Objectively Speaking: Ayn Rand Interviewed

by Marlene Podritske

"Readers and students of Ayn Rand will value seeing in this collection of interviews how Ayn Rand applied her philosophy and moral principles to the issues of the day. Objectively Speaking includes half a century of print and broadcast interviews drawn from the Ayn Rand Archives. The thirty-two interviews in this collection, edited by Marlene Podritske and Peter Schwartz, include print interviews from the 1930s and edited transcripts of radio and television interviews from the 1940s through 1981. Selections are included from a remarkable series of radio broadcasts over a four-year period (1962-1966) on Columbia University's station WKCR in New York City and syndicated throughout the United States and Canada." Ayn Rand's unusual and strikingly original insights on a vast range of topics are captured by prominent interviewers in the history of American television broadcasting, such as Johnny Carson, Edwin Newman, Mike Wallace, and Louis Rukeyser. The collection concludes with an interview with Dr. Leonard Peikoff on his radio program in 1999, recalling his thirty-year personal and professional association with Ayn Rand and discussing her unique intellectual and literary achievements.

Genres: Philosophy

Hardcover

First published January 16, 2009

Reviews

[Jana Milutinovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

They're scraping the bottom of the barrel here. There's no real new material. If you've run out of Rand stuff and want more, just reread the actual books -- they reward it!

[Jeffrey Falk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is required reading for anyone interested in Ayn Rand. Her extemporaneous responses to topics ranging from metaphysics to aesthetics is riveting. Virtually anyone would learn something (no matter how familiar they are with Rand, her thought, and her work), but one should read some of her own books (fiction and non-fiction) first.

[Jill Delaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative...but I do not agree with Rand on many things.

[Johnrh · Rating 5 out of 5]

An edited compilation of many live interviews with philosopher Ayn Rand. I found it to be an excellent introduction to her views on RATIONAL self-interest.

[Vik · Rating 4 out of 5]

No matter how much I disagree with her philosophy, I would never dream of reading her work without mesmerizing. She is one of the rare original voices, which should be heard, in fact, must be heard