Conversation with Greg Salmieri - Making Sense of America’s Past and Present | Yaron Brook Show

Live February 9, 2026 | Yaron Brook Show Interviews
Bonus Episode Season 12, Episode 4
Conversation with Greg Salmieri - Making Sense of America’s Past and Present | Yaron Brook Show

America’s crisis didn’t start with Trump—or Biden.

It started with ideas. Greg Salmieri explains which ones shaped us—and which ones are destroying us.

What happens when Aristotle and Ayn Rand collide with America’s founding ideals, its cultural crises, and its uncertain future?

In this wide-ranging and intellectually charged conversation, Yaron Brook sits down with philosopher Greg Salmieri to examine the ideas shaping Western civilization—and to ask where America has gone right, where it has gone wrong, and whether the spirit of liberty can still reassert itself.

At the center of the discussion is Salmieri’s new book, Two Philosophers: Aristotle and Ayn Rand, a compelling exploration of two giants of philosophy whose ideas continue to shape reason, morality, politics, and human flourishing. Together, Yaron and Greg trace the Enlightenment roots of American liberty, diagnose today’s cultural and political confusion, and explain why philosophical clarity matters now more than ever.

In this episode, they explore:
- Aristotle and Ayn Rand on reason, virtue, and human flourishing
- How philosophical ideas shape cultures, institutions, and nations
- What America’s founding got right—and what has been steadily undermined
- Why confusion about ideas leads to cultural and political collapse

Whether you’re interested in philosophy, history, politics, or the future of a free society, this conversation offers essential insight into the ideas that move the world.

👤 About Greg Salmieri
Gregory Salmieri teaches philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin and is a Senior Scholar of Philosophy at the Salem Center for Policy, where he holds the Brigham Fellowship for the Study of Objectivism. He also serves as Director of the Center’s Program for Objectivity in Thought, Action, and Enterprise.

Dr. Salmieri is co-editor of A Companion to Ayn Rand (Wiley-Blackwell, 2016) and Foundations of a Free Society (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2019), and the author of numerous articles on Aristotle and Ayn Rand. He previously taught at UNC Chapel Hill, Boston University, and Rutgers University before joining the Salem Center in 2020.

⏱️ TOPIC TIMESTAMPS
00:50 Who is Greg Salmieri?
01:20 Greg’s new book: Two Philosophers: Aristotle and Ayn Rand
07:35 The current state of American culture
12:25 Where does the American spirit still assert itself?
16:50 Rights and their philosophical foundations
19:00 Remnants of the American spirit today
23:45 Why these are scary cultural times
31:15 Protests in Minneapolis
33:20 Is there a way out?
40:30 How did we get here?
47:15 The Tea Party movement
51:10 Positive figures and signs of hope

💬 LIVE AUDIENCE QUESTIONS
55:32 Does needing a ladder in your library signal an above-average love of books? What books go on the top shelf?
56:33 Montessori education and Objectivism: why is it popular, what alternatives should parents explore, and tips for raising a curious two-year-old
1:01:57 Why does today’s culture show less outrage toward political fraud than in the past?
1:06:14 Is the is/ought dichotomy reflected in the Aristotle–Plato philosophical divide?
1:07:52 A listener note on Greg’s music videos with his son
1:10:45 Is Trump using deregulation to offset the economic effects of tariffs?
1:16:41 See pinned comment for timestamps of additional audience questions

#GregSalmieri #AynRand #Aristotle #AmericanHistory #PoliticalPhilosophy #WesternCivilization #Objectivism #EnlightenmentIdeas #FreeSociety

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Yaron is the executive chairman of the Ayn Rand Institute and a world class speaker. He is the coauthor of the national best-seller Free Market Revolution: How Ayn Rand’s Ideas Can End Big Government, Equal is Unfair: America's Misguided Fight Against Income Inequality and In Pursuit of Wealth: The Moral Case for Finance. He speaks around the world on a variety of topics including the morality of capitalism, Ayn Rand and her philosophy, finance and economics, and the value of inequality.