On his way around the moon, astronaut Victor Glover quoted scripture. It wasn't the first religious stunt in space. In 1968, Ayn Rand had choice, critical words. "I, for one, felt as if the capsule had disintegrated and we were left in the primordial darkness of empty space."

"How could I ever advocate that immigration should be restricted, when I wouldn’t be alive today if it were?" Ayn Rand's comment in a 1973 Q&A wasn't an isolated comment. She often sympathetically portrayed the migrant's quest for freedom in her fiction. new-ideal.aynrand.org/p/ayn-rands-...

"How could I ever advocate that immigration should be restricted, when I wouldn’t be alive today if it were?" Ayn Rand comment in a 1973 Q&A wasn't an isolated comment. She often sympathetically portrayed the migrant's quest for freedom in her fiction. new-ideal.aynrand.org/p/ayn-rands-...

ARI is pleased to publish on New Ideal Greg Salmieri's major essay on Ayn Rand's ethics from the volume he recently edited, Two Philosophers: Aristotle and Ayn Rand. new-ideal.aynrand.org/p/mans-life-...

The Ayn Rand Institute has consistently identified Iran as the fountainhead of global Islamic terrorism. We have called for military action against Iran for decades. Here we list previous statements on Iran and Islamic terrorism making this position clear. new-ideal.aynrand.org/p/ari-resour...

Onkar and I read the 170 page decision so you don’t have to (but it wouldn’t hurt if you did).

Trump’s immigration enforcement, however destructive, is ultimately the responsibility of voters. It’s their responsibility to reverse course. Read Ben Bayer's article:

100 years ago this week Ayn Rand came to America. This is her dramatic immigration story -- authored lovingly by Agustina Vergara Cid and Brandon Lisi. There were dozens of ways it might have ended differently--mostly because of arbitrary immigration laws. new-ideal.aynrand.org/p/i-chose-to...

From me in the OC Register today: "The laws Trump is enforcing are not ‘undemocratic.’ But they do violate constitutional rights. Even non-citizens have a right to liberty. Laws restricting immigrant labor violate the freedom to work and engage in trade." www.ocregister.com/2026/02/16/i...

Here Sam Weaver and I discuss @tamu.bsky.social's deletion of philosophy from the philosophy curriculum because Plato is too "woke." First Amendment violations are unavoidable in public education; a "fairness doctrine" would be less destructive then A&M's ham-handed approach.

I'll be on the Yaron Brook show at 7pm ET to discuss tribalism, "cancel culture" and other related topics (probably including this past weekend's events): www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hbu8...

Another shooting in Minneapolis. Much of the analysis in this podcast still applies. The main issue is not about the particulars of the shooting, but about the context leading up to it and the administration’s reaction. Watch to see how a real thinker processes this.

Here I argue that we must abandon the "cancel culture" concept: the debate over antisemitism in the GOP shows how it obscures the basic unity between woke activists and MAGA antisemites. Both are faith-driven witch hunters. That's the only concept we need.

Why there needs to be more moral support for the Iranian protestors — and why almost no one is offering it.

Root for the Iranian protesters if you're critical of ICE. If Trump intervenes because of the repression of protesters, he'll have to explain how he can bomb another country's repressive Gestapo while creating his own. Freedom for Iran could help American freedom.

"Mamdani has...done us a favor: he’s used the most accurate name for his ideology and for the idea that’s taken more seriously in both of today’s political camps. 'Collectivism' is the broad category that covers socialism, fascism, and any other system that sacrifices the individual to some group."

Here Elan Journo, Onkar Ghate and I use the f-word quite liberally. No, the really bad f-word.

I'll never forget the day a professor in grad school defended socialized medicine against the idea it would tyrannize doctors by saying "as the employee of a state university, I don't feel my liberty is violated." www.kbtx.com/2026/01/07/t...

This is still true. Trump opened his second term with an act of pure dishonesty and wicked contempt for the rule of law when he did a blanket pardon of all Jan 6ers. I laid out the case last January. youtu.be/fEOGBX9R05w?...

Onkar Ghate and I comment here on a recent essay by Steven Pinker and Marian Tupy. What is the threat that Enlightenment values are really up against, and what will it take to save those values? www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClmX...

One last push to promote my upcoming live course at ARI, Objectivism through Ayn Rand's Fiction! Official start date is Jan 8, but the 1st live meeting isn't until the following week--so there's still time to enroll. Use discount code Ben10 for 10% discount off tuition

Some say I'm a "Heritage American" because I have a Mayflower ancestor (the 1st one born in the New World)! But I descend from the line that fled to Canada as loyalist opponents of the Revolution. Heritage is meaningless. Americans are Americans "by choice and conviction."

RFK Jr.’s Irrational Anti-Vaccine Policies: Interview with Dr. Amesh Adalja Samantha Watkins interviews Dr. Amesh Adalja about the alarming trend of vaccine conspiracism, now not just being spread by online conspiracy theorists, but also by the leaders of the nation’s top scientific institutions.

I've said it before, I'll say it again. Donald Trump is the living embodiment of tribal lone wolf type of amoralist skewered by Ayn Rand in this essay. Far from caring of nothing but himself, he has no self to care for. courses.aynrand.org/works/selfis...

Here Elan Journo and I take apart the case for war the Trump administration is ginning up against Venezuela. There’s zero self defense rationale here.

This is the course I'll be leading for ARI Live Courses (based on both my and Onkar Ghate's lectures) in January. You should join! To get a 10% discount off tuition, use the discount code Ben10.

A very important interview between Agustina Vergara Cid and Josh Windham. You'll be shocked what Trump's ICE is getting away with it, and you ought to cheer the great work the folks at IJ are doing to fight against it. youtu.be/1KEOmlA-YRo?...

Here Nikos Sotirakopoulos, Elan Journo, Onkar Ghate and I unpack the meaning of the conservative civil war about antisemitism. youtu.be/kgur8cEOpnk?...

"Defenders of the president’s new powers may seek to justify his tariffs by citing details of English history or obscure American pamphlets. But. . .they do it in a way that blatantly ignores the founders’ love for liberty and hatred of unchecked tyranny." new-ideal.aynrand.org/p/the-lawyer...

The oral arguments about Trump's tariffs exposed so many ways in which the emperor has no clothes.

Republishing another classic New Ideal piece.

Here Samantha Watkins and I dissect one of the bigger scandals of the incoming Mamdani administration that not nearly enough people are talking about. youtu.be/A1sggf9exTQ?...

Here's a discussion I had with Mike Mazza, Tristan de Liege and Professor Jim Lennox about a fascinating book on the questions in philosophy of biology that condition a naturalistic value theory

My OCR piece from earlier this week, now on Substack. new-ideal.aynrand.org/p/the-presid...

Onkar Ghate and I discuss the “bothsidesing” charge, when it makes sense and when it doesn’t. youtu.be/id3kFduLXVg?...

From me in OCR: "The president [needs] to impose powerful embargoes against specific military belligerents during declared wars. . . . [But] Trump’s tariffs. . . have been imposed indefinitely against. . . closely allied peaceful nations." www.ocregister.com/2025/11/03/t...

If you agree with the outrage over this video, over the fact that Kevin Roberts condemns antisemitism but is unwilling to condemn Tucker Carlson for platforming it, there are some lessons about the nature of justice. 🧵

Somewhat lengthier version of the piece I just published in Skeptic.

In Skeptic Magazine I ask (invoking the ghost of Epstein), “If it’s outrageous when money and power enable impunity for horrible crimes, shouldn’t it be even more outrageous when the pretense of moral authority enables someone to commit even worse crime?” www.skeptic.com/article/neve...

Lengthy but in-depth discussion of a fascinating book by @wiringthebrain.bsky.social on free will. I liked a lot about the book.

Here Nikos Sotirakopoulos, Ibis Slade, and Sam Weaver compare two very different critiques of so-called "woke" ideology (i.e. egalitarian collectivism), what we can learn from each, and why a deeper, more value-driven response is needed.

High-level summary of why "genocide" charges against Israel are absurd: 1) The paradigm case of genocide was the Holocaust. Germany was not attacked by Jews, it attacked them. vs. Israel, which was attacked by Gazans, on Oct 7 , and has been attacked relentlessly for decades.

For the Oct 7 anniversary, Tristan de Leige and I philosophically analyze -- and skewer -- the absurd claims that Israel has engaged in "genocide."

From Onkar Ghate and me in @ocropinion: "To intimidate the victim to self-censor. . . . has the advantage of giving the opponents of free speech an easy cover: they can pretend their victims are acting voluntarily." www.ocregister.com/2025/09/26/w...

Here Mike Mazza and I analyze the week’s debate about free speech and Jimmy Kimmel.

Excellent discussion of the intellectual trends that are stoking the flames of political violence in every corner of American politics.

Here Robertas Bakula and I tackle the Trump administration's morally corrupt antitrust program -- which it has borrowed unapologetically from Biden.

Here Nikos Sotirakopoulos and I challenge the stale and conventional explanations offered by thinkers on the right for the ongoing popularity of socialism.

We're happy to begin republishing some timeless New Ideal articles on the orange site, starting with this classic that informs a lot of my own writing on the subject of morality.