Podcasts about Stoic

Most people remember exactly where they were the week of March 11, 2020. Life suddenly stopped. The world went quiet. And for a brief moment, everything about our routines, priorities, and pace of life was thrown into question. Six years later, the world is loud and fast again. But the real question is: what were we supposed to learn from the moment when everything slowed down?In this episode, Ryan talks with award-winning author Chloe Dalton about the strange stillness of those early pandemic months and how one unexpected encounter with a wild hare during lockdown completely changed the way she thought about time, work, and the life she was building. Later in the episode, novelist Susan Straight joins the conversation to reflect on why it's important that we don't rush to forget that time and what remembering the pandemic can still teach us.

There is beauty and peace in noticing. The world is filled with things to see and hear.

You will get knocked off course. You will fall off the wagon. You will get out of sorts. That's unavoidable. What matters is how quickly you return.SPECIAL OFFER | Go to dailystoic.com/spring and enter code DSPOD20 at checkout to get 20% off the Spring Forward Challenge! Challenge yourself to spring forward and become the person you aspire to be. The Spring Forward Challenge starts March 20, 2026.

We should think about where we have made our happiness conditional on this or that achievement, on this or that identity which lies outside our control.SPECIAL OFFER exclusively for podcast listeners

Join Prokoptôn, a private community of dedicated practicing Stoics working together to improve. Learn more at https://skool.com/prokopton -- In this episode, I explore Marcus Aurelius' Meditations 6.27 and what it teaches us about anger. Marcus reminds us that when people do wrong, they do so because they believe their actions are beneficial or appropriate. Our task, therefore, is not to react with anger but to teach, explain, and correct with patience. That idea opens the door to a deeper question: what is anger actually for? Some modern thinkers claim anger is necessary for progress, even suggesting that it fuels social change. I disagree. Anger is not a driver of wise action. It is a signal. Anger alerts us that something has happened which does not accord with our expectations, values, or understanding. That is its only real utility. Once the signal appears, the work begins. We must translate that signal into usable information by asking questions: What happened? Why did it happen? What assumptions am I making? Could I be mistaken? This process turns anger into data. The signal draws our attention to an impression. Rational questioning extracts information from it. And our willingness to revise our own assumptions ensures that we do not simply act on emotional certainty. Seneca makes the Stoic position clear in On Anger: anger itself contributes nothing useful to action. Virtue never requires the assistance of vice. Anger is not a helpful fuel for moral progress. It is a destabilizing force that clouds judgment and pushes us toward impulsive decisions. The goal, then, is not to eliminate anger entirely, since it is part of our human psychology. The goal is to refuse to act while under its influence. Socrates captures this beautifully when he tells a servant, “I would strike you, were I not angry.” His point is simple. If the desire to punish someone appears at the same moment as anger, we cannot trust that the desire is rational. The wise response is to pause until calm judgment returns. This is the Stoic discipline in practice. Anger may signal that something is wrong. But only reason can determine what should be done about it. Listening on Spotify? Leave a comment! Share your thoughts. -- I am a public philosopher, it is my only job. I am enabled to do this job, in large part, thanks to support from my listeners and readers. You can support my work, keep it independent and online, at ⁠https://stoicismpod.com/members⁠ Looking for more Stoic content? Consider my 3x/week newsletter "Stoic Brekkie": ⁠https://stoicbrekkie.com⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After their conversation for The Daily Stoic Podcast, Ryan gave Jordan Klepper, comedian, writer, and correspondent on The Daily Show, a few book recommendations at The Painted Porch.Follow Jordan on Instagram @JordanKlepper and check out his upcoming live show dates on his website https://www.officialjordanklepper.com/

Do your emotions ever get the best of you? Someone says one thing and it ruins your whole day. A small frustration turns into a big deal. Travel anxiety spirals. Jealousy or irritation shows up before you even realize it. In this episode, you will learn the complete Stoic playbook for mastering your emotions so they don't end up mastering you.SPECIAL OFFER exclusively for podcast listeners

When does belonging start to matter more than being right? In Part 2 of Ryan's conversation with Jordan Klepper, they dive into how mob thinking takes over, how cultural permission shifts what feels acceptable, why people double down even when the facts are clear, and how leaders shape the tone of an entire country.Jordan Klepper is a comedian, writer, and correspondent on The Daily Show. You can follow him on Instagram @JordanKlepper and check out his upcoming live show dates on his website https://www.officialjordanklepper.com/

Even though we can't control time or slow it down, even though we can't control external forces and external events—we can control ourselves, so we can control how we use our time. SPECIAL OFFER exclusively for podcast listeners

Get your reps in…because none of us have any idea what life has in store for us in the future.SPECIAL OFFER exclusively for podcast listeners

This is a project I did for youtube. This was done over multiple videos. I clipped it all together here to share it with you. This is a break down of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Disclaimer: We are not professionals. This podcast is opinioned based and from life experience. This is for entertainment purposes only. Opinions helped by our guests may not reflect our own. But we love a good conversation.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/2-be-better--5828421/support.

️ Grab the 5-day INFP tutorial and join 5,000+ people getting rare weekly insights → http://geekpsychology.com/infp-5day▶️ Ready to go deeper? Check out the Evolve Community at http://evolve.geekpsychology.comI cried too much at my wedding.At least, that's what my ESTP friend told me. Friends and family from different decades, different continents. My wife's family from Japan. Mine from the States. I was overwhelmed. Happy. Present.And I cried.For years before that, I thought something was fundamentally wrong with me. I was slow at Subway when I was 16. My boss made sure I knew it. I was called Eeyore in math class. In basketball, I missed a shot in practice and someone yelled at me. So I quit everything. All the sports, Boy Scouts, every club.I became smaller because I thought I was broken.Then I found out I was an INFP.And for the first time, it made sense. The sensitivity wasn't a defect. The slowness wasn't failure. The depth, the overthinking, the emotional abundance... it wasn't wrong. It was just wiring.But here's what I see happening now: people discover their type, feel that same relief I did, and then immediately start hating it again. They read the descriptions online and decide "sensitive" means "weak." They see "idealist" and hear "unrealistic." They take the thing that finally explained them and turn it into another reason to feel broken.I tried that too. I spent years trying to be cold. Stoic. Efficient. Emotionless. And I felt horrible.It wasn't until I stopped fighting my wiring that things changed. I let myself be vulnerable. Emotional. Aware. I cried at my wedding and didn't apologize for it.Your sensitivity isn't weakness. It's the reason you can sit with someone in pain when everyone else has left. Your slowness isn't failure. It's you making sure your actions reflect who you actually want to be.So ask yourself: has hating your personality type actually helped you? Or has it just made you smaller again?You finally found the explanation. Don't turn it into another weapon against yourself.00:00 Why INFPs Immediately Hate Their Type03:07 The Pattern That Makes You Feel Broken05:16 What If Your 'Flaws' Are Actually Superpowers?09:11 Are You Playing the Wrong Game?11:58 The Times Your Sensitivity Actually Saved You13:22 Why You Started Criticizing Yourself15:59 The Exhaustion of Fighting Your Wiring18:38 What If You Spent 10 Years Being Someone Else?21:44 You're Not That Identity Label23:27 Has Hating Yourself Ever Actually Helped?

It's been a long winter. But now? Now you can feel something is in the air.

What do you do when someone says something you completely disagree with or something that sounds totally detached from reality? Jordan Klepper, correspondent and host at The Daily Show, is known for walking into political rallies and calmly interviewing the most passionate people in the crowd. In this episode, he sits down with Ryan to explain why arguing almost never works, how silence can be more powerful than a comeback, and what most of us misunderstand about why people believe what they believe.Jordan Klepper is a comedian, writer, and correspondent on The Daily Show. You can follow him on Instagram @JordanKlepper and check out his upcoming live show dates on his website https://www.officialjordanklepper.com/

We plan to do it. We mean to do it. We just tell ourselves that we'll do it tomorrow. The problem, as the Stoics remind us, is that we don't control tomorrow.

Join Prokoptôn, a private community of dedicated practicing Stoics working together to improve. Learn more at https://skool.com/prokopton -- Support my work for as little as $1 a month: https://stoicismpod.com/members -- Subscribe to my Stoic Brekkie newsletter: https://stoicbrekkie.com -- I pull heavily from Leonidas Konstantakos' "Stoicism and Just War Theory" doctoral dissertation in this episode. I encourage you to download it and read it yourself: ⁠https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/record/13724⁠ -- In this episode, I take up a difficult question: can war ever be just in Stoicism? Not justified. Not strategically useful. Not legal. But truly just — meaning virtuous and right. I begin by setting aside the two dominant modern frameworks for thinking about war: utilitarianism and deontology. Utilitarianism evaluates war based on consequences. If enough good results from it, the war can be defended. Deontology evaluates war based on rules. Some actions are always wrong, regardless of outcomes. Stoicism does neither. Using the firebombing of Dresden and the ticking time bomb scenario, I explain how the Stoic approach shifts the focus away from body counts and legal rules and onto character. For the Stoic, external outcomes — even death and destruction — are morally indifferent. What matters is the internal condition of the agents making decisions. Are they acting from justice, courage, and wisdom? Or from fear, ambition, pride, or the desire to dominate? Drawing on Cicero's On Duties and later Stoic interpretation, I outline the core criteria: right intention, proper authority, discrimination, and war as a last resort aimed at peace. A war undertaken from a corrupted value structure — where victory is treated as a good in itself — reflects vice. A war undertaken from rational concern for preserving the cosmopolis, after all other paths have been exhausted, may be just. I also address torture and why the Stoic rejects it, not because of rule-following or cost-benefit calculations, but because it corrupts the agent. It reflects disordered judgment and a failure of oikeiôsis — a failure to recognize another rational being as part of the same moral community. Stoicism is not rule-based. It is character-based. I then turn to the present. We cannot fully know the internal motives of national leaders. We can only infer. War may be just or unjust depending on the reasoning behind it. That reasoning is ultimately visible only to the agent and their daimon — their inner rational faculty. Finally, I bring the question home. Most of us are not heads of state. But the Stoic framework for just war is simply Stoic ethics scaled up. The same question applies in everyday conflict: am I acting from virtue, or from ego and fear? The work of the prokoptôn is constant self-examination, especially when stakes are high. War can be just in Stoicism. But only if it is conducted by people whose souls are ordered toward peace, whose intentions are clean, and whose reason has honestly left them no alternative. Listening on Spotify? Leave a comment! Share your thoughts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What are you living for? — Via Stoica PodcastWhat are you actually living for, and have you ever stopped long enough to ask? In this episode of the Via Stoica Podcast, we sit with one of the most important questions a person can face, and explore what Stoic philosophy has to offer when the answer isn't clear.Welcome to the Via Stoica Podcast, the podcast on Stoicism. Each episode, we bring Stoic philosophy out of the books and into real life, not as theory, but as a practice for building self-awareness, clarity, and a life that feels genuinely yours.Most of us are living on a track we didn't consciously choose. Society sets the milestones. Social media distorts the comparison. And somewhere in the noise, the question of personal values gets buried under the need to keep up. Stoicism offers a different starting point: the examined life. The goal isn't accumulation or status, it's eudaimonia, the cultivation of good character and a sound inner life. When we understand what we're actually living for, the small daily decisions begin to align with who we are. That's where real change happens.If you've been feeling the gap between how you're living and how you want to live, this episode is a quiet invitation to close it, one honest question at a time.Read the related article: https://viastoica.com/what-am-i-living-for/Support the show

Haven't you been wrong before? Haven't you done stuff that in retrospect seems dumb or weird? Of course you have.

Travis Chappell solo-hosts this episode of Travis Makes Money, sharing hard-won life lessons from his own journey as a creator, entrepreneur, and podcast coach. He breaks down mindset traps that keep people stuck—like perfectionism, negativity bias, and emotional reactivity—and offers practical tools for building resilience, happiness, and momentum in both life and business. Through stories, analogies, and real-life examples (including a tense pickup basketball game), Travis gives listeners concrete ways to rewire their thinking for long-term success and peace of mind. On this episode we talk about: Why “done is better than perfect” and how perfectionism turns into procrastination The importance of shipping imperfect work to get real-world feedback How to hardwire happiness by revisiting positive moments and strengthening neural pathways Using gratitude and visualization to combat negativity bias and anxiety Stoic principles: external events vs. your perception and reaction Practical strategies to pause before reacting and respond in ways that serve your goals Top 3 Takeaways Done beats perfect every time. Waiting for perfection keeps you from ever launching the book, product, or podcast that will actually teach you what needs to improve. You can train your brain toward happiness. By intensifying and revisiting moments of joy and gratitude, you widen the mental “paths” that make it easier to access positive emotional states. Events aren't the problem—your reaction is. Your long-term happiness is tied less to what happens and more to the way you choose to interpret and respond, especially in emotionally charged moments. Notable Quotes “Done is better than perfect, because perfectionism is just procrastination in disguise.” “The ability to be happy or grateful in the absence of reasons to be is a superpower.” “External events are not the problem. It's your perception of them that's the problem.” Connect with Travis Chappell: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/travischappell Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/traviscchappell Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travischappell Other: https://travischappell.com Travis Makes Money is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency. Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform. Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meditating on death isn't depressing, it's clarifying. In this episode, Ryan explains how the Stoic practice of Memento Mori will sharpen your priorities, push you to stop wasting time, and remind you to live with character now, not later.

What if true contentment isn't about achieving happiness, but about discovering a deeper source of strength that sustains us through every season of life? This powerful message takes us into Philippians 4:11-13, where Paul reveals a secret that transforms our understanding of satisfaction. We learn that contentment isn't something we're born with—it's something we must learn, and it can't be self-taught through willpower or positive thinking alone. Paul hijacks the ancient Stoic philosophy of self-sufficiency to redefine what it means to be truly content. The famous verse 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me' isn't a motivational slogan for achievement—it's about endurance, about being hooked up to an intravenous supply of Christ's strength that sustains us whether we're well-fed or hungry, in plenty or in want. We discover that contentment is not a feeling but a focus, allowing us to grieve our disappointments while still trusting God, to experience pain while still depending on Christ. The story of Horatio Spafford, who wrote 'It Is Well With My Soul' after losing his four daughters in a shipwreck, illustrates how we can choose Christ-contentment over self-contentment even in our darkest moments. This abundant life Jesus promises means experiencing peace that transcends our understanding, a supernatural contentment that doesn't make sense but changes us from the inside out.

The greatness of Antoninus and Marcus Aurelius was not perfection but progress. They were imperfect men committed to self-discipline and self-correction. Today's episode explores how Antoninus shaped Marcus through steady example and daily discipline, and what their lives reveal about the kind of character a person chooses to build.

On today's bonus best bits from the week that was, we chat music (for once), accidental parades and letting the kids party on. Follow The Big Show on Instagram Subscribe to the podcast now on iHeartRadio, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts!Featuring Jason Hoyte, Mike Minogue, and Keyzie, "The Big Show" drive you home weekdays from 4pm on Radio Hauraki.Providing a hilarious escape from reality for those ‘backbone’ New Zealanders with plenty of laughs and out-the-gate yarns.Download the full podcast here:iHeartRadioAppleSpotify Follow The Big Show on InstagramSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Power doesn't wait for the perfect person to raise their hand. Someone will wield it. Someone always does.

Start here: If you want to build a consistent Stoic practice — not just listen to one — I made a free 7-day challenge. One short audio lesson per day, one practice to try. No fluff. stoicchallenge.co────You know the feeling — the alarm goes off and the day is already rushing at you. The emails, the conversations you're not ready for, the low-grade dread of what might go wrong.Marcus Aurelius knew it too. Every morning, before the weight of an empire landed on him, he sat quietly and rehearsed what was coming — the difficult people, the setbacks, the tests of character. Not with anxiety. With calm preparation. And something shifted.This guided morning meditation follows his method. You'll walk through the day ahead with honest curiosity, rehearse your response to the hard moments before they arrive, and choose a single word — one quality — to carry as your anchor when things go sideways.No forced positivity. No wishful thinking. Just the same preparation a Roman Emperor used to face each day with steady clarity.

Is this what we're here for? To be the passions' slave? To be the plaything of emotions and impulses? It can't be!

What if it only took five minutes each morning to feel more in control of your life? In this conversation, Dr. Rangan Chatterjee shares the three daily questions he uses to stay grounded in alignment, contentment, and control.

Despite my best efforts to prune the doom and gloom from my feed, the algorithm still serves me plenty of worst-case, "out there" scenarios regarding AI. No doubt many are concerned and perhaps discouraged by this fluff. So, how do you embrace the new stuff in a way that is useful and exciting? This week, I'm giving you three recommendations for AI-powered tools that will improve your business in ways you may not have considered. Key Takeaways Still "doom and gloom" in my feed despite my best efforts (If it bleeds it leads) "Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle" - Ecclesiastes 11:6 "We suffer more in imagination than in reality," a principle from Stoic philosopher Seneca Anxiety is high (the news of the day) AI is changing the marketplace regardless of how you feel about it The repetitive work is drying up AI is *not* 100% reliable...and it may never be Are you a technological optimist? The three fastest, easiest, and most profitable ways to use AI in your business 1: AI Powered scheduling and coordinating 2: Automate followup and customer care 3: AI enhanced offers and sales copy What Ray is using (not affiliate links) Use Motion AI Scheduling Membership.io Kajabi Links AI Summit - This upcoming virtual summit features some of the most respected and successful entrepreneurs on the planet. This is your chance to hear the real-world stories about how AI is being used to help grow their empires. Get the Full Lineup and Your Free Ticket Today! How You Can Help Subscribe to the show in Apple Podcasts or on Spotify, and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will definitely mention you on this show. Questions or comments? Connect with Ray on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Visit Ray's community on Facebook – This is a friendly group of writers, entrepreneurs, and coaches who share ideas and helpful advice.

Send a textWhat if calm isn't something you find after life settles… but something you practice while everything still feels loud, uncertain, and full? In this episode, I invite you into a deeply real reflection on stress, emotional weight, and the quiet moments of beauty that often go unnoticed in our busiest seasons. From stormy mornings by the water to the science of nervous system regulation and the Stoic wisdom of inner steadiness, this conversation gently challenges the idea that life must be peaceful before we allow ourselves to feel peace. If you've been carrying a lot lately — mentally, emotionally, or physically — this episode is a soft place to land, a reminder that even in the middle of chaos, there are small glimmers of calm waiting to be noticed.Quote of the week:“You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” — Marcus AureliusCitations:Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226. Bratman, G. N., Hamilton, J. P., Hahn, K. S., Daily, G. C., & Gross, J. J. (2015). Nature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(28), 8567–8572.Stellar, J. E., John-Henderson, N., Anderson, C. L., Gordon, A. M., McNeil, G. D., & Keltner, D. (2015). Positive affect and markers of inflammation: Discrete positive emotions predict lower levels of inflammatory cytokines. Emotion, 15(2), 129–133.McEwen, B. S. (2007). Physiology and neurobiology of stress and adaptation: Central role of the brain. Physiological Reviews, 87(3), 873–904.Adam, T. C., & Epel, E. S. (2007). Stress, eating and the reward system. Physiology & Behavior, 91(4), 449–458.Let's go, let's get it done. Get more information at: http://projectweightloss.org

How do you hold a country together when it's tearing itself apart? In this episode, Ryan sits down with Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin to talk about Abraham Lincoln's self-education, his emotional discipline, and how he managed anger, ego, and public pressure without losing himself.Doris Kearns Goodwin is a Pulitzer Prize–winning presidential historian and bestselling author. Her latest #1 New York Times bestseller, An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s, is being adapted into a feature film, while her earlier works, Team of Rivals, The Bully Pulpit, and No Ordinary Time, have won some of the nation's highest literary honors and inspired leaders worldwide. She has served as a White House Fellow to President Lyndon Johnson, produced acclaimed docuseries for the HISTORY Channel, and earned countless awards for her contributions to history and leadership.Doris has a new book out called The Leadership Journey: How Four Kids Became Presidents in which she shares the different childhood experiences of Abraham Lincoln. Theodore Roosevelt. Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Lyndon B. Johnson, and how they each found their way to the presidency.

People are the way they are. They will always be this way. We don't control that.

When you get emotionally loaded, your team follows you straight into the ditch.Stress narrows thinking.Calm expands it.That's the whole tip.Teams living in constant urgency make poor decisions.They miss early warning signs.They lead with motion.They follow with logic.Flipped.Calm leadership is not complacency.It's measured actions.It's thoughtful decisions.It's intentional pacing.What does that look like in real operations?It looks like you slow the room down when the room wants to sprint.It looks like you ask one clean question before you issue one messy directive.It looks like you refuse to “perform urgency” to prove you care.Here's the rule.Your team mirrors you.Not your values statement.Not your training deck.You.If you unload on a resident, expect someone on your team to unload on the next resident.If you dismiss a prospect in a tense moment, expect a leasing pro to do the same.Then don't act surprised when they say, “I watched you do it yesterday.”This is leadership in the trenches.Your emotional tone becomes the operating system.So what do you do when emotions get hijacked?You create a pause.You step away.You take a lap.You come back and lead with presence.Stoic doesn't mean cold.It means controlled.It means your team can borrow your steadiness when their own is gone.Calm isn't soft.It's effective.Read the full daily series at the blog. Then practice calm on purpose, because your team will copy your worst moment faster than they'll follow your best advice.MultifamilyCollective Blog: https://www.multifamilycollective.comThe Daily Collective Book: https://amzn.to/3YI6BDaHosted by: https://www.multifamilymedianetwork.com

The past is gone, and no amount of calculation will bring it back or make it fair. What we do have is agency right now.

In this solo episode, Travis Chappell breaks down one of the most underrated money-making skills in business and life: reaction management. Drawing inspiration from Stoic philosophy and real-world negotiation experience, Travis explains why staying calm under pressure can dramatically increase your income, improve your leadership, and protect your investments. From closing a $150,000 wire with a steady poker face to navigating market crashes without panic-selling, this episode explores how emotional control creates leverage—and how overreaction quietly costs you money. On this episode we talk about: Why calm is a trainable skill—not just a personality trait The Stoic principle of controlling your reaction, not external events How emotional leakage hurts you in negotiations The psychology behind signaling desperation (even accidentally) Why investors lose money by reacting instead of holding How to separate perception from reality in “good” or “bad” news Top 3 Takeaways Reaction management creates leverage. The less emotional data you give away, the stronger your negotiating position becomes. There are no inherently good or bad events—only perception. Your response determines the outcome more than the event itself. Calm compounds. Chaos compounds faster. Whether in investing, leadership, or relationships, steady decision-making wins long term. Notable Quotes “Calm is a skill, chaos is a choice.” “It's not a loss until you sell.” “Your reaction is not what makes information good or bad. What you do with it does.” “The calm people are the ones who win long term.” Connect with Travis Chappell: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/travischappell Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travischappell Other: https://travischappell.com  Travis Makes Money is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency.  Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform.  Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Start here: If you want to build a consistent Stoic practice — not just listen to one — I made a free 7-day challenge. One short audio lesson per day, one practice to try. No fluff. stoicchallenge.co---If only virtue is good, why does anything else matter? Why go to the gym, build a career, or plan for the future?This is the question that confused me for about a year of reading Stoic texts — and the answer is one of the most useful distinctions in the entire philosophy.In this episode I walk through two ancient Greek concepts — axia eklektikē (selective value) and apaxia (disvalue) — that explain how Stoics can prefer things without being wrecked by them. You'll learn why "indifferent" doesn't mean "don't care," how to tell the difference between rational preference and emotional attachment, and a simple question you can ask yourself today when anxiety creeps in.If you've ever wondered how Stoicism avoids becoming cold or directionless, this is the episode.

We have a duty. Our nature—justice—demands something from us. It demands that we get up, get after it, and wear ourselves down doing it.

The Emergency Management Network PodcastEpisode Title: Authority, Responsibility, and the Emergency Manager's DilemmaHosts: Todd DeVoe and Dan ScottIn this episode of The Emergency Management Network Podcast, Todd DeVoe and Dan Scott take a deep dive into one of the profession's defining tensions: the gap between authority and responsibility. Emergency managers are expected to coordinate complex systems, anticipate cascading failures, and help guide communities through crisis, yet they often operate without direct command authority over the agencies responsible for action. That reality creates a professional dilemma that is rarely discussed openly but felt daily across the field.Todd and Dan explore how responsibility often finds the emergency manager before authority does. When disaster strikes, communities look for coordination, clarity, and leadership, not organizational charts. The conversation examines how emergency managers become accountable for outcomes they do not fully control, and how influence, credibility, and trust often matter more than formal power in driving results.The discussion moves beyond operations into philosophy and ethics. Drawing on ideas from Aristotle, Plato, and Stoic thought, the episode reflects on what it means to carry responsibility simply because you understand risk and consequence. The more an emergency manager sees the interdependencies within a community, the harder it becomes to step back and treat preparedness as someone else's job. Responsibility becomes a moral obligation, not just a professional duty.Todd and Dan also talk candidly about the personal weight that comes with this role. The profession often lives in the space between expectation and authority, and that space can produce both purpose and strain. They explore how burnout emerges when responsibility expands without structural authority, and how relationships, communication, and long-term trust building become the real levers of leadership.The episode reframes authority in emergency management as relational rather than positional. It is built over time through competence, consistency, and the ability to align people and systems before the crisis begins. The conversation highlights how emergency managers shape decisions, influence direction, and steward coordination, even when they are not the ones issuing orders.Throughout the discussion, Todd and Dan return to practice. Governance, culture, and institutional design all shape how authority is shared and how responsibility is carried. The profession continues to evolve, but the dilemma remains a constant. Emergency managers operate at the intersection of policy, operations, and ethics, balancing public expectations with the realities of fragmented authority.This episode challenges listeners to reflect on their own role in that tension. Authority may not always sit in the emergency manager's office, but responsibility often does. The question becomes how to lead effectively within that reality, how to build influence where command is limited, and how to continue stewarding preparedness in systems that are never fully aligned.Todd and Dan close with a reminder that the work of emergency management begins long before the incident and continues long after the headlines fade. The profession is not defined by command, but by stewardship, trust, and the quiet work of aligning people and systems toward resilience. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emnetwork.substack.com/subscribe

Life is a lot. It moves fast. It's easy to feel overwhelmed by what to do, what not to do, and whether you're even focusing on the right things. In today's episode, Ryan shares simple Stoic rules to live by that can help you live with more clarity, purpose, and steadiness right now.

If you think history is boring, irrelevant, or just not your "thing", this episode is for you. In today's episode, Ryan sits down with Kenny Curtis, host of the new podcast History Snacks, to make the case for history. They discuss why history isn't about memorizing dates or dusty textbooks, but a superpower that gives you perspective, clarity, and calm.

A conversation with American classicist, military historian, and conservative political commentator Victor Davis Hanson.We discuss:Why Epaminondas remains one of the most underrated commanders in Greek history, and how the loss of Plutarch's Life of Epaminondas has obscured his legacyThe pivotal liberation of Thebes in 378 BC: how a small band of conspirators overthrew the Spartan-backed oligarchy and sparked a democratic revolutionEpaminondas's strategic masterstroke at Leuctra — the deep oblique phalanx on the left — and how it shattered 200 years of Spartan military supremacyHow freeing the Messenian Helots and building Megalopolis, Mantinea, and Messene permanently encircled and emasculated Sparta as a great powerThe fatal miscalculation of 335 BC: why Thebes revolted against Alexander on the basis of a false rumor, and how every potential ally abandoned themThe recurring pattern of doomed civilizations — from Thebes to Carthage to Constantinople — that share delusions about allies, enemies, and their own declineWhat ancient history reveals about America's current strengths and vulnerabilities, from demographic pressures to the China threatSubscribe to the Cost of Glory newsletter for detailed maps, images, and analysis of this pivotal moment in ancient history: https://costofglory.substack.com/Get in touch at:Website: https://costofglory.comX: https://x.com/costofglory

It's discouraging. It's distracting. All the stuff that's happening in the world. But you know what you can't do? You can't give up your work, your freedom of thought, your freedom of choice pre-emptively.

We should pride ourselves on our ability to put up with these people, to be able to be nice to people who are not nice, to be able to turn the other cheek and not be made bitter and cynical.

Subscribe to the FREE Stoic Brekkie newsletter: ⁠https://stoicbrekkie.com⁠ I am a public philosopher. I am enabled to do this job, in large part, thanks to support from my listeners and readers. You can support my work, and keep it independent and online, at https://stoicismpod.com/members In this episode, I respond to a short clip discussing incest as an example of emotivism in meta-ethics. Emotivism claims that when we say something is wrong, we are not stating a fact but expressing disapproval. The suggestion in the clip is that incest may ultimately be “wrong” only because we feel that it is wrong. I take that seriously. It is true that many people struggle to articulate why incest is objectively wrong beyond saying it feels disgusting. And philosophers should care about that. If something is wrong, we should be able to explain why in rational terms. Using Stoic role ethics, I outline a clear argument. In Stoicism, some roles are grounded in nature. These roles are not arbitrary. They come with built-in functions and ends. The sibling role is ordered toward familial care, trust, and cooperative development within the household. It is explicitly non-erotic because its function is to stabilize kinship bonds. The lover role, by contrast, is ordered toward erotic partnership and exclusivity. When a person attempts to merge these roles, they introduce incompatible aims into a single relationship. Stoic role ethics holds that voluntarily chosen roles must not contradict natural ones. If they do, one role must be abandoned. Because the sibling role is grounded in nature, it cannot be abandoned without corrupting its function. Adopting the lover role toward a sibling therefore represents a rational error. It makes both roles impossible to fulfil properly. This means the wrongness is not based on disgust. It is based on contradiction within the structure of human roles and the failure to live coherently within them. Stoicism does not reduce morality to feeling. It grounds moral judgment in reason, nature, and the proper fulfilment of roles within the human community. I also explain why this matters more broadly. If moral claims are reduced to preference or emotion, then they shift with culture, fashion, or mood. Stoicism resists that instability by anchoring ethics in a rational framework. That framework may be debated, refined, or defended, but it is not merely expressive. The point is simple: saying something “feels wrong” is not the same as explaining why it must be wrong. Philosophy should move us from reaction to reason. Listening on Spotify? Leave a comment! Share your thoughts. Podcast artwork by Original Randy: https://www.originalrandy.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Day to day, it's only our individual actions that are up to us: How we treat people, how we run our businesses, what we think about.

The Stoics knew that wanting less increases gratitude, just as wanting more obliterates it. "Freedom isn't secured by filling up on your heart's desire but by removing your desire." - Epictetus

It's not that you should never speak up. It's not that you should never speak truth to power. It's just that you should never do it while you're angry. Do it after you've calmed down. Do it after you've had time to think about it. Do it after you've slept on it.

All that we see must be illuminated by the calm light of mild philosophy. So we can see what it really is. So we don't do anything we regret.

Most people don't read that many books, maybe a few a year at most. So if you're only going to read a couple books this year, the decision of which ones you choose becomes really important.In today's episode, Ryan shares a handful of books he's confident are worth your time. They've changed him, made him better, and he believes they'll make you better too in a lot of different areas of your life.

Love isn't just an emotion. It's not just a feeling that hits you out of nowhere. It's an action, something you can practice and something you can get better at. And while philosophy might not seem like a guide to a great love life, especially Stoicism, it actually has a lot to teach us.

How to become the wisest version of yourself.   Ryan Holiday is one of the world's bestselling living philosophers. His books, including The Daily Stoic, The Obstacle Is the Way, Ego Is the Enemy, Stillness Is the Key and his #1 New York Times bestselling series on the Stoic Virtues, appear in more than forty languages and have sold over 10 million copies. In this episode we talk about: The value of asking pertinent questions  How to create a second brain Finding a teacher for yourself How not to be a know it all Achieving focus through a morning routine  How to seek out criticism Learning how to die And much more   Related Episodes: Ancient Strategies For Managing Stress And Anxiety    Get the 10% with Dan Harris app here Sign up for Dan's free newsletter here Follow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTok Subscribe to our YouTube Channel Additional Resources:  Wisdom Takes Work  The Stoic Virtue Series The Daily Stoic   Dailystoic.com  Glorious Exploits     To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/10HappierwithDanHarris Thanks to our sponsors:  LinkedIn:  Spend $250 on your first campaign on LinkedIn ads and get a $250 credit for the next one. Just go to linkedin.com/happier. Wix:  Ready to create your website? Go to wix.com. Rosetta Stone: Visit https://www.rosettastone.com/happier to get started and claim your 50% off today. Quo: No missed calls, no missed customers. Visit www.Quo.com/happier to get started.