International Speaker Announced For ACT's 2025 Rally In Auckland
'ACT's annual rally always features a thought-provoking keynote to elevate the standard of public debate in New Zealand,' says ACT Leader David Seymour.
'Dr Lindsay fits that tradition perfectly. He is the author of the bestseller Cynical Theories and one of the world's leading lights in the fight against identity politics, conformity and oppression. His message about reclaiming liberalism in an age of extremes could not be more timely.'
'Last year, Paul Henry's address at ACT's rally was viewed more than 250,000 times by Kiwis who wished they'd attended in person. This year, I predict it will be even more important not to miss out.'
Notes:
Dr Lindsay is an American author, mathematician, and leading advocate for free speech and intellectual freedom. He is the founder of New Discourses, a platform dedicated to defending reason, open debate, and the principles of liberal democracy.
His bestselling book Cynical Theories has become a global phenomenon, exposing how radical ideologies undermine free societies. Dr Lindsay's message resonates with everyone concerned about the rise of identity politics, censorship, and authoritarian thinking.
He has spoken before the US Congress, universities, and grassroots movements around the world. At a time when free expression is under threat, Dr Lindsay delivers a clear and urgent message: we must stand up for liberty, open inquiry, and common sense.
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Photo / Ash Adams, the New York Times The team had a drone-buster, too — a huge gun-like device that looked like something from the movie Ghostbusters. But no one bothered to try it. 'That thing never worked,' one man said. Over time, the soldiers improved. By the fourth day of the exercise, they had figured out how to use their jamming equipment more effectively. A black suitcase-sized box called a Magpie worked particularly well, they said. But Lieutenant-Colonel Scott Smith, director for the non-lethal effects section of the 11th Airborne Division, said the exercise highlighted how much more work Americans needed to do to prepare for a conflict involving drones. 'Their equipment just doesn't have the desired effect against the latest technology,' he said. Chris Bonzagni, a drone industry consultant with Contact Front Technologies who helped put on the Alaska test, said many of the American drones that were initially delivered to Ukraine failed on the battlefield because they were outdated or easily jammed by the Russians. 'In Ukraine, the companies delivering tech to the war fighters are with them all the time, observing first-hand what is working and what is not,' he said. Ukraine has also become a drone-making hub because its soldiers and engineers are forced to master drone technology to survive, something Americans have not experienced yet. The US event was held at the Yukon Training Area, a military site about an hour south of Fairbanks, because it was the only place where organisers could get permission to fly the drones while soldiers tried to try to jam them, Emeneker said. The electronic signals used to disrupt drones can wreak havoc with civilian aircraft, radios and cellphones, making it difficult to get clearance to conduct such exercises in populated areas. Some US drone companies do their testing and development in Ukraine. That may be why one drone stood out in Alaska: a small, short-range quadcopter created by Neros, a start-up in El Segundo, California, with an office in Ukraine, which was testing a radio. That drone, called the Archer, managed to hover about 3m over the soldiers' heads, despite their jamming equipment. Its radio toggled between multiple frequencies, switching every time soldiers tried to jam it. It carried a jar of strawberry jam, a joke from Soren Monroe-Anderson, the 22-year-old chief executive and co-founder who piloted it with what looked like a video game controller. Neros, which is providing about 6000 drones to Ukraine this year and produced the drone that appeared in Hegseth's video, has been described by some US military leaders as their best alternative to China's DJI. The Archer sells for about US$2000 each, making it one of the most affordable models. Neros produces only about 1500 Archers per month in a factory where 15 workers assemble them by hand. Monroe-Anderson, a former drone racer, said he was ramping up production and wanted to build a factory capable of making a million drones a year. He aspires to compete with DJI but acknowledged the daunting odds. 'It is so much better than really any other company in the world,' he said of DJI. 'That's the reason why it is important to do what we are doing.' This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Written by: Farah Stockman Photographs by: Tyler Hicks and Ash Adams ©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
