Podcasts about daily stoic

Corruption is everywhere, from politics and business to sports and universities. But as modern as it all feels, the Stoics saw the same thing happening thousands of years ago. So how did they resist it without becoming part of it themselves?

Some of the greatest American heroes are people most of us have never heard of. In today's episode, Ryan talks with retired Brigadier General and military historian Ty Seidule about five remarkable Americans whose stories embody courage, sacrifice, service, and leadership. They also talk about why the people we choose to honor matter, what the renaming of military bases reveals about American history, and why telling the truth about the past does not mean giving up on greatness.Ty Seidule served in the U.S. Army for more than three decades, retiring as a brigadier general in 2020. He is a professor emeritus of history at West Point and served as vice chair of the Congressional Naming Commission, which was tasked with renaming Department of Defense assets that honored Confederates.Ty Seidule is the author of A Promise Delivered: Ten American Heroes and the Battle to Rename Our Nation's Military Bases and Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner's Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause.

We live in busy, stressful, unnerving times. We can't let that rattle or rush us.

We have an impulse. We have a provocation…and before we act, we should consider it. How is this really going to go?

Marcus Aurelius lacked a freedom that we so readily take for granted...

When false information spreads faster than the truth, knowing how to think matters more than knowing what to think. In this episode, Ryan talks with David Pakman, host of The David Pakman Show, about how to think for yourself in a world shaped by spin, outrage, algorithms, and misinformation. They discuss how to separate news from commentary, recognize when you are being manipulated, question your first reaction, and get closer to the truth.David Pakman is a political commentator, author, and host of The David Pakman Show. David has built one of the largest independent political media platforms in the country, reaching millions across radio, podcasting, and YouTube. He is the author of The Echo Machine: How Right-Wing Extremism Created a Post-Truth America and Pay Attention: How the Algorithms and Media Wars Are Suppressing Truth and Rewiring Your Brain.

Hey friends, Chase here. Every summer, I revisit conversations from the archive that have stood the test of time. Not because I'm nostalgic, but because the best ideas don't expire. They deepen. This is another installment of Summer School—the set of episodes I personally return to the most when I'm stuck and need something true to lean on. This one with Ryan Holiday is high on that list. I've gone back to it multiple times this year alone. Ryan is a legend—author, media strategist, New York Times bestselling writer, and the person who brought Stoic philosophy into popular culture for a generation of creatives and entrepreneurs. This conversation is from 2017, before he'd fully hit the stride we know him for now. He'd already published something like six books in five years. He was already a force. And yet you can hear, in this episode, exactly where his work was headed. What stands out isn't just marketing tactics. It's framing. Good marketing isn't only writing good copy or taking a nice product photo. It's making work that starts a discussion. It's asking better questions before you begin. And it's using your own mindset—perception, action, will—to keep going when the creative path gets hard. Those tools were spot on then. They're truer now. Nobody cares what you're thinking about doing. Talk about your ideas after you've started them and then show people what you've done. Summer School: Ryan Holiday on Stoicism, Marketing, and Creating Work That Lasts Ryan dropped out of college at 19 to work with Robert Greene, became director of marketing at American Apparel, and later built Brass Check, advising clients like Google, Tim Ferriss, and Tony Robbins. Then he did something that looked, on paper, like career suicide: he wrote Trust Me, I'm Lying—a book about how marketers, companies, and politicians manufacture and manipulate attention online. Instead of burning his marketing career down, it opened writing as a profession. He began identifying as a writer first—keeping a hand in marketing so he wouldn't only comment from the sidelines. That tension runs through the whole episode: how information spreads, what it means to compete for attention, and how to build work that doesn't disappear after the launch week. At the center is Perennial Seller—the art of making and marketing work that lasts. Not the fidget-spinner hit. Not the trend piece. The Original Pantry Cafe that never closes. The book that sells more copies year after year because it solves a real problem. The boot that gets better the longer you wear it. If you're a creator, entrepreneur, or leader trying to make something that matters—and survive the noise long enough for it to land—this episode is still one of the sharpest in the archive. What You'll Hear in This Episode Why Ryan left New York for a cattle ranch outside Austin—and how distance, physical work, and humility made him better at the cerebral work How Trust Me, I'm Lying mapped the attention economy years before "fake news" became a daily phrase Why modern marketing is less about perfect product shots and more about starting conversations A practical crash course in Stoicism: perception, action, and will Ego vs. confidence—and how to market without marketing to yourself Austin Kleon's line: you can't be the noun without doing the verb What makes a perennial seller—and why industries obsess over "new" while most of their money comes from what lasts The "other 50%": craft gets you in the door; packaging, positioning, relationships, and community finish the race Two questions before every project: Who is this for? What does this do for them? Three Stoic Disciplines for Creatives Ryan's version of Stoicism is deliberately practical. Not academic debate—the art of living. Philosophy for the role you're already in: photographer, founder, writer, leader. He walks through three disciplines: 1. Perception How do you look at the situation? Someone is rude. Your company is in trouble. Your work isn't getting seen. Do you decide it's unfair, impossible, purely negative—or do you look for what you can actually use? The Stoics' move: there's no inherent good or bad—there's how we look at things. We don't control most of what happens to us. We do control the last crucial part: what we tell ourselves it means. Marcus Aurelius did that work through writing—Meditations as a private practice of catching your own mind in the act. 2. Action Seeing differently isn't enough. What do you do with the information? Ryan's favorite cut: Casey Neistat telling someone pitching a business idea, essentially—don't tell me the idea. Tell me when you've started it, then show me what you've made. Thinking about running a marathon doesn't count. Starting does. This is the discipline that kills the fantasy. Ideas are cheap. Execution is the only proof. 3. Will How do you handle the moments when life kicks your ass and you can't reverse them? Ryan tells the Edison story: factory on fire, son shell-shocked, Edison telling him to get his mother—she'll never see a fire like this again. Even what you can't control can still transform you. Hardship is often the filter that keeps everyone who doesn't want it as badly as you do from finishing. If it were easy, there'd be more amateurs—and less value. Perennial Seller (and the Other 50%) The face-palm insight behind Perennial Seller: the New York Times bestseller list doesn't track perennial sellers—yet a huge share of publishing income comes from books that came out years or decades ago. Industry attention chases "new." Durable value often lives elsewhere. Ryan's frame for durable work is almost annoyingly clear: This is a blank that does blank for blank. Who is it for—really? Not "everyone" or "smart people." Actual humans. Where they live. What they do. What does it do for them? His editor's line: it's not what a book is—it's what a book does. Then comes Chase's "other 50%," which Ryan amplifies: making the thing is a marathon. Finishing it doesn't mean you've won. There's a second marathon waiting—marketing, packaging, relationships, platform, the bridge from your desk into someone else's life. "If you build it, they will come" has killed a lot of great work. You're not just competing with peers who launched this week. You're competing with time-tested work that already lives on Netflix, in bookstores, in cultural memory. Title, cover, logo, copy, collaborators—these aren't afterthoughts. They're part of the creative expression. Books have covers because people judge them. Your work does too. And if you're already hunting for shortcuts before you've started? That's a signal. Principles over formulas. The shortcuts get exploited the moment they work for everyone. Timecodes So You Can Jump Around 00:00 – Welcome and why this episode is part of Summer School 04:52 – Ryan Holiday joins; life on a ranch outside Austin 09:14 – From renegade marketer to writer: Trust Me, I'm Lying and how attention spreads 15:05 – Why marketing today means starting a discussion 16:58 – Stoicism as a practical art of living 21:54 – Discipline one: perception 25:34 – Discipline two: action (start it, then show it) 28:47 – Discipline three: will (Edison's fire and transforming hardship) 31:36 – Ego vs. confidence; marketing without marketing to yourself 37:01 – Fall in love with the verb, not the noun 40:14 – Perennial Seller: the art of making work that lasts 47:08 – "This is a blank that does blank for blank" 51:07 – Habits of people who make great work (editors, collaborators, objectivity) 54:47 – The other 50%: craft plus packaging, relationships, and community 01:04:35 – Frameworks: Who is this for? What does this do? 01:19:05 – Daily Stoic, memento mori, and closing thoughts Why This Conversation Still Matters In 2017, Ryan was already describing an attention landscape where your best work competes with cats, outrage, porn, fake news, and infinite other options in the feed. That landscape didn't calm down. It accelerated. What still cuts through is the opposite of trend-chasing: work built on timeless problems, principles that survive platform changes, and the humility to keep doing the verb while everyone else celebrates the noun. When I'm stuck—when the world feels noisy and my own next project feels either too precious or too thin—I come back to this episode for the same reminders: Control how you see it. Take action. Let the hard parts transform you. Ask who it's for and what it does. Don't confuse finishing the making with finishing the work. Fall in love with the craft more than the identity. And don't wait until you feel safe to do the honest version of the thing. That's why it's Summer School material. The platforms changed. The books multiplied. The stakes got louder. The questions held. Keep Going Deeper If this conversation resonates: Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work That Lasts The Obstacle Is the Way Ego Is the Enemy Trust Me, I'm Lying Daily Stoic: dailystoic.com Ryan online: ryanholiday.net Follow Ryan: Website | X/Twitter | Facebook Questions to Reflect On Am I still stuck in "thinking about" the project—or have I started something I can show? Where am I treating a hard situation as a verdict, instead of as information I can act on? Am I marketing to an audience—or marketing to myself? Have I fallen in love with the noun (author, founder, photographer) more than the verb? If I had to fill in "This is a ___ that does ___ for ___," could I do it clearly—today? Where have I finished the making and abandoned the second marathon: positioning, packaging, relationships, community? Am I building on timeless problems—or on platforms and tactics that may not survive the next cycle? The Core Idea Work that lasts isn't the work that wins the news cycle. It's the work that keeps solving something real for someone specific—long after the launch adrenaline fades. Ryan's invitation in this conversation is both simple and demanding: sharpen your perception, take action before you announce, let difficulty refine you, kill the ego that wants applause without evidence, and build for durability instead of novelty. If there's one lesson worth carrying forward from this Summer School session, it's this: Make something that starts a conversation—and lasts long enough to deserve one.

Money isn't evil. It can do real good. But it is a tool, not a measure of life. It can tell you what something costs, but not what it is worth.

People have been doing the same things for as long as there have been people.

Some people have everything they thought they wanted and still feel like they're losing. In this bonus episode, hear an excerpt from Ryan's conversation with Sahil Bloom, author of The 5 Types of Wealth. Together, they talk about the strange way success can distort your sense of what is enough, why the easiest things to measure often matter the least, and how quickly the life you once dreamed about can start to feel like it still isn't enough.Check out the full episode with Sahil Bloom | Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTubeSahil Bloom is the owner of SRB Holdings, the managing partner of SRB Ventures, and author of The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life.Follow Sahil on Instagram and X @SahilBloom

One of Stoicism's most famous ideas does not sit right with bestselling author Kate Bowler. In this episode, Ryan and Kate discuss the pressure this idea can place on people facing illness, grief, and impossible circumstances, the limits of personal agency, and how to find meaningful action without pretending we are in control of everything.Kate Bowler is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, award-winning podcast host, and professor of religious history at Duke University. She is the host of the podcast Everything Happens, where she has honest conversations about grief, joy, faith, love, and the realities of being human. Grab signed copies of Kate's books Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved, No Cure For Being Human (And Other Truths I Needed To Hear), and her latest book Joyful, Anyway at The Painted Porch | https://www.thepaintedporch.com/Follow Kate Bowler: Instagram, YouTube

Virtue is like any other skill. It's not something you either have or you don't. It's something you practice, and the more you practice it, the better you become. This was Aristotle's fundamental insight: excellence is not innate. It is a habit.

You're the king now. The Republic is in your hands. Can you keep it?-- Featured guests in order of appearance: Kenny Curtis | Full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTubeStephen Greenblatt | Full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify Chris Hayes | Full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTubeRobert Greene & Ryan Holiday Live | Daily Stoic Live Tickets

According to the Stoics, we humans have a higher obligation—not to the gods but to each other.

If we want people to change, we have to give them a way to see the truth for themselves.

One of history's most powerful rulers was shaped by a teacher he never met. In this episode, Ryan talks with Professor William O. Stephens about how Marcus Aurelius discovered Epictetus, why the former slave's teachings hit him so deeply, and how those ideas about freedom, power, and self-mastery helped shape the philosopher king.William O. Stephens is a philosopher specializing in Stoicism, ethics, and ancient philosophy. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and spent over 30 years teaching at Creighton University, where he is now Professor Emeritus. His work spans topics like friendship, ecology, and human nature, with a focus on Stoic thought. His latest book is Marcus Aurelius: Philosopher-King (2025), and he is also the author of Marcus Aurelius: A Guide for the Perplexed, Epictetus's Encheiridion: A New Translation and Guide to Stoic Ethics, and Stoic Ethics: Epictetus and Happiness as Freedom. Check out more of William Stephens' work at https://WilliamOStephens.com/

A master does not actually master anything. The Stoics understood this.

Change is hard but it doesn't mean you have to be hard on yourself.

The Stoics understood that the wealthiest person can still be a pauper—poor in peace, poor in contentment, poor in perspective.

You don't need to be an egotistical asshole to be successful. History is filled with powerful people whose pride ultimately destroyed them, from Caligula and Nero to Xerxes and Mussolini. The Stoics believed the antidote to ego was humility, self-awareness, reflection, and honest introspection. In this episode, Ryan explores the dangers of ego and the timeless practices that can help you keep it in check, stay grounded, and remain a good person as you become more successful.

What destroyed the Roman Republic was not one man or one moment, but a slow collapse of trust, duty, and shared values. In this episode, Ryan and ancient historian Barry Strauss discuss the broken civic bargain, economic strain, political violence, and personal ambition that pushed Rome toward civil war. They also talk about Cato's refusal to compromise, Caesar's decision to cross the Rubicon, and the warning the fall of the Roman Republic still holds for us today.Barry Strauss is a bestselling author, classicist, military and naval historian, and one of the leading authorities on leadership lessons from the ancient world. He is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, the Bryce and Edith M. Bowmar Professor in Humanistic Studies Emeritus at Cornell University, and a leading expert on ancient military history. Barry is the author of ten books on ancient history, translated into twenty languages, including The War That Made the Roman Empire, Ten Caesars, The Death of Caesar, and his latest book, Jews vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World's Mightiest Empire.Follow Barry on Instagram | @barrystrauss

Discipline, as a virtue, is related to the other virtues. By controlling our urges or wants or lifestyle, we're actually in a better position to be courageous or just.

Discipline, in this way, isn't just about action; it's about control. Control over our impulses, our desires, and even our most deeply ingrained habits.

Marcus Aurelius was checked by philosophy, but if he hadn't been, he could have easily been a Nero or a Caligula. The American Founders knew this well.

With Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey hitting theaters this week, now is the perfect time to hear the Stoic lessons hidden within this ancient story. In this episode, Ryan travels through Greece and Ithaca to share 12 lessons about ego, perseverance, discipline, temptation, and what it really means to make it home.

“First, say to yourself what you would be,” Epictetus says, “and then do what you have to do.”

After recording their episode at The Daily Stoic Podcast studio, Ryan and Dr. Becky headed next door to The Painted Porch, where Ryan shared a few must-read book recommendations.Listen to the full podcast episode with Dr. Becky Kennedy

Ryan Holiday is a bestselling author and one of the most influential modern voices on Stoicism. His 12 books, including The Obstacle Is the Way, Ego Is the Enemy, and Stillness Is the Key, have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. He's also the founder of Daily Stoic, a media company that reaches millions through books, podcasts, newsletters, and YouTube. In 2025, Ryan completed his four-book Stoic Virtues series and followed it with a sold-out international speaking tour. Shawn Ryan Show Sponsors: Sheath. The underwear of legends. Go to ⁠https://www.sheath.com/SRS⁠ and use code SRS for 20% off. Visit ⁠https://drinkag1.com/SRS⁠ to get a free AG1 Travel Case with 7 free AG1 Travel Packs in your Welcome Kit with your first AG1 subscription order while supplies last. Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with @shop.mando and get 20% off with promo code SRS at ⁠https://shopmando.com⁠! #mandopod For problems worth solving — get started with Claude at — ⁠https://Claude.ai/srs⁠ Ready to upgrade your eyewear? Check them out at ⁠https://roka.com⁠ and use code SRS for 20% off sitewide. Ryan Holiday Links: Website - ⁠https://ryanholiday.net⁠ Daily Stoic - ⁠https://dailystoic.com⁠ Ryan Holiday IG - ⁠https://www.instagram.com/ryanholiday⁠ Daily Stoic IG - ⁠https://www.instagram.com/dailystoic⁠ Painted Porch Bookshop IG - ⁠https://www.instagram.com/paintedporchbookshop⁠ X - ⁠https://x.com/dailystoic⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The ability to be content, to be grateful, to be happy? These are the real luxuries, if you think about it.

The most powerful man in the world still needed rules to live by. In this episode, Ryan looks at the rules Marcus Aurelius seemed to return to again and again, especially when life was difficult, people were disappointing, and the responsibilities kept piling up.

Men may be looking for answers in all the wrong books. In this episode, Ryan is joined by bestselling author Steven Pressfield to talk about how great fiction can teach us about courage, honor, sacrifice, and the human experience in ways that facts and advice often cannot. Steven Pressfield is an American author of historical fiction, non-fiction, and screenplays. Steven wrote for 27 years before he got his first novel published. During that time he worked 21 different jobs in eleven states. Steven taught school, drove tractor-trailers, worked in advertising and as a screenwriter in Hollywood. He worked on offshore oil rigs, and picked fruit as a migrant worker. You can follow him on Instagram: @steven_pressfield and check out more of his work on his website: https://stevenpressfield.com/

We should let our light shine…and also let sunshine keep us honest.

We haven't been who we want to be. The routine slipped, the momentum disappeared, and before long, we weren't just off track, we'd given up. How do we fix it?

You can be successful and still not be flourishing. In this episode, Ryan talks with leadership expert Dan Coyle about the difference between living like a machine and living like a human being. They talk about why high performance can become hollow, where real meaning comes from, and why simple mantras matter more than we think. They also discuss the importance of community, the role of “yellow door” moments, and how the words you use shape the way you show up.Daniel Coyle is the award-winning author of the New York Times bestsellers The Culture Code, The Talent Code, and his NEW book Flourish: The Art of Building Meaning, Joy, and Fulfillment. Check out more of Dan's work on his website https://danielcoyle.com/

Maybe you don't get the job. Maybe that person says “no” to a date. Maybe you find out you don't actually enjoy playing the piano. So what?

As Epictetus said, “First tell yourself what kind of person you want to be, then do what you have to do.”

There are all the things that wealthy people buy with their money. They buy nice cars and enormous homes. They pay for access. They hire help. But there is one thing that they cannot buy.

The world feels broken, and it's easy to believe nothing is ever going to change. In this audiobook excerpt from Soul Boom, Rainn Wilson makes the case for a spiritual revolution and pushes us to wonder what would happen if we rejected cynicism and stopped building so much of our world around competition, greed, and ego.Rainn Wilson is an actor, comedian, author, podcaster, writer, and director. He is most known for his role as Dwight Schrute on The Office, for which he earned three consecutive Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. You can follow Rainn on Instagram @rainnwilson and Twitter @rainnwilson, and on soulboom.com. Listen to Rainn's Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Watch on YouTubeIf you like this chapter

For the Fourth of July, we're revisiting Ryan's conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Thomas Ricks about America's founding, the ancient ideas that shaped it, and the first principles the founders were trying to build into the country.In this episode, Ryan and Thomas talk about First Principles: What America's Founders Learned From the Greeks and Romans and How That Shaped Our Country, and why figures like Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison looked to the ancient world for models of courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom.

Life is going to ask you to wait sometimes. There will be people ahead of you. There will be things you need to learn. To be able to do this will take all of the Stoic virtues.

 If we don't believe we're capable of change, then we are definitely not capable of change.

We are what we do. What we do determines who we can be.

Jo Ellis spent years serving her country as an Army National Guard aviator and Black Hawk helicopter pilot. She wanted to fly, serve, and be part of something bigger than herself. Then, after a deadly aircraft collision over the Potomac, a false rumor spread online claiming Jo was responsible. She was not involved. She was not even there. But because she was a trans service member, the internet turned her into a target.In this episode, Ryan talks with Jo about service, identity, courage, and what it feels like to have your life turned upside down by a lie. They talk about her path from helicopter mechanic to pilot, the SERE training experience that forced her to confront the truth about herself, the cost of being publicly scapegoated, and why one of the most Stoic things we can do is resist the urge to have an opinion about everything.Follow Jo Ellis on Instagram | @JoEllisReallyWatch Jo Ellis on Kill Tony | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WYC-flN8Nc

People fall prey to the same traps—the ones that have existed since the days of Seneca and Marcus Aurelius, indeed for all time.

Everyone is new to this. We're all figuring it out as we go.

The Stoics studied powerful people not to worship them, but to learn from them. In this episode, Ryan looks at Elon Musk through the lens of courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom, and what his life reveals about the difference between success and virtue.

Ezra Klein is one of the sharpest voices in American politics, but this conversation is not about left versus right. It's about virtue, responsibility, and character. Ryan and Ezra talk about why virtue matters in a democracy, what liberalism has lost by failing to speak clearly about responsibility, and why institutions alone can't save a society if the people inside them abandon restraint, honesty, and self-critique. They also get into what Ezra thinks Stoicism gets right, where it falls short, and why Stoicism, or any philosophy, has to be tested in real life.Ezra Klein is a New York Times columnist and the host of The Ezra Klein Show. He is also the co-founder of Vox, where he served as editor-in-chief and later editor-at-large, and previously worked at The Washington Post, The American Prospect, Bloomberg, and MSNBC.

In this bonus episode, Ryan is takes you inside his office and walks through the books, objects, notes, and reminders that shape how he works and lives.

Whenever someone does something to us—minor or major—we always have this choice.

Will we help or hinder? Will we support or stab in the back? Will we open doors or close them?