative educational institution encompassing the existing undergraduate programs of the Objectivist Academic Center plus new graduate course offerings. Among the topics covered: Trends toward tribalism and intellectual conformity in the culture and particularly in academia;The need to disrupt education by creating alternative institutions, especially in the humanities;The vital role of philosophy and professional intellectuals in changing the course of a culture;A history of ARI’s efforts to provide intellectual training in Objectivism to improve the culture;The Ayn Rand University as a new educational institution incorporating student outreach, undergraduate, graduate and alumni programs;How ARI’s new focus on the Ayn Rand University guides choices about its other programs, including the cultural issues it comments on;ARI’s plans to grow the faculty, offerings, and student body of the ARU in the future;How the Objectivist Graduate Center will build on the offerings of the Objectivist Academic Center for both students and auditors;The difference in motivation between students in academia and students in ARI educational programs;Types of intellectual career that the Ayn Rand University prepares students to pursue. You can view the ARU course catalog and sign up to audit courses here. Also mentioned in the discussion are Tal Tsfany’s talk “Spreading Objectivism: A Vision for ARI’s Future,” the James McConnell interview with Ayn Rand, and the talks from AynRandCon–Global 2021. The podcast was recorded on October 6, 2021. Listen to the discussion below. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch archived podcasts here. https://youtu.be/BBocGCl3y4g Podcast audio:

In this episode of New Ideal Live, Onkar Ghate, Mike Mazza and Nikos Sotirakopoulos discuss philosophy professor Peter Boghossian’s resignation from Portland State University, prompted by a backlash from students and faculty to his controversial positions. Among the topics covered: Boghossian’s experience at Portland State University as a sign of the increasing tribalism at universities;Whether “grievance studies” is the cause of the increasing hooliganism on college campuses;The attitude toward truth and facts on college campuses today;How leftist ideology took over campuses;The upcoming Objectivist Academic Center course about the ideas from critical theory that facilitated the rise of the left;How alternative educational institutions can help combat irrational ideologies in academia;The Ayn Rand University as a powerful alternative educational institution;Cynical Theories by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay;The impact of postmodernism in academia today;How skepticism undermines the ideas of otherwise good thinkers. You can sign up to audit courses at the Objectivist Academic Center here. This podcast was recorded on September 29, 2021. Listen to the discussion below. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch archived podcasts here. https://youtu.be/C-qBL3SrTTg Podcast audio:

In this episode of New Ideal Live, Ben Bayer and Agustina Vergara Cid discuss Texas’s recent anti-abortion legislation, SB8. Among the topics covered: Key facts about the new Texas law;How the law will likely impact women;The actual consequences of the law to date;Legal challenges to the law;How the law encourages “vigilante justice”;How this law sets a dangerous precedent for evading judicial review;How the law undermines the rule of objective law;Why rights do not begin with the heartbeat (or at conception) according to Ayn Rand;The assault on abortion rights in many other American states;Ayn Rand on the importance of abortion rights and the evil of those oppose them;Why we shouldn’t cede to anti-abortionists the title of “pro-life”;Why the Texas law doesn’t respect human life or highlight the importance of sex education;Why abortion should be permitted until birth. Mentioned in the discussion are the Ayn Rand Lexicon entry “Abortion,” Ayn Rand’s talk “Of Living Death,” and Ben Bayer’s articles “Abortion Allows Women to Protect What’s Sacred about Life,” “Ayn Rand’s Radical Case for Abortion Rights,” and “Science without Philosophy Can’t Resolve Abortion Debate.” This podcast was recorded on September 22, 2021. Listen to the discussion below. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch archived podcasts here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KZ38XDgbzo Podcast audio: Marquee image: Stock photo posed by model; illustrative purposes only.

In this episode of New Ideal Live, Aaron Smith and Sam Weaver draw on their classroom experiences to discuss the impact of Ayn Rand’s novel Anthem on students. Among the topics covered: An overview of Anthem and how it’s used in classrooms;Why Anthem’s story interests teenagers;Anthem’s focus on the importance of intellectual independence;How individualism is portrayed in the novel;How the philosophical issues presented in Anthem are relevant to students’ lives;Some of the features that make the novel unique;The challenges in teaching Anthem, plus teachers’ guides and other resources;Why teachers like to teach Anthem. Mentioned in the discussion are Ayn Rand’s novel Anthem and her book The Romantic Manifesto, as well as the book Essays on Ayn Rand's “Anthem,” edited by Robert Mayhew. This podcast was recorded on September 15, 2021. Listen to the discussion below. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch archived podcasts here. https://youtu.be/h77_iR73Hp0 Podcast audio:

In this special joint episode of New Ideal Live and The Yaron Brook Show, Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo join Yaron Brook to discuss the key events and turning points since 9/11, and provide a retrospective on ARI’s philosophic analysis of U.S. policy. Among the topics covered: Recalling the day of the attacks and the immediate aftermath;The foreign policy failures that enabled the terrorist attacks;The pragmatism that prevented the U.S. from identifying the ideological nature of the enemy’s threat;The leftist/libertarian claim that the attacks were America’s own fault;ARI’s take on the weak American response to the 9/11 attacks;State sponsorship (by Iran, etc.) of the Islamic totalitarian movement;What a morally principled response to the attacks would have looked like;The difference between war and law enforcement;The anti-intellectual, tribalist nature of 9/11 conspiracism;Whether it’s true that we’ve surrendered freedom for security;Whether the U.S. should recognize or send aid to the Taliban;Resources on the history of Iran;Whether America should fight Islamic totalitarianism everywhere;How history would have been different if America had pursued the right strategy;Whether America has become an easy target for Islamist terrorism;How the Taliban contributed to the 9/11 terrorist attacks;How altruist morality corrupts our thinking about hostage situations;Whether another American historical figure would have responded better to 9/11;The right’s infatuation with the Taliban;Saudi Arabia’s support of terrorism, and how America should have dealt with it;How the U.S. could have thwarted the attack or defeated the attackers’ state sponsors. Mentioned in the discussion are Leonard Peikoff’s article “End States Who Sponsor Terrorism,” his talk “America vs. Americans” and the book Failing to Confront Islamic Totalitarianism, edited by Elan Journo and Onkar Ghate. This podcast was recorded on September 11, 2021. Listen to the discussion below. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch archived podcasts here. https://youtu.be/nTK0p9Yv1bw Podcast audio:

In this special episode of New Ideal Live, we bring you a compilation of some of ARI’s distinctive commentary and analysis on foreign policy over the last twenty years. The articles mentioned are “End States Who Sponsor Terrorism” by Leonard Peikoff and “America Is Not Winning the War” by Onkar Ghate. Lectures featured in this podcast include: “America vs. Americans” (2003) by Leonard Peikoff;“The Morality of War” (2004) by Yaron Brook;“Free Speech and the Danish Cartoons: A Panel Discussion” (2006) featuring Yaron Brook and Edwin Locke;“Democracy vs. Victory — Why the ‘Forward Strategy of Freedom’ Had to Fail” (2006) by Yaron Brook;“Charlie Hebdo, the West and the Need to Ridicule Religion” (2015) by Onkar Ghate. Also mentioned is the second, expanded edition of the book Failing to Confront Islamic Totalitarianism, edited by Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo. This episode served as a prelude to an event on September 11, 2021, in which Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo joined Yaron Brook on The Yaron Brook Show for an in-depth discussion of key events and turning points since 9/11, and a retrospective on ARI’s philosophic analysis of U.S. policy. You can watch the discussion here. This podcast was recorded on September 8, 2021. Listen to the discussion below. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch archived podcasts here. https://youtu.be/ZUxsuOWujZI Podcast audio:

In this episode of New Ideal Live, recorded live at the 2021 Objectivist Summer Conference in Austin, Texas, philosophers Onkar Ghate, Ben Bayer, Mike Mazza and Aaron Smith answer questions about Objectivism from the audience. Among the topics covered: Whether philosophy requires specialized knowledge (e.g. about historical events);Why Ayn Rand thought that determinism is “incoherent” and not just “false”;Whether the existence of free will can be proven with a scientific method;Whether “greed” is a valid concept;Why John Galt and not Hugh Akston led the strike in Atlas Shrugged;Whether there’s been progress in Objectivism on the subject of philosophical induction;Whether “selfishness” can be defined broadly to include evaders concerned with their interests;Whether an action achieved by illegal or immoral methods should be considered “selfish”;How and whether the Stoics validated their virtues;Whether there are principles for guiding a life proper to human beings beyond those of mere survival;How to validate the concepts of “entity” and “identity”;What elements of psychology are part of the Objectivist philosophy;Whether the U.S. exit from Afghanistan could have “saved face” even without defeating the Taliban;How a parent can deal with the influence of popular irrational ideas (e.g. Jordan Peterson’s) on his children;Whether a principle’s application changes in different contexts. Mentioned in the discussion are Leonard Peikoff’s book Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, and the book A Companion to Ayn Rand, edited by Alan Gotthelf and Gregory Salmieri. This podcast was recorded on September 1, 2021. Listen to the discussion below. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch archived podcasts here. If you’d like to ask a question to be answered on a future episode, please send an email with “Podcast question” in the subject header to newideal@aynrand.org. https://youtu.be/BBtU6MLpkIs Podcast audio: