Ricardo PintoThe Ayn Rand Institute is thrilled to announce the release of a hard-to-find 1966 interview with Ayn Rand on the Michael R. Jackson radio show.
Should the government work towards full “racial equality”? How should we evaluate America’s foreign policy during the Vietnam War? Was capitalism responsible for the Great Depression? These are some of the questions Rand answered during the interview. Her answers remain highly relevant today — fifty-eight years after she gave them!
Her answers remain relevant because Rand worked to identify the underlying principles involved in current events, which we can apply to events today.
This interview stands out from others in that most of the questions come from call-in listeners, who raise thought-provoking, even confrontational, issues that Rand impressively addresses on the spot.
As one caller put it: “I’ve learned more in the past two minutes than in the past five years of intensive study on my part.”
Other questions include:
- Does atheism lead to loneliness?
- What are the arguments against polygamy?
- What is the place of the Eddie Willerses in the world?
- What is wrong with being morally gray?
- How to think about capital punishment?
Listeners interested in learning more about the interview should also check out this discussion by ARI’s Brandon Lisi and Amber Brown on the occasion of the release of the interview. They discuss its historical context, including details about Rand’s highly productive output in the mid-1960s and some of her research habits.
This interview is just the latest of ARI’s releases of Ayn Rand’s previously archived speaking and video events. Stay tuned as we roll out more new content.
Image credit: The Regents of the University of California, Radio talk show host, Michael Jackson at work in KABC studio in Los Angeles, Calif., 1974, CC BY 4.0.
Ziemowit Gowin
Itamar Feldman
