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by Ayn Rand Institute
The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast explores pressing cultural issues from the perspective of Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism.
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- 3 days ago18 min
Ayn Rand’s Fight Against Communist Influence in Hollywood
In this video, Elan Journo interviews Brandon Lisi about Ayn Rand's 1947 essay Screen Guide for Americans. The interview explores the historical circumstances that led Rand to write the essay, the deeper philosophical ideas behind her analysis, and the significance of ARI Press’s new authoritative edition. They also discuss Michael Berliner’s new afterword and the archival materials that illuminate Rand’s work in Hollywood, including additional documents now available through the Ayn Rand Archives.Topics Include: What’s new in ARI Press’s authoritative edition of Screen Guide for AmericansWhy Ayn Rand wrote Screen Guide for Americans in 1947Communist influence in 1940s HollywoodHow propaganda can influence a culture without explicit political slogansHow to access additional archival materials related to the “Screen Guide” onlineResources:Ayn Rand, Screen Guide for AmericansArchival Supplement: Screen Guide for Americans archival supplementRecorded on August 25, 2026.
- 1 weeks ago2h 21m
9/11 Livestream: The Attack, the Response, and the Radicalness of Objectivism
9/11 was one of the most consequential events of the 21st century. Yet twenty-five years later, the attacks and their aftermath are still widely misunderstood. In two consecutive talks at our student conference in Austin, Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo analyzed America’s failures before and after 9/11, drawing on more than two decades of work on the subject. They show how the self-abasing morality of altruism shaped American policy, leading the US to betray its ideals, appease its enemies, sacrifice its soldiers, and lose its wars. This double lecture is a must-watch for anyone who cares about America and wants to make it secure.Topics include:Introduction by ARI’s CEO, Tal TsfanyHow 9/11 was experienced and perceived in the immediate aftermathThe religious, modernity-hating motivation behind 9/11America’s emboldening of Islamists in the decades before 9/11America’s abject, craven response to the Danish cartoons of MuhammadThe intellectual rot 9/11 exposed and Objectivism’s potential to change itHow American altruism crippled its troops’ ability to fightHow America refused to recognize or defeat its enemiesThe devastating consequences of our altruistic approach to the Afghanistan and Iraq warsQ&AResources:Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo, Failing to Confront Islamic Totalitarianism: What Went Wrong After 9/11.
- 1 weeks ago1h 30m
Why Academic Philosophy Fails to Understand Capitalism
After the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy released its entry on capitalism, critics online slammed it for apparent Marxist bias. However, if there is a scandal here, it is not merely that one entry is lopsided; it is that contemporary academic philosophers are willfully blind to the real-world phenomenon of capitalism, seeing it only through the unquestioned lens of the altruistic morality.In this episode of the Ayn Rand Institute podcast, Robertas Bakula, Ben Bayer, and Onkar Ghate discuss the entry’s Marxist leaning, Ayn Rand’s absence from the entry, and more broadly the failure of academic philosophy to understand the subject. They argue that Ayn Rand’s view of capitalism should have played a more prominent role in the entry, and how Rand succeeded in defining “capitalism” while the entry does not bother trying. They conclude that the entry should give more serious attention not only to Rand, but also Locke, Smith, and economic scholarship more broadly.Topics include:The Stanford Encyclopedia’s cultural impactMarxist dominance in academic philosophyAcademic philosophy’s economic ignoranceThe failure to define capitalismAyn Rand vs. intellectualsAyn Rand’s definition of capitalismHow to reform the SEP entryResources:Ayn Rand, Capitalism: The Unknown IdealAyn Rand, “What Is Capitalism?” in Capitalism: The Unknown IdealAyn Rand, “ For the New Intellectual” in For the New IntellectualThe Ayn Rand Lexicon entry on "Capitalism"This episode was recorded on August 24, 2026.
- 2 weeks ago1h 6m
9/11 — 25 Years Later: Objectivism, Islamic Totalitarianism, and America’s Crisis of Ideas
September 11, 2001 — and America’s response to it — shaped the 21st century. Confidence in America’s ability to win wars cracked, trust in leadership and experts went down, and, in response, populism, nihilism, and conspiracism raised their ugly heads. From day one, the Ayn Rand Institute’s experts grasped the meaning of the attacks and the significance of a proper response. They called for war with Iran and opposed Bush’s altruistic wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their advice was not followed, but their predictions held.In this special livestream marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Yaron Brook, Elan Journo, and Onkar Ghate — the Institute’s three leading experts on the attacks — trace what went wrong in its lead-up and aftermath, and how Ayn Rand’s philosophy let them foresee what most people still struggle to understand.Topics include:The events and evasions that led up to 9/11.How shocking 9/11 was, given the atmosphere in the 1990s.The corrupt failure of intellectuals to warn of and explain 9/11.How both the government and academia whitewashed religion and Islam.Why and how ARI commented on 9/11 and its aftermath.How Objectivism helped ARI’s experts to predict America's failures.The disgraceful Western response to the Danish cartoons of Muhammad.The rise of populism and nihilism as a result of 9/11.Resources recommended in the episode:Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo, Failing to Confront Islamic Totalitarianism: What Went Wrong After 9/11.
- 3 weeks ago1h 5m
What Democratic Socialists Truly Want
In this episode of the Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Robertas Bakula and Onkar Ghate discuss the political platform, moral goals, and philosophical motivations driving the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).Topics include:Radical goals of the DSADSA versus past communismLack of intellectual argumentMiseducation versus willful ignoranceFantasy world of socialismAyn Rand on producer hatredHypocrisy or true goalsForeign policy and authoritarian regimesResources:Ayn Rand’s title essay in For the New IntellectualThis episode was recorded on August 25, 2026.
- Aug 20, 20261h 4m
Art Subsidies Are Unjust and a Violation of Free Speech
In this episode of the Ayn Rand Institute podcast, Onkar Ghate and Tristan de Liège discuss Zohran Mamdani’s record $323 million culture budget for NYC aimed at supporting the arts, and why government attempts to fund artistic endeavors are unjust and ineffective in creating thriving conditions for artists. Topics include:The Culture Budget’s PurposeThe “Affordability Crisis”The Disdain for the MarketThe Effects of Subsidizing ArtThe Alternative to Subsidies Resources: Ayn Rand, “What is Capitalism” in Capitalism: The Unknown IdealAyn Rand, “To Dream the Non-Commercial Dream” in The Voice of Reason: Essays in Objectivist Thought This episode was recorded on August 5, 2026.
- Aug 13, 202618 min
Does America Still Have Checks and Balances on Political Power?
In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Sam Weaver interviews Onkar Ghate about the American system of checks and balances and the rise of a religious mentality in America, topics discussed in his OCON 2026 talk “America at 250: Politics, Religion, Morality.”Topics Include:What checks and balances areErosion since the foundingRise of religious mentalityResources:“America at 250: Politics, Religion, Morality” by Onkar Ghate This episode was recorded on July 30, 2026.
- Aug 7, 202638 min
Fueling a Space Renaissance with Capitalism
In this episode of the Ayn Rand Institute podcast, Itamar Feldman interviews Mike Mazza about his new book of essays, Freedom to Launch, which explains how deregulation in the space industry enabled today’s space renaissance and what the government's role in space exploration should be going forward. Among the topics covered are:Why Freedom to Launch was written The space industry’s current state Space law and property rights Private vs. Commercial space industry The government’s historic role in space What's next for the space industry? Should NASA exist? Resources recommended in the episode: Mike Mazza, Freedom to Launch Ayn Rand, “The Property Status of the Airwaves” in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal
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The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast explores pressing cultural issues from the perspective of Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism.
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