Podcasts

Many nations recently have imposed economic sanctions on Russia. Is this proper? Effective? In “The Roots of War” (1966) Ayn Rand argued that “the essence of capitalism’s foreign policy is free trade—i.e.,the abolition of trade barriers, of protective tariffs, of special privileges—the opening of the world’s trade routes to free international exchange and competition among the private citizens of all countries dealing directly with one another.” But she also opposed U.S. trade with America’s sworn, mortal enemies (e.g., U.S.S.R.). In this session we’ll discuss if/when economic sanctions are justified and their typical effects (for good or ill). Like protectionist measures, sanctions often hurt the imposer more than the imposed.

Join Senior Scholar Dr. Stephen Hicks and our Senior Fellow Robert Tracinski for the 105th episode of The Atlas Society Asks as they discuss current events in how we should understand art and the process of creation along with an Objectivist perspective on the recent Buffalo shooter and his manifesto.

Join Senior Fellow Robert Tracinski where he will be answering the questions: Why is the Objectivist movement so famously fractious? Why does it keep having bitter breaks and schisms? What can be done about this, and how should we deal with our internal disagreements?

Join our Senior Scholar, Professor Jason Hill for Part 1 of a special 2-part discussion on Elitism and Meritocracy and how higher values are threatened by the crassness of today’s culture.

Join our founder, Dr. David Kelley for a special "Ask Me Anything" discussion where David Kelley takes questions from the audience and our 64K Instagram followers on philosophy, politics, Objectivism, and more.

Join CEO Jennifer Grossman and philosopher and business professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University Jason Brennan on the 104th episode of The Altas Society Asks. Listen as they discuss philosophy, economics, the problem with third parties in America and Why it's OK to Want to Be Rich. View Full Transcript Epis

Join Senior Fellow Robert Tracinski for a discussion on the Objectivist view of what drives history, asking the questions: how do we trace the power of ideas? And is Ayn Rand’s theory of history adequate to explain the facts?

Join Senior Scholar Dr. Richard Salsman and Senior Fellow Robert Tracinski for a special webinar discussion on the recent Supreme Court opinion leak along with an Objectivist perspective on Roe v. Wade and abortion.

Join our CEO Jennifer Grossman as she speaks with Transsexual activist Buck Angel on the 103rd episode of The Atlas Society Asks. Transgender activism is a matter of hot debate—from whether biological males should be allowed to compete in women’s sports and housed in women’s prisons to Governor DeSantis’ Parental Rights in Education bill banning teaching gender identity to young schoolchildren. That's why we've invited Buck Angel to give his nuanced perspective on the issue and to provide a more balanced discussion on the topic. Born biologically female, Buck struggled with gender dysphoria before transitioning a transsexual man. For decades he’s worked to affirm sexual freedom but has a nuanced view of some of what he sees as the excesses of transgender activism today.

Join Senior Fellow Robert Tracinski for a discussion on the philosophical issues involved in abortion and how they might be reflected in the constitutional arguments behind the leaked Supreme Court opinion that is expected to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Join Senior Scholar and Professor of Economics at Duke, Dr. Richard Salsman for a discussion about Florida Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle’s tossing out of the federal mask mandate. Dr. Salsman will also give some preliminary thoughts about the Supreme Court and the recent leak regarding the Roe v. Wade decision.

Join CEO Jennifer Grossman and Danish lawyer Jacob Mchangama for the 102nd episode of The Atlas Society Asks! As a human-rights advocate and social commentator, Jacob Mchangama has recently published his book "Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media" where he describes how free speech appears to be in recession and calls on some of history's greatest philosophers to act as chief witnesses in the defense of free speech today.

Join Senior Fellow, Robert Tracinski, to discuss our current economic struggles, asking the question “what keeps us making the same mistakes about economics and Big Government over and over again?”

Join Senior Scholar, Dr. Jason Hill for Part 2 of his discussion on how America should conduct its foreign policy. Listen as he explains why energy independence from Russia is mandatory for the West and the USA, arguing that a moral defense of fossil fuels is required to prevent the current dependence on Russian energy.

Join Atlas Society Founder, Dr. David Kelley where he will define cognitive biases, discuss why we are vulnerable to them and offer ways to defend our minds against them.

Just as rational egoism is the only proper ethic to guide an individual’s life, it’s the only proper ethical guide for a state’s relations with other states. The essence of America is its liberties, its rights, and its capitalist system; consequently, the self-interest of the United States lies in preserving those values, neither sacrificing nor surrendering them, especially not for so-called “humanitarian” (altruistic) motives, merely to help victimized foreigners. The U.S. must rationally identify its allies and enemies, then act accordingly. It must never provide national defense for other nations that mostly pretend to be sovereign. Rational egoism justifies neither pacifism, isolationism, nor imperialism. America cannot preserve her essence or institutions, nor again find a way to fight and win only the right wars, without following the egoistic principle. She must be a moral paragon for the world, but never its policeman.

Join CEO Jennifer Grossman and energy expert Robert Bryce for the 101st episode of The Atlas Society Asks. As a longtime skeptic of the viability of renewable energy, listen as Robert Bryce discusses his recent book and documentary, along with his analysis of factors contributing to the Texas power crisis during the 2021 winter storm.

Tracinski - A rising faction of the right blames "liberalism" and reason for all of our problems and advocates a return to traditionalism and nationalism. But what does such a traditional society actually look like, and what does the war in Ukraine reveal about the conservative "nationalist" cause?

Join The Atlas Society for a special discussion on the war between Russia and Ukraine. Listen and Dr. Richard Salsman and Robert Tracinski discuss Objectivist interpretations of America’s foreign policy and their differing opinions in a civil and open manner. Professor Salsman argues that Ukraine does not deserve U.S. help and based on America’s national self-interest it should NOT get involved in the conflict, at present. Robert Tracinski, on the other hand, advances that America should be doing more to curtail a blatantly aggressive Vladimir Putin and provide more assistance for Ukraine. Our founder, Dr. David Kelley, will moderate as the duo will present their understanding of the history that has led up to the current conflict and what foreign policy options should be pursued to bring resolution.

Join Senior Scholar and Professor of Economics at Duke, Dr. Richard Salsman where Dr. Salsman will propose an alternative to America’s current foreign policy from an egoistic “America First” perspective where America does not act with “humanitarian” (altruistic) motives in service to other countries.

Join The Atlas Society Asks for our special 100th episode: Scholars Ask Scholars. Our Senior Scholar and Professor of Economics at Duke, Dr. Richard Salsman, sits down to chat with our founder, Dr. David Kelley to discuss the latter’s reflections on “Open Objectivism,” where he sees room to improve Objectivism as a “movement,” the future of The Atlas Society and more!