OCON 2026 Program Highlights

Register
ari-logo-white

New Orleans

June 26-30, 2026 • Sheraton New Orleans Hotel

June 26-30, 2026

Sheraton New Orleans Hotel

Program Highlights

Join the Ayn Rand Institute for our annual summer Objectivist conference (OCON) in the historic city of Boston to celebrate ARI’s 40th anniversary and the nation of the Enlightenment.
OCON 2025 will take place July 1–5, 2025, in the historic setting of Boston—which is the perfect location to mark Independence Day and ARI’s 40-year fight to preserve the Enlightenment ideals that culminated in America’s founding.
Since our establishment in 1985, the long-range goal of the Ayn Rand Institute has been to work to save Enlightenment values by advancing Objectivism in the culture.
As Onkar Ghate, ARI’s chief philosophy officer, explains:

To the extent the world has moved forward since the 18th century, it has done so by implementing, however imperfectly, the ideals of the Enlightenment: reason, science, individualism and a government limited by the principle of individual rights.

Philosophy and much of the wider intellectual world turned against the Enlightenment in the 19th century, which is why the 20th century was not just a century of progress, but also one of wide scale conflict, destruction and murder.

Ayn Rand viewed her new philosophy, Objectivism, as putting the Enlightenment’s ideals for the first time on a fully rational, fully defensible foundation.

Clebrating America: The Country of the Producer

2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution and Declaration of Independence. America’s Founding Fathers established what would become—in Ayn Rand’s words—“The first society in history . . . led, dominated and created by the Producers,” those who use their minds to create the values on which human life depends. Unshackled from the purveyors of faith and force, they created a land of unparalleled prosperity.

Featured Talks

The Philosophy of the Producer

Greg Salmieri

Senior Scholar of Philosophy,
Salem Center

In The Fountainhead, Howard Roark identifies “your work” as “the meaning of life.” This reflects the ideal of the producer, and the distinctive conception of work essential to Rand’s philosophy. Dr. Salmieri elucidates this aspect of Objectivism, identifying its foundations in a view of reason and values, indicating the role it plays in Rand’s valorization of America, and drawing out its implications for how we can better value our lives, our work, and our civilization.
The Psychology of the Producer

Gena Gorlin

Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin

Dr. Gorlin’s forthcoming book, The Builder’s Mindset, elaborates the “method of using his consciousness” that Rand says is distinctive of “the Producer.” This talk previews the book, illuminating how the producer’s premises show up in one’s psychology and how to implement them in one’s life, work, and relationships. Topics include: building (rather than finding) one’s purpose; holding one’s fully-lived life as the context for all of one’s judgments and decisions; the common failure modes into which would-be producers fall, and the tools for overcoming them.
Intellectual Shrinkage – And Its Costs

Tara Smith

Professor of Philosophy, University of Texas at Austin

Our society has been suffering from a sustained period of intellectual shrinkage – a subtle, steady decline in conceptual thinking. Many people’s intellectual capacities and inclinations to think conceptually are contracting in ways that bring destructive consequences.
The lecture is in two parts. First, it surveys contemporary culture to showcase the disturbing indicators of our cognitive erosion. Second, it exposes the damage that this inflicts, focusing on the impact in three areas: on curiosity, on personal relationships, and on an individual’s relationship to his own values.
Conquering the Necropolis: The Taming of Yellow Fever and the Making of a Productive American City

Amesh Adalja

Board-certified Physician in Infectious Disease

Once known as a deadly “necropolis,” New Orleans faced yearly yellow-fever death tolls approaching ten percent. This lecture traces how scientists and physicians transformed that grim reality through reason, discovery, and heroic action. From Walter Reed’s decisive breakthroughs to William Gorgas’s implementation and Max Theiler’s vaccine, their achievements not only saved cities but made feats like the Panama Canal possible. The lecture will also explore yellow fever’s unexpected influence on the abolitionist movement—revealing a profound story of human productivity and progress.
The Meaning of Fundamentals

Tara Smith

Professor of Philosophy, University of Texas at Austin

Josh Windham

Attorney, Institute for Justice

Elan Journo

Attorney, Institute for Justice

Peter Schwartz

Distinguished Fellow, Ayn Rand Institute

What exactly are we naming when we classify something as a fundamental? What does it mean to identify a fundamental right, or a fundamental virtue, or a fundamental cause? Is the relationship between fundamentals and derivatives one of cause-and-effect—or something else? How do we go about discovering fundamentals? And what purpose do they serve? Mr. Schwartz addresses these questions and presents a comprehensive view of the nature, and the crucial importance, of fundamentality.
Ayn Rand and the Meaning of Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962)

Shoshana Milgram

Associate Professor of English, Virginia Tech

After the sudden death of Marilyn Monroe, Ayn Rand paid tribute in a newspaper column, with two main themes: the courage of Marilyn Monroe as an artist, and the evil of the envious attacks on her. She quoted from Marilyn Monroe’s last interview: about the secrets she shared in her performances, and the secrets she withheld from public view. Ayn Rand, moreover, was drawing on secrets of her own: her friendship with a journalist who knew Marilyn well and her association with a pro-capitalist screenwriter/director who had featured Marilyn in a film (Ayn Rand offered advice and attended the preview). This talk will explore Rand’s view of Marilyn Monroe, and her tribute to her, which was at once ethical, esthetic, and personal.

Special Guest

A Conversation with Steven Pinker

Steven Pinker is one of the world’s top public intellectuals, a cognitive scientist who has been named by TIME as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. He is the Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and the author of such bestselling works as Rationality, Enlightenment Now, and When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows . . ..

Join us for a panel discussion in which leading Objectivist intellectuals will converse with Pinker about such topics as the Enlightenment and human progress, Objectivism, freedom of speech, and the battle for Western civilization.

Special Events
Junior Intellectual Talk Series
New this year, OCON will feature a series of brief, incisive short-form talks (think “TED”) from ARI’s intellectuals-in-training. Come hear from the new generation of developing Objectivist intellectuals as they showcase their burgeoning subject-matter expertise on a wide range of fascinating topics.
Archives Tours
Between 1961 and 1981, Ayn Rand spoke at the Ford Hall Forum in Boston a total of nineteen times, covering a range of topics that applied her unique philosophic worldview to the most complex and controversial issues of the day. The talks are a fascinating example of Ayn Rand’s pathbreaking career as a public intellectual. Join an ARI archivist-led exhibit tour at OCON for a chance to see original artifacts that illuminate Rand’s intellectual legacy.
The Fifth Annual OCON Poker Championship Tournament
Join board members, speakers, and fellow attendees on Wednesday, July 2, for the Fifth Annual OCON Texas Hold ’Em Poker Championship Tournament. Register by June 27 to receive a chip bonus.
OCON’s Got Talent
Announcing the return of the fan-favorite talent show! This year’s OCON’s Got Talent will take place on Wednesday, July 2.
Independence Day Excursion
Celebrate Independence Day on Friday, July 4, with a special scavenger hunt along Boston’s Freedom Trail. For every location along the scavenger route that you visit, you’ll receive an entry in our OCON 2026 week pass giveaway. You are also invited to join us for a special evening reception in honor of the Fourth of July.

Objectivist Conferences / Ayn Rand® Institute reserves the right to make necessary adjustments to the schedule. Speakers, talks, and events will be added periodically as they are confirmed.

New Ideal
Donate
media inquiries
STAY IN TOUCH
Updates from ARI

Copyright © 1985 – 2026 The Ayn Rand Institute (ARI). Reproduction of content and images in whole or in part is prohibited. All rights reserved. ARI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in the United States. Contributions to ARI in the United States are tax-exempt to the extent provided by law. Objectivist Conferences (OCON), Ayn Rand Conference (AynRandCon), ARU and the Ayn Rand Institute eStore are operated by ARI. Payments to OCON, AynRandCon, ARU or the Ayn Rand Institute eStore do not qualify as tax-deductible contributions to the Ayn Rand Institute. AYN RAND, AYN RAND INSTITUTE, ARI and the AYN RAND device are trademarks of the Ayn Rand Institute registered in the United States and other jurisdictions where applicable. All rights reserved.