Zack Snyder on The Fountainhead

Podcast audio:

In this special episode of New Ideal Live, Elan Journo comments on Zack Snyder’s recent conversation with Joe Rogan about his admiration for Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead and why his film adaptation was rejected by Netflix. Journo discusses why so many creators like Snyder find Rand’s novels so compelling yet she is still considered “taboo,” the philosophical motives behind the hostility towards Rand, and the immense value readers can get from her heroes.

Among the topics covered:

• Snyder’s account of how the entertainment industry sees Rand as taboo;
• Why The Fountainhead resonates so much with active-minded audiences;
• What Snyder gets wrong about The Fountainhead’s origin story;
• Why intellectuals regard Rand as taboo;
• How Rand’s heroes challenge our culture’s deepest philosophical assumptions;
• The value readers can gain from Rand’s works.

Recommended in this podcast are the previous New Ideal Live episodes “The Dramatic Story Behind The Fountainhead Movie” and “What Jonah Goldberg’s Rejection of Ayn Rand Reveals,” and Journo’s articles “When Tribal Journalists Try to ‘Cancel’ Ayn Rand,” and “Ayn Rand’s Devastating Critique of ‘Liberals.’”

The podcast was recorded on March 8, 2024. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch archived podcasts here.