Summary
In 1957, the Russian-born American philosopher, Ayn Rand, published Atlas Shrugged, one of the most politically influential American novels of the 20th Century. The best-seller imagines a dystopia in which all wealth-creators go on strike causing the global economy to collapse. Atlas Shrugged made Ayn Rand a hero for free-market economists and political libertarians. Simon Watts talks to Leonard Peikoff, one of Ayn Rand's earliest followers.
(Photo: Ayn Rand in New York in 1962. Credit: AP)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.7 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.5 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices. |
| 0:18.0 | What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
| 0:24.6 | poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples. |
| 0:29.7 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC |
| 0:35.4 | Sounds. |
| 0:36.4 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:40.9 | My name's Linda Davies and I commissioned |
| 0:43.0 | podcast for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:45.0 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality, |
| 0:49.0 | featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices. |
| 0:54.4 | What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
| 1:00.9 | poltergeist, cricket and conspiracy theories, Cricket, and Conspiracy Theories. |
| 1:04.4 | And that's just a few examples. |
| 1:06.3 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, |
| 1:09.4 | find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. Hello, and thank you for downloading Witness from the BBC World Service. |
| 1:16.0 | It's 60 years since the publication of one of the most politically influential books in American history, Atlas shrugged by the philosopher and novelist |
| 1:25.8 | Ein Rand. |
| 1:27.2 | I'm Simon Watts and I've been talking to one of Rand's closest followers about a book that's |
| 1:32.0 | inspired millions. |
| 1:34.0 | Einraun was an immigrant from Russia who believed passionately that individualism and self-sufficiency |
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