Ayn Rand Institute Live!

Mike Wallace interviews Ayn Rand and Mickey Spillane on their reasons for becoming authors, their view of what makes a hero, and why, despite being viciously denounced by critics, they both maintain a large popular appeal. Hear Ayn Rand’s straight-to-the-point analysis of her own and Mickey Spillane’s work in this 1961 interview.

Audio licensed courtesy of The Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.

In 1961, Mike Wallace sat down with both Ayn Rand and Mickey Spillane for an interview. For decades, this interview has been unavailable to the general public. Now we are releasing it for the first time. In this YouTube livestream event, join Elan Journo and Tom Bowden as they go “Behind the Scenes” of this historic interview and discuss how Rand and Spillane found themselves on the same stage. This interview offers a unique view of Rand—we see Ayn Rand, the friend, coming to the defense of the critically attacked Spillane and giving him credit as a “moral crusader.” Through his character Mike Hammer, Rand explains, Spillane presents us with a man who refuses to compromise his integrity. Join us for this remarkable interview and discover Rand’s answer to “What Makes a Hero?”—an answer she says will “astonish you.”

Ayn Rand’s distinctive view of values gives her a distinctive view of happiness. Topics discussed:- What happiness is- Why it’s “the normal condition of man”- The practical steps to move from unhappiness to happinessRecorded live on July 2, 2022 as part of the Objectivist Summer Conference.

Mickey Spillane is one of the best-selling writers of all time, with estimated sales of 225 million copies. Mike Hammer, his most enduring hero, is a private detective who pursues justice with physical and moral courage. Mike uses his gun, his fists, and his mind to avenge the innocent, to destroy the evil, and to guard the good. Many reviewers dismissed or condemned Spillane’s writing; many readers, undeterred, have devoured the books anyway. Ayn Rand admired the Mike Hammer books and praised them publicly. This talk surveys the range of Spillane’s writing career (including his ideas for films starring his friend John Wayne), with emphasis on the voice and virtues of his crusading hero.Recorded live on July 3, 2022 as part of the Objectivist Summer Conference.

There has never been more competition for people’s attention. And yet you can’t win the war of ideas unless you can cut through the noise and get your message heard. In this talk, Don Watkins looks at the theory and practice of capturing attention and how you can use that knowledge to promote Ayn Rand’s ideas. 

Tertullian (ca. 160–220) and Thomas Aquinas (13th century) both defended faith as a justification for their Christian beliefs, but whereas Tertullian proudly defended faith even when it clashed with reason, Aquinas argued that there was a harmony between faith and reason — that the two could never clash. In this lecture, Dr. Mayhew will examine the views of each in detail and briefly discuss the continuing influence of their conceptions of faith and reason in the 21st century.

Having a central purpose can simplify your life, give meaning to all of your work, and ensure that your actions add up to a significant achievement. In this talk, you’ll learn the essentials of how to set and apply a central purpose:What a central purpose isWhy only productive work can fill that roleSteps to take to find and commit to a central purposeThe role a central purpose plays in guiding day-to-day activityRecorded live as part of The Objectivist Conference on August 28, 2021.

Victor Hugo’s Hernani was more than a play. It was “the rehearsal of a revolution,” a bold theatrical rebellion that defied Classical dogmas and made way for a new Romanticism. On the centenary of Hugo’s birth, writer Edmond Rostand would pay worshipful tribute to his hero with a poem called Un Soir à Hernani. In this lecture, I will tell the thrilling story of Hernani, share excerpts from Rostand’s never-translated tribute, and highlight all that Hugo and Rostand have to show us about how to be a Romantic.

Recorded live on July 6, 2022 as part of the Objectivist Summer Conference.

The Objectivist ethics is grounded in the nature of life. Spanning meta-ethics to politics, this talk surveys the implications for this ethics of an aspect of life about which Rand said little: reproduction. Topics include what it means for an organism’s life to be its ultimate value, whether (and when) having children is egoistic, and the rights of parents and children.Recorded live on July 5, 2022 as part of the Objectivist Summer Conference.

It’s difficult not to be discouraged at the state of today’s world: our dysfunctional politics, our battered economy, and a culture sinking deeper and deeper into irrationality and nihilism. In this talk, Yaron Brook explains why despite all of this, he is still optimistic. The signs of hope don’t make the headlines, but they’re all around us: from the continued innovation of the tech sector to the continued functioning of markets and businesses as engines of wealth- and job-creation, to the outraged backlash against the nuttiest ideas, to the persistent, gradual rise of Objectivism as it continues to reach more people and change more lives.Recorded live on July 7, 2022 as part of the Objectivist Summer Conference.