The Atlas Society Presents - Objectively Speaking

The news out of Israel this weekend was so horrifying and shocking, the anti-semitic celebration of the carnage so disheartening, the scope and implications of the crisis so overwhelming, that some may be tempted to unfocus the mind, routinely tending to your diurnal priorities—or as Rand put it: “If you don’t look…you are free to believe what you wish—and you experience a foggy, pleasant, but somehow guilty, kind of hope.” For those living in Israel, there is no looking away from the immediate, existential threat presented by Hamas’s vicious terrorist invasion. That’s why this Thursday, we’re turning to Michael Kauffann, MD, Ph.D., on the ground in Tel Aviv with his wife and children, for his in-person, Objectivist perspective on the attacks. He will analyze the failure of Israeli intelligence and the deeper governmental dysfunction it represents, along with the ongoing Israeli defense response. Michael Kauffman has spent the last 28 years in the pharmaceutical industry and currently splits his time between Tel Aviv, Israel, Miami, and Boston. A generous supporter of our work at The Atlas Society, he gave a keynote speech at our Galt’s Gulch student conference in Nashville this summer, decrying the alliance of the Mystics & the Muscle in Israeli politics, and advancing an agenda of how Objectivist principles must set the agenda for a flourishing democracy in the Jewish state.

Join CEO Jennifer Grossman for the 173rd episode of The Atlas Society Asks where she interviews returning guest John Tamny. Director of the Center for Economic Freedom at FreedomWorks and editor at RealClear Markets, Tamny returns to talk about work, abundance, economics, and his two new books "When Politicians Panicked" and "The Money Confusion: How Illiteracy About Currencies and Inflation Sets the Stage for the Crypto Revolution." John Tamny previously joined us back in 2020 to discuss his book "They’re Both Wrong: A Policy Guide for America’s Frustrated Independent Thinkers" along with changes to the workplace resulting from technology as well as from COVID-19 and government restrictions). He is the director of the Center for Economic Freedom at FreedomWorks and editor at RealClearMarkets, with many published articles in the areas of tax, trade, and monetary policy. He is also the founder of the new Parkview Institute.

Join CEO Jennifer Grossman for the 172nd episode of The Atlas Society Asks where she interviews Senior Fellow of the American Enterprise Institute Chris Stirewalt about his latest book "Broken News: Why the Media Rage Machine Divides America and How to Fight Back." Chris Stirewalt is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and contributing editor for The Dispatch, where he focuses on American politics, voting trends, public opinion, and the media. He has worked for a variety of media outlets as a political editor, including Fox News Channel and the Washington Examiner.

Join CEO Jennifer Grossman for the 171st episode of The Atlas Society Asks where she interviews British pundit and author Brendan O'Neill about his latest book "A Heretic's Manifesto: Essays on the Unsayable." Brendan O'Neill was the editor of Spiked magazine from 2007 to 2021, and is now its chief political writer and is also a contributor to the Daily Telegraph and a variety of other publications across Europe and America. In his battle against cancel culture and groupthink, O’Neill has published several books including "A Duty to Offend," "Anti-Woke," and his latest book "A Heretic’s Manifesto: Essays on the Unsayable." 

Join Senior Scholar Richard Salsman, Ph.D., and Senior Fellow Robert Tracinski for an Objectivist perspective on the damage to China’s economy since the CCP’s turn back towards central planning, along with a brief overview of the BRICS alliance and what that means for the U.S.

Join CEO Jennifer Grossman on the 169th episode of The Atlas Society Asks, where she interviews the president of the newly-founded Universidad de la Libertad in Mexico City, Jorge Díaz Cuervo. Listen as the duo discuss education and what is needed to create the next generation of liberty-lovers. Jorge is a longtime advocate for government reforms having previously served in both the Mexican federal government as well as Mexico City’s local congress. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics, master’s degrees in both international management and management of social security systems, and a Ph.D. in law.

Join CEO Jennifer Grossman on the 168th episode of The Atlas Society Asks, where she interviews famed American sportscaster Michele Tafoya and why her growing disenchantment with increasingly work sports coverage and desire to have a more unconstrained voice on politics led her to leave her longtime post at NBC Sunday Night Football. Michele Tafoya runs the "Let's Get Sane" Substack Column and hosts the Michele Tafoya Podcast, where she interviews guests to discuss the state of American politics and culture. She is also the narrator of an upcoming documentary, "Triangle Park," based on the very first NFL game ever played -- at Triangle Park in Dayton, Ohio. Check out more from Michele Tafoya on her website: https://micheletafoya.com/

Join CEO Jennifer Grossman on the 167th episode of The Atlas Society Asks, where she interviews critically acclaimed author Heather Mac Donald about her latest book "When Race Trumps Merit: How the Pursuit of Equity Sacrifices Excellence, Destroys Beauty, and Threatens Lives." Heather Mac Donald is the Thomas W. Smith Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor at City Journal, and the 2005 recipient of the Bradley Prize. Mac Donald’s work covers a range of topics, from higher education and immigration to policing and race relations, with writings that have appeared in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and New York Times. 

Join CEO Jennifer Grossman on the 166th episode of The Atlas Society Asks, where she interviews senior editor at Reason Stephanie Slade about her defense of "fusionism"—in which she argues that libertarian principles of limited government and individual liberty can be harmoniously combined with certain traditional or conservative values. Stephanie Slade is a journalist and senior editor at Reason, a fellow in liberal studies at the Acton Institute, and a media fellow at the Institute for Human Ecology.

Join CEO Jennifer Grossman on the 165th episode of The Atlas Society Asks, where she interviews British writer, comedian, and broadcaster Andrew Doyle about his latest book "The New Puritans: How the Religion of Social Justice Captured the Western World." Having received his doctorate in English Literature from Oxford, Andrew Doyle has written many plays and musicals, including the critically acclaimed political drama "Borderline." His several books include "Free Speech and Why it Matters," and his latest: "The New Puritans: How the Religion of Social Justice Captured the Western World." As a stand-up comic, he’s a frequent performer in the UK and the co-founder of Comedy Unleashed, London’s free-thinking comedy night. But of all his creations, he’s perhaps most famous for Titania McGrath, his parody of the flower of wokeness, whose Twitter bio reads: “Activist. Healer. Radical intersectionalist poet. Nonwhite. Ecosexual. Pronouns: variable. Selfless and brave. Buy my books.” Titania has two books of her “own”: "Woke: A Guide to Social Justice" and "My First Little Book of Intersectional Activism."