For Friday’s episode of Philosophy in Action Radio, I posted a preview of my podcast and study questions for “Explore Atlas Shrugged, Sessions 17 and 18.”
The online version of Explore Atlas Shrugged – meaning, all 20 sessions of podcasts and study questions, plus other resources – can be purchased for just $20. The written materials are also available from Amazon in paperback and kindle formats, and purchasers of those editions pay just $10 for access to the podcasts. For more information, including previews of other sessions, visit Explore Atlas Shrugged.
Sessions 17 and 18 of Explore Atlas Shrugged covers:
- Part 3: Chapter 7: This Is John Galt Speaking
Preview the Podcast
Listen or Download:
- Duration: 49:37 (Preview) / 1:43:49 (Full Podcast)
- Download Preview: Standard MP3 File (17.1 MB)
- Art, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, Epistemology, Ethics, Literature, Metaphysics, Objectivism, Philosophy, Politics
Preview the Study Questions
Note: The pagination of the hardcover, softcover, and kindle editions differs from that of the small mass market paperback. The study questions cite only the pagination from the larger editions. I don’t recommend using the mass market paperback.
Part 3: Chapter 7: This Is John Galt Speaking
Section 1 (1000-1009)
Jim Taggart wakes Dagny Taggart to tell her that Hank Rearden has quit. As civilization disintegrates, Head of State Mr. Thompson schedules a major radio broadcast, inviting notable people to be present for the broadcast, including Jim Taggart, Wesley Mouch, Eugene Lawson, Chick Morrison, Tinky Holloway, Floyd Ferris, Simon Pritchett, Ma Chalmers, Fred Kinnan, and Mr. Mowen. Jim invites Dagny under the pretext of a conference before the broadcast, and she brings Eddie Willers. John Galt takes over the broadcast to give his own speech.
Core Questions
- What is Dagny’s response to the news that Hank has quit? What does it mean to her? What does it mean to Jim Taggart and the other looters? What does it mean to ordinary people? (1000-3)
- Why does Hank send Dagny a message from the valley? Why that particular message? What is Dagny’s reaction – and why? (1002-3)
- What is Mr. Thompson’s response to the problems with the radio broadcast? What does that reveal about the mental state of the looters? What is the significance of his last two questions before John Galt’s broadcast? (1007-9)
Extra Questions
- What are the three contradictory news reports circulating about Hank Rearden? What do they reveal about the state of the culture and the government? (1001-2)
- Why didn’t people see Hank’s value sooner? Why doesn’t Dagny have an answer to this question? (1002)
- What does the five-dollar gold piece mean to Dagny? What is her state of mind, overall? Why? (1003)
- How are people rebelling against the government? How it is like “fighting murder with suicide”? (1003-4)
- Why does Dagny agree to attend the conference before the broadcast? Why does she want to bring Eddie Willers with her? (1005)
- What kind of person has Dr. Robert Stadler become? Why is John’s voice a slap in the face to him? (1006, 1008-9)
- What happens to the “conference” before the broadcast? Why was Dagny invited? Why does she refuse to participate? (1005-7)
Speech: Introduction (1009-1011)
John Galt starts his speech by intriguing his audience and then outlining the strike. In essence, he is the man who has destroyed the world – and he’s done that by giving people their moral ideal. He’s deprived the world of the minds of men. Those men are on strike against the ideas that pervade the culture: unreason, self-sacrifice, suffering, guilt, and the desire for the unearned. The resulting disaster now is the natural result of those moral ideals. Now those ideals are on trial.
Core Question
- How does John motivate and intrigue his listeners? What does he tell them that’s news to them? (1009-11)
Extra Questions
- Is the current state of the world the true goal of the looters’ moral code – or just the unintended consequence? Why or why not? (1009-10)
- How does this strike of the men of the mind differ from the labor strikes of the past? How is it similar? (1010-1)
About Explore Atlas Shrugged
Explore Atlas Shrugged is a series of 20 sessions of podcasts and study questions by me, philosopher Dr. Diana Hsieh. Each session covers about 65 pages of the novel, organized chapter-by-chapter and section-by-section. The podcasts are an in-depth look at the events, characters, and ideas from that portion of the novel. The whole series contains over 22 hours of lively and engaging discussion in podcast form. The study questions will help you better understand the novel on your own – or help you lead an engaging reading group. The series includes over 1400 questions, organized into “core” and “extra” categories.
You can preview the full series of podcasts and questions, as well as purchase access for just $20, here: Explore Atlas Shrugged. You can also purchase the series below.
Also, the written materials are available from Amazon in paperback and kindle formats, and purchasers of those editions pay just $10 for access to the podcasts.
Purchase Explore Atlas Shrugged
Access to the online version of Explore Atlas Shrugged costs just $20. It’s half off – just $10 – for purchasers of the paperback and kindle editions of the book version. Also, if you contribute to Philosophy in Action’s Tip Jar via recurring weekly or monthly contributions (or the equivalent), please email me for free access.
Terms of Sale: (1) You may share the podcasts with members of your household, but not beyond that. (2) You may share the study questions with members of your household, as well as with participants in your online or in-person Atlas Shrugged Reading Group. (3) Do not ever post the podcasts or study questions in any public forum.
Praise for Explore Atlas Shrugged
The response to Explore Atlas Shrugged has been overwhelmingly positive, including the following remarks:
I require students to read Atlas Shrugged in my introductory economics class. Dr. Hsieh’s Explore Atlas Shrugged podcasts were an essential tool to help communicate the novel’s lesson and hold effective class discussion. Do not attempt to teach the book without consulting the podcasts first!
— Bailey Norwood, Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University
And:
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Diana – our GLO Atlas Reading Group is going so very well. We have about 12-13 people attending, and it is truly the most fun we’ve had in a long time. So much rewarding fun comes out of your ideas and organization. Can’t thank you enough for your efforts!!!
And:
I just wanted to send you a quick note and thank you for your efforts on Explore Atlas Shrugged. As part of the Charm City Objectivists Society we used your questions and podcast to help kick off our reading group yesterday for session one. We had epiphanies all around the table from someone who is a firm student of Objectivism to a person who had read Atlas Shrugged but is new to Objectivism. I know that neither Ray (our moderator) or myself could have undertaken this kind of thing without the wonderful resource you have created. You have helped me make a difference in my community and I thank you for it.
And:
The other day, I began listening to your Explore Atlas Shrugged podcasts. I have read and listened to the book several times, but it has been admittedly too long since the last time. Although I can not adequately express how much experiencing your podcasts has meant to me and the extent to which they have reinvigorated me, I did want to thank you…Thank you.
About Philosophy in Action Radio
Philosophy in Action Radio focuses on the application of rational principles to the challenges of real life. It broadcasts live on most Sunday mornings and many Thursday evenings over the internet. For information on upcoming shows, visit the Episodes on Tap. For podcasts of past shows, visit the Show Archives.
