Why is Ayn Rand a Political Rock Star?

When's the best time to surf the Amazon? Can Brazilian termites help you make a better pizza? And did you pay too much for that venomous snake? (Spoiler alert: You probably did.) Today Will and Mango are uncovering some little-known facts about the big, beautiful country of Brazi ... Show More

Grab your riding crop and hold on tight, because today we’re taking a spin through the history of merry-go-rounds! Why do British carousels rotate in the opposite direction from the rest? Which future U.S. president had a summer job sanding ponies? And what’s the connection betwe ... Show More

Why is there a bull on the Elmer's glue bottle? What did kids use to carry their books around before they had backpacks? And why does a giant cone tree get everyone excited about starting school in Germany? Will and Mango dig deep into their Trapper Keepers to bring you some stor ... Show More

Jennifer Burns is a professor history at Stanford who works at the intersection of intellectual, political, and cultural history. She’s written two biographies Tyler highly recommends: her 2009 book, Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right and her latest, Milton Fr ... Show More

Agatha Christie, writes John Lanchester, ‘is the only writer by whom I’ve read more than fifty books. So – why?’ In the second of our summer readings, Lanchester dissects Christie’s compulsive readability, and considers why, despite her brazen lack of style, she was a great exper ... Show More

Are most modern problems caused by selfishness or a lack of it? Ayn Rand, a Russian American philosopher and writer, would say it's the latter — that selfishness is not a vice but a virtue — and that capitalism is the ideal system. Everyone from Donald Trump, to Alan Greenspan, t ... Show More

Are most modern problems caused by selfishness or a lack of it? Ayn Rand, a Russian American philosopher and writer, would say it's the latter — that selfishness is not a vice but a virtue — and that capitalism is the ideal system. Everyone from Donald Trump to Alan Greenspan to ... Show More

Within political discussions on the Right, social conservatism is on the rise. Why did the Right have a libertarian phase, and why is it leaving it behind? What does social conservatism look like in the world of practical public policy, and what is its future? How do religious ci ... Show More

Frances Perkins was an incredibly influential American yet is virtually unknown. What did she do? A lot! For instance, Social Security was her brainchild. And that's just the tip of the old iceberg. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnys ... Show More

How do we know if a story is worth telling? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesIn this interview, award-winning writer and author of 'How I Live Now', Meg Rosoff, provides an insight into her writing philosophy. She discusses her or ... Show More

Mad, bad rulers don't rise by accident. Tina talks with Harvard's Stephen Greenblatt, author of the provocative bestseller Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics, about the uniformly infantile nature of tyrants, how they manipulate popular ignorance and how they're propelled by multiple ... Show More

The host of the #DidSheSayThat podcast, Sonnie Johnson checks in with Tezlyn to discuss what if anything has changed in the conservative movement in 2021.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.