The Atlas Society Presents - Objectively Speaking
The Atlas Society
We promote open Objectivism: the philosophy of reason, achievement, individualism, and freedom.
Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism was set forth in such works as her epic novel Atlas Shrugged, and in her brilliant non-fiction essays. Objectivism is designed as a guide to life, and celebrates the remarkable potential and power of the individual. Objectivism also challenges the doctrines of irrationalism, self-sacrifice, brute force, and collectivism that have brought centuries of chaos and misery into the lives of millions of individuals. It provides fascinating insights into the world of politics, art, education, foreign policy, science, and more, rewarding you with a rich understanding of how ideas shape your world. Those who discover Objectivism often describe the experience as life-changing and liberating.
Ayn Rand's philosophical works have been praised as presenting historic breakthroughs in thinking. At the Atlas Society, our scholars work to further develop this philosophy born in the mid-twentieth century. We present the empowering principles of Objectivism to a global audience, and offer those principles as a rational and moral alternative in the marketplace of philosophical ideas.
Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism was set forth in such works as her epic novel Atlas Shrugged, and in her brilliant non-fiction essays. Objectivism is designed as a guide to life, and celebrates the remarkable potential and power of the individual. Objectivism also challenges the doctrines of irrationalism, self-sacrifice, brute force, and collectivism that have brought centuries of chaos and misery into the lives of millions of individuals. It provides fascinating insights into the world of politics, art, education, foreign policy, science, and more, rewarding you with a rich understanding of how ideas shape your world. Those who discover Objectivism often describe the experience as life-changing and liberating.
Ayn Rand's philosophical works have been praised as presenting historic breakthroughs in thinking. At the Atlas Society, our scholars work to further develop this philosophy born in the mid-twentieth century. We present the empowering principles of Objectivism to a global audience, and offer those principles as a rational and moral alternative in the marketplace of philosophical ideas.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Dec 30, 2025 • 59min
Can We Bring Back the Classics? with Roosevelt Montás
Join Atlas Society Senior Fellow Robert Tracinski for the 283rd episode of Objectively Speaking when she sits down with Roosevelt Montás to talk about his book "Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation," which describes how four authors―Plato, Augustine, Freud, and Gandhi―had a profound impact on Montás’s life, driving home why a liberal education can still remake lives.
Roosevelt Montás is a Senior Lecturer in American Studies and English at Columbia University and the director of the Center for American Studies’ Freedom and Citizenship Program, which brings low-income high school students to the Columbia campus to study political theory and then helps them prepare successful applications to college. He speaks and writes on the history, meaning, and future of liberal education and is the author of "Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation."
Dec 22, 2025 • 60min
Our Modern Political Philosophers with Stephen Hicks and Robert Tracinski
Join Atlas Society Senior Scholar Stephen Hicks and Senior Fellow Robert Tracinski for a conversation on emerging trends in conservative political philosophy. Together, they’ll explore the ideas of post-liberal, national conservative, and integralist thinkers, discuss influential American theorists driving the conversation, and contrast them with leading European voices such as Roger Scruton and James Orr.
Dec 17, 2025 • 59min
Plato vs. Aristotle? with Dr. Arthur Herman
Join Atlas Society CEO Jennifer Grossman for the 281st episode of Objectively Speaking, with historian Arthur Herman as they discuss his book "The Cave and the Light: Plato Versus Aristotle, and the Struggle for the Soul of Western Civilization," which answers the question of how the competing visions of Plato and Aristotle shaped the very way we think about politics, art, science, and the modern world.
A senior research fellow at the Civitas Institute, Herman is a Pulitzer Prize Finalist historian and biographer, authoring nine books, including the New York Times Best Seller How the Scots Invented the Modern World, Freedom’s Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II, and 1917: Lenin, Wilson, and the Birth of the New World Disorder.
Dec 10, 2025 • 57min
What Anti-Zionism Gets Wrong with Josh Hammer
Join Atlas Society CEO Jennifer Grossman for the 280th episode of Objectively Speaking when she sits down with Josh Hammer to talk about his book "Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West," which makes a case for why the key to the prosperity of the West is the flourishing of the Jewish State of Israel.
Josh Hammer is the Senior Editor at Large of Newsweek, where he hosts “The Josh Hammer Show.” A frequent pundit and essayist on political, legal, and cultural issues, Josh is also a research fellow with the Edmund Burke Foundation, a fellow with the Palm Beach Freedom Institute, and senior counsel for the Article III Project and Internet Accountability Project.
Dec 3, 2025 • 1h
Why Great Civilizations Fail? with Johan Norberg
Join Atlas Society CEO Jennifer Grossman for the 279th episode of Objectively Speaking where she is joined by three-time returning guest Johan Norberg to talk about his latest book "Peak Human: What We Can Learn From History’s Greatest Civilizations," which explores the rise and fall of past societies to uncover the ideas, institutions, and innovations that fueled their success—and the mistakes that led to their decline.
Johan Norberg is a Cato Senior Fellow and the author and editor of more than 20 books that focus on globalization, human progress, and intellectual history. He previously joined The Atlas Society Asks to discuss his books "Open: The Story of Human Progress" and "The Capitalist Manifesto."
Nov 26, 2025 • 1h 8min
What are Concepts and Propositions? with David Kelley and Richard Salsman
Join Atlas Society founder and Senior Scholar David Kelley, Ph.D., along with Senior Scholar and Professor of Political Economy at Duke Richard Salsman, Ph.D., for a special webinar exploring the relationship between concepts, propositions, and objective knowledge—central themes in Kelley’s new essay Concepts and Propositions. Together, the duo will unpack why propositions are essential to reasoning, how Kelley’s work builds upon Rand’s theory of concepts, and what this expanded epistemology means for understanding truth, logic, and the pursuit of rational ideas in today’s intellectual climate.
Nov 19, 2025 • 56min
Do Children Have Rights? with Darcy Olsen
Join Atlas CEO Jennifer Grossman for the 277th episode of Objectively Speaking, where she interviews founder and CEO Darcy Olsen about the Center for the Rights of Abused Children and its mission to “protect children, change laws and inspire people – to ensure every abused child has a safe and loving home."
A former foster mom, who adopted four of the children that she fostered, Darcy founded the Center after witnessing firsthand the injustices and systemic failures within the child welfare and family court systems. Olsen prevously served as CEO of the Goldwater Institute where she wrote the book, “The Right to Try: How the Federal Government Prevents Americans from Getting the Lifesaving Treatments They Need,” which resulted in a national law giving people with terminal illnesses the right to try investigational medicines. She joins Atlas Society CEO Jennifer Grossman to talk about the Center for the Rights of Abused Children and mission to give children a voice, an advocate, and the opportunity to thrive.
Nov 12, 2025 • 59min
Who is Frank Meyer? with Daniel J. Flynn
Join Atlas Society CEO Jennifer Grossman for the 276th episode of Objectively Speaking where she interviews author Dan Flynn about his new book "The Man Who Invented Conservatism: The Unlikely Life of Frank S. Meyer," which unveils one of the twentieth century’s great untold stories: a Communist turned conservative, an antiwar activist turned soldier, and a free-love enthusiast turned family man whose big idea captured the American Right.
A senior editor with The American Spectator, Flynn has authored seven books, including "Intellectual Morons: How Ideology Makes Smart People Fall for Stupid Ideas," "10 Days That Shook San Francisco," and "Blue Collar Intellectuals: When the Enlightened and the Everyman Elevated America."
Nov 6, 2025 • 59min
Who Needs The Constitution Anyway? with Wilfred McClay
Join Atlas Society CEO Jennifer Grossman for the 275th episode of Objectively Speaking, where she is joined by Wilfred McClay, Victor Davis Hanson Chair in Classical History and Western Civilization at Hillsdale College, to discuss his book "Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story" along with his latest release, "Jewish Roots of American Liberty: The Impact of Hebraic Ideas on the American Story."
A historian having taught at Georgetown, Tulane, and Johns Hopkins, among others, Wilfred McClay now serves as the Victor Davis Hanson Chair in Classical History and Western Civilization at Hillsdale College. A prolific author, McClay’s books include The Masterless: Self and Society in Modern America, A Student’s Guide to U.S. History, and his newest book, Jewish Roots of American Liberty: The Impact of Hebraic Ideas on the American Story.
Oct 29, 2025 • 1h 1min
False Government Accusations of Child Abuse? with Spike Cohen
Join Atlas Society CEO Jennifer Grossman for the 274th episode of Objectively Speaking as she sits down with Spike Cohen, libertarian activist, entrepreneur, and podcaster. Together, they discuss Cohen’s nonprofit, You Are The Power, its mission to push back against government overreach, and its grassroots efforts to defend families facing wrongful threats of separation from government agencies.
Jeremy "Spike" Cohen is a libertarian political activist, entrepreneur, and the Founder and President of You Are the Power, a nonprofit focused on using solutions-oriented activism to grow the Liberty movement and fight back against corrupt officials and government overreach. He previously served as the Libertarian Party's vice presidential nominee in 2020.
