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Do you want to better understand and appreciate Ayn Rand's epic novel Atlas Shrugged? Look no further! Explore Atlas Shrugged will help you gain fresh insights into the complex events, characters, and ideas of this epic novel – whether you've read it just once or a dozen times before.

The podcast and study questions below are a preview of Session 5. You can purchase access to the whole of Explore Atlas Shrugged – meaning, over 22 hours of podcasts, 1400 study questions, and other resources – for just $20 using the form below. The written materials in the course are also available from Amazon in paperback and kindle formats, and purchasers of those editions just pay $10 for access to the podcasts.

For more information, including previews of other sessions, visit Explore Atlas Shrugged.

Session 5 of Explore Atlas Shrugged covers:

• Part 1: Chapter 9: The Sacred and the Profane
• Part 1: Chapter 10: Wyatt's Torch (Sections 1-4)

Listen to the podcast preview of Session 5 of Explore Atlas Shrugged now – or download it:

• Preview Duration: 15:39 (Full Podcast: 53:53)
• Download Preview: Standard MP3 File (5.4 MB)

Tags: Art, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, Epistemology, Ethics, Literature, Metaphysics, Objectivism, Philosophy, Politics

Part 1: Chapter 9: The Sacred and the Profane

Section 1 (253-256)

Hank Rearden and Dagny Taggart awake after their first night together. They speak about their affair.

Core Question

• What does Hank say to Dagny after their first night together? Why? What does Dagny say in response? Why? (254-6)

Extra Questions

• What does Dagny think and feel before Hank speaks to her? Why? (253-4)
• What does Dagny think and feel as Hank speaks? Why does her reaction change as he speaks? (254-5)
• Why would Hank give up every "height of virtue" for the "depravity" of his affair with Dagny? What is Dagny's view of that – and why? (254-6)
• Why do Hank and Dagny have sex again after this exchange of words? (256)
• What might have been the results if Dagny were more direct and clear with Hank about her views of sex in this conversation? (254-6)

Section 2 (256-267)

Jim Taggart meets and spends the evening with Cherryl Brooks.

Core Questions

• What kind of person is Cherryl Brooks? What does she think of Jim? How and why does she misunderstand what he says? (257-67)
• What does Jim think of Cherryl? How and why does he take pleasure in her admiration of him? How is she different from other girls he has known? (260)

Extra Questions

• What is Jim's mood in the hours after the successful first run of the John Galt Line? Why? (256-7)
• Why does Jim take pleasure in the thought that the dime store will go out of business soon? What does that reveal about his values? (257)
• Why is Cherryl disturbed by the thought that Jim isn't happy? How does she resolve that unease in her own mind? (258-9, 262-6)
• What does Cherryl's history with her family in Buffalo reveal about her character? How is she different from most of the people around her? (261-2)
• What philosophic views does Jim espouse when he talks to Cherryl? What is the common underlying theme? What is Cherryl's response? (258-67)
• Why does Jim think of sleeping with Cherryl but then not pursue that? How and why does he suggest that possibility to her? What is her reaction? (266-7)
• Why does Jim feel that his evening with Cherryl has been his revenge on every person who cheered the John Galt Line? (267)

Do you want to better understand and appreciate Ayn Rand's epic novel Atlas Shrugged?

Explore Atlas Shrugged is an in-depth course consisting of a podcast series, study questions, and other resources by philosopher Dr. Diana Brickell. The course breaks Atlas Shrugged into 20 manageable sessions, each covering about 65 pages of the novel.

• The study questions will help you better understand the novel on your own, as well as enable you to lead a successful reading group or class on Atlas Shrugged. The course contains over 1400 questions, organized into "core" and "extra" categories. You can preview the study questions for each session below.
• Each podcast is an in-depth look at the events, characters, and ideas from that portion of the novel. The course contains over 22 hours of lively and engaging podcasting. You can preview the podcast for each session below.
• Explore Atlas Shrugged also includes a Plot Outline, a Character Inventory, Questions for a Book Club, and a FAQ on Atlas Shrugged Reading Groups.

Explore Atlas Shrugged will inspire fresh insights into the complex events, characters, and ideas of Ayn Rand's epic novel, whether you've read it just once or a dozen times before.

Check out the previews, then purchase access to the whole of Explore Atlas Shrugged for just $20. The written materials of Explore Atlas Shrugged are also available from Amazon in paperback and kindle formats, and purchasers of those editions pay just $10 for access to the podcasts.

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, study questions, or login credentials in any public forum.

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.