The annual Randsday Oojectivist Conference will be held Jan. 28-Feb. 1, 2027, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Hotel in Fort Myers, FL. There has been a delay in creating the sign-up mechanism; this should be available shortly.

Meanwhile, here is the program of speakers:

Amesh Adalja--Breaking a Dogma: The “heresy” that rewrote the biology of infectious disease

Harry Binswanger--Monitoring: The Key to Discovery

Yaron Brook--The Story of Israel’s Founding

Ellen Kenner--The Principle of Psychological Visibility

Jean Moroney--Inspiring the Active Mind in Others

Peter Schwartz--Knowledge as Contextual

Tara Smith--Man as a Social Valuer: Caring about Others and Caring about Ourselves

Panel Discussion (Harry Binswanger, Yaron Brook, Peter Schwartz)--Forging a Proper Immigration Policy

In its lawsuit against the FCC, Disney, the parent company of ABC alleges that Chairman Brendan Carr violated the First Amendment by using unprecedented early license renewals for all ABC-owned stations in retaliation for content decisions President Trump disliked. The FCC responds that early renewal is a tool to get Disney to cooperate in the FCC’s equal-employment/DEI investigation. But Disney argues that numerous threats by President Trump and Carr to revoke licenses in response to content decisions prove that investigations are pretextual. The real harm here is the self-censorship of broadcasters: a threat left hanging forces every editorial decision to be weighed against the possibility of losing the license.

In this episode, Robertas Bakula and Onkar Ghate commend Disney for making their case on fundamental constitutional grounds rather than settling behind closed doors. Too few of Disney’s defenders ever dare to challenge the FCC’s underlying licensing authority or the employment mandates that also violate freedom of association. They warn that Carr is trying to reinvigorate and expand the FCC’s power over speech and argue that no depoliticized FCC is possible. The only real solution is privatizing the spectrum.

Topics Include:

• Disney’s lawsuit against the FCC for violating the First Amendment

• How self-censorship works in practice

• Broadcaster’s historical complicity in creating the FCC

• Brendan Carr’s goal to expand the FCC’s power

• Why defenders of free speech do not challenge the FCC and its DEI policies as violating intellectual freedom

• The only way to remove the FCC’s ability to chill speech is to privatize the broadcast spectrum

Resources:

• Ayn Rand, “Choose Your Issues,” The Objectivist Newsletter, 1962

• Ayn Rand, “Have Gun, Will Nudge,” The Objectivist Newsletter, 1962

• Ayn Rand, “Vast Quicksands,” The Objectivist Newsletter, 1963

• Ayn Rand, “The Property Status of Airwaves,” The Objectivist Newsletter, 1964

• Ayn Rand Institute Podcast episode “Trump vs. CBS: How Government Pressures Companies to Self-Censor”, Jul 31, 2025

• Ayn Rand Institute Podcast episode, Trump vs. Kimmel: The Tribal Weaponization of the FCC against Free Speech, Sep. 25, 2025

Image credit: Potjanan Surirug / iStock / via Getty Images.

For over 40 years, ARI has preserved Rand’s legacy through archival and educational activities. Two years ago, ARI announced it would cement that legacy in actual concrete by building the Ayn Rand Center in Austin, Texas. Earlier this month, the Institute broke ground on the building. The Center will house the Ayn Rand Archives, classrooms, event spaces, studios, public gathering areas, a state-of-the-art immersive educational experience, and the home campus of ARI’s education program, ARU. It will play a vital role in preserving Objectivism and in spreading it to ever-larger audiences. To learn more about the groundbreaking event, the Center’s inspiring vision, and the founders behind it, watch our special Ayn Rand Institute Podcast episode with CEO Tal Tsfany and Senior VP Elan Journo. In addition to the discussion, the episode includes building simulations and video clips from the groundbreaking event.

Topics include:

• The plan for the Ayn Rand Center and the strategic vision behind it

• The architect and architecture of the Center

• Inspiring anecdotes on the building process and the Center

• Mailchimp founder Ben Chestnut’s donations and vision

• Tal Tsfany’s remarks at the groundbreaking event

Resources:

• Website of the Ayn Rand Center