The Dramatic Injustice of the January 6th Pardons @AynRandInstitute

Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Ben Bayer and Elan Journo discuss Trump’s blanket pardon of all the people involved in the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

Among the topics covered:
● How Trump’s blanket pardon lets outrageous evil off the hook;
● How Trump’s claims about the 2020 elections and the January 6 attack are arbitrary;
● How Trump and many Republicans are attempting to rewrite reality;
● How the pardons normalize political violence and reflect the tribalism of our culture;
● Why the blanket pardoning is an attack on the Constitution and the rule of law.

Recommended in this podcast are the podcast episodes “The Storming of the Capitol” [youtu.be/jHZwu1V7Lq0] and “The January 6 Hearings.” [youtu.be/BAn692ODItc]

The podcast was recorded and posted on January 22, 2025.

0:00:00 Introduction
0:01:48 Trump lets outrageous evil off the hook
0:06:45 Trump’s arbitrary claims about the 2020 elections and January 6
0:16:21 Rewriting reality by Trump and Republicans
0:25:22 Normalizing political violence through the pardons
0:38:45 The blanket pardoning as an attack on the Constitution and the rule of law

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$Interview with Energy Entrepreneur Bud Brigham: ARI Donor Roundtable In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Elan Journo interviews, Bud Brigham a lifelong entrepreneur and the founder of multiple successful companies, most notably Atlas Energy Solutions. Mr. Brigham built his career on a vision of innovation and an uncompromising commitment to individualism, values deeply informed by Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism. In this interview, Mr. Brigham shares how The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged inspired him to take bold risks and create lasting value in the energy sector. Among the topics covered: • Introduction to the Roundtable and to Bud Brigham; • What motivates Brigham’s continuing entrepreneurship; • How Brigham’s companies innovated to overcome economic and technological challenges; • Brigham’s battle to build the innovative Dune Express, the world’s second-longest conveyor belt transporting fracking sand; • How Objectivist ideas have inspired and empowered Brigham’s career; • How Brigham works to encourage industry peers to stand up on principle against demands for regulation; • Brigham’s advice for young entrepreneurs; • Brigham’s favorite passage from Ayn Rand. The interview with Mr. Brigham occurred at a recent ARI Donor Roundtable on January 25, an event usually available exclusively for donors. If youd like to participate in the next Roundtable event, consider joining ARI as a supporter [https://ari.aynrand.org/donate/]. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:02:52 Introduction to Bud Brigham 0:08:04 Brigham’s motivation for continuing entrepreneurship 0:13:08 Brigham’s companies’ innovations 0:22:10 Battle to build the innovative Dune Express 0:31:00 Objectivist ideas that have inspired Brigham’s career 0:39:20 Encouraging industry peers to stand up against regulations 0:52:18 Advice for young entrepreneurs 0:55:59 Brigham’s favorite passage from Ayn Rand Subscribe to ARI’s YouTube channel to make sure you never miss a video: https://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=AynRandInstitute Download or stream free courses on Ayn Rand’s works and ideas with the Ayn Rand University app: – App Store https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ayn-rand-university/id1452535178?mt=8 – Google Play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aynrandu ARI is funded by donor contributions. You can support our work by becoming an ARI Member or making a one-time contribution: https://ari.aynrand.org/donate Explore these ideas further! ARIs online publication, New Ideal, explores pressing cultural issues from the perspective of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism: https://newideal.aynrand.org/ ****** Keep in Touch! Sign up to receive email updates from ARI: https://aynrand.org/signup Follow ARI on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AynRandInst Follow ARI on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AynRandInstitute Follow ARI on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aynrandorg Subscribe to the ARI Live! podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ayn-rand-institute-live/id1440399458 ****** Join an upcoming virtual or in-person event: https://ari.aynrand.org/events/ Visit ARI’s website for more about our content and programs: https://ari.aynrand.org/$

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