Private Space Entrepreneurs vs. NASA: How Freedom Fuels Rockets

Podcast audio:

In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Robertas Bakula and Mike Mazza explore the themes from Mazza’s upcoming essay, which argues that freedom, not government control, is the true engine of progress in the space industry.

Among the topics covered:

• How NASA’s monopoly led to decades of stagnation in space innovation;
• How economic freedom has fueled the recent progress in the space industry;
• Why NASA’s role as a scientific research agency lies outside the proper scope of government;
• How to answer critics who claim that private space ventures are just billionaire “playgrounds”;
• The importance of entrepreneurial thinking in driving progress in the space industry.

Mentioned and recommended in this podcast are Ayn Rand’s essay “Apollo 11” from her The Voice of Reason: Essays in Objectivist Thought, Mazza’s and Tristan de Liège’s podcast episode “Space: The New Commercial Frontier,” and Mazza’s forthcoming essay, which will appear in New Ideal.

This podcast was recorded on April 21, 2025 and posted on April 23, 2025. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Watch archived podcasts here.