Donald J. Robertson

The Stoic Question: Philosophy and Psychology

Society EN ↓ 80 episodes

Donald Robertson, author of How to Think Like a Roman Emperor and How to Think Like Socrates, explores the meeting point of Stoicism, philosophy, psychology, psychotherapy, and the art of living through solo reflections and conversations with leading experts on anger, anxiety, resilience, self-improvement, and how to live well. donaldrobertson.substack.com

Author

Donald J. Robertson

Category

Society

Latest episode

Jun 25, 2026

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Episodes

The Inner Fortress: Military Resilience and Stoic Philosophy 18.09.2025

In this episode, my guest is Carlos Garcia. Carlos is the Co-Founder and CEO of True Progress Lab, a coaching company that operates on the motto 'Get Calm. Get Bold. Get After It'. He is also a Major and Judge Advocate in the U.S. Army Reserve, and an Army-certified Master Resilience Trainer. Highlights * Carlos, you have a fascinating background—an attorney, a Major and Judge Advocate in the U.S....

A Day in the Life of a Roman Gladiator 28.08.2025

In this episode, I chat with Harry Sidebottom. Harry is a Lecturer in Ancient History at Lincoln College, Oxford. He is the bestselling author of fifteen historical novels, and nineteen books in total. His debut trade non-fiction book, The Mad Emperor: Heliogabalus and the Decadence of Rome , was a Book of the Year in the Spectator, the Financial Times and BBC History. His latest book, Those Who A...

Stoic Empathy – Compassion Without Burnout 24.07.2025

In this episode, I chat with Shermin Kruse. Shermin is a globally recognized negotiation consultant, law professor at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law, and TEDx producer. She is the author of the recently published book Stoic Empathy: The Road Map to a Life of Influence, Self-Leadership, and Integrity. We discuss empathy and how it can be combined with Stoic resilience to help us m...

Let’s Compare Marcus Aurelius to Modern Psychotherapy 05.06.2025

In this episode, I talk with Raymond DiGiuseppe, Professor of Psychology at St. John’s University and Director of Professional Education at the Albert Ellis Institute. Professor DiGiuseppe is a renowned figure in the field of cognitive-behavioral therapy, particularly Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). He’s also done extensive work on anger. This is a special episode in which we take a deep...

Meditation and Anger in Stoicism and Buddhism 17.04.2025

Donald speaks with Matthew Gindin, writer, editor, and former Buddhist monk. We talk about Buddhist teachings on anger and the parallels between Buddhist and Stoic contemplative meditation practices. Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Thanks for reading Stoicism: Philosophy...

How to Control your Anger According to Seneca 03.04.2025

In this episode, I chat with Charif Ahmed of Study the Greats and Become Greater , about the Stoic approach to anger management found in Seneca’s On Anger. Links * Study the Greats and Become Greater Thanks for reading Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life! This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life at donaldrobertson.substack.com/subscri...

Watch us chat about the philosophy and psychology of anger 19.03.2025

Thank you The Plato's Academy Centre , Adam PT , Diane Kalen-Sukra , EHL , VeneerOfCivility , and many others for tuning into my live video with Anya Leonard of Classical Wisdom , discussing anger ! Join me for my next live video in the Substack app. Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid s...

REBT, Single Session Therapy, and Anger 06.03.2025

In this episode, I chat with Windy Dryden. Windy is Emeritus Professor of Psychotherapeutic Studies at Goldsmiths in the University of London. He has been working in the field of psychotherapy since 1975, and was one of the first people in Britain to be trained in Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). He learned from pioneers such as Albert Ellis, Aaron T. Beck and Arnold Lazarus, among others. He is...

Meditation: The View from Above 27.02.2025

Thanks to Jon Brooks for remastering my audio recording of the View from Above, a guided Stoic meditation exercise. Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Check out my article about the Acropolis and View from Above in the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. You’ll also find an vers...

Stoicism and The Moment that Defines your Life 20.02.2025

In this episode, I chat with Chuck Garcia, the founder of Climb Leadership International. Chuck coaches executives of Fortune 500 companies on public speaking and emotional intelligence. He is an Adjunct Professor in Columbia University’s Graduate School of Engineering and teaches in their professional development and leadership program. Chuck is also a passionate mountaineer. He is the author of...

Stoicism, Coaching, and Leadership 23.01.2025

In this episode, I chat with Erick Cloward. Erick is an executive coach, based in Amsterdam, who helps leaders build more resilient teams and make better decisions. He is a former tech CTO and software developer. Erick started the Stoic Coffee Break podcast in 2018, to provide people with practical advice on applying Stoicism to their lives –- it now has more than 9 million downloads. He has his f...

Stoicism and Life Coaching 16.01.2025

In this episode, I chat with Benny Voncken, a life coach, and the co-founder of the Via Stoica website and Podcast. He reached out to me saying he’d love to share his experience putting Stoic philosophy into practice because it greatly reduced his anxiety, worries, and helped him deal with problems such as anger and frustration. Thanks for reading Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life! This post i...

How can we Measure Wisdom? 28.11.2024

In this episode, I speak with Igor Grossmann, a professor of psychology, and renowned researcher in the field of wisdom. Prof. Grossmann directs the Wisdom and Culture Lab at the University of Waterloo, where he investigates the factors that contribute to wise reasoning. He is also the co-host of the On Wisdom podcast. His work has significantly advanced our understanding of how wisdom can be fost...

Book Launch: How to Think Like Socrates 23.11.2024

Listen to our live How to Think Like Socrates book launch from 19th Nov. Phil Yanov was kind enough to send me this recording of the event. Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Thanks for reading Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life! This post is public so feel free to share...

Socrates, Stoicism, and Self-Improvement 14.11.2024

In this episode, I talk with Kane, who hosts a podcast for Australian first responders. Kane interviewed me for his podcast and kindly agreed to allow me to crosspost the interview to my audience. We talk about my forthcoming book How to Think Like Socrates , and how Socratic and Stoic philosophy can help us to improve our lives today, in the modern world. Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is...

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) and Stoicism 24.10.2024

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Walter Matweychuk. Dr. Matweychuk is a practicing psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, and has an independent telehealth practice in Manhattan with clients worldwide. He is also an adjunct professor of Applied Psychology at New York University. He has personally worked with both of the two main pioneers of c...

The Saad Truth about Happiness 17.10.2024

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Gad Saad. (Apologies for the room reverb on my mic!) Dr. Saad is a well-known public intellectual, champion of free speech, and renowned evolutionary psychologist. He is Professor of Marketing at the John Molson School of Business, at Concordia University, in Montreal, and has recently also been appointed Visiting Professor and Global Ambassador at Northwood Unive...

Who was Marcus Aurelius? 08.08.2024

In this episode, I’ll be reading a brief excerpt from my new biography, Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor , which is available as an audiobook as well as in hardback and ebook formats. The book was chosen as an editor’s pick by Barnes and Noble and currently has 4.7 stars on Amazon. You can hear a sample from the studio-recorded audiobook, and read reviews, on Audible . Also see Goodreads for rev...

How Stoicism can Save Democracy 09.05.2024

This special episode contains a live recording of my recent talk for Conversations with Modern Stoicism, hosted by Phil Yanov . We were celebrating Marcus Aurelius’ birthday, and I spoke at length about what I think we can learn from ancient Greece about the dangers faced by democracy, and how Socrates and the Stoics could help us. I was speaking live from Athens, the birthplace of democracy. Than...

The Stoic Mindset in Sports and Life 02.05.2024

In this episode, I speak with Mark Tuitert. Mark is an Olympic gold medallist in speed skating. He is the author of a new book called The Stoic Mindset: Living the Ten Principles of Stoicism . Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Highlights * How Mark’s accomplishments in spee...

Street Epistemology and the Socratic Method 13.02.2024

In this episode, I speak with Anthony Magnabosco a founder and the current Executive Director of the nonprofit Street Epistemology International, an educational organization that is committed to addressing dysfunction in public and private discourse by encouraging rationality through civil conversation. Anthony has been involved with Street Epistemology since 2013, and has given dozens of talks an...

The Plague of Marcus Aurelius 08.02.2024

In this episode, I speak with Colin Elliott, Associate Chair in the Department of History at Indiana University.  He describes himself as an economic and social historian with an interest in money, disease and ecology in the ancient Roman world. His latest book, Pox Romana: The Plague that Shook the Roman World was released on 6th Feb, the same day as my Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor . It is...

Overview of "Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor" 23.01.2024

In this episode, I read an exclusive excerpt from my latest book, Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor , published by Yale University Press, as part of the Ancient Lives Series. The book is a philosophical biography of the Roman emperor, which contains many references to the Meditations and how his philosophy shaped his life. You can help it reach a wider audience by pre-ordering now from Amazon , B...

Did Marcus Aurelius say Kindness is More Manly Than Anger? 18.01.2024

In this episode, I briefly discuss what Marcus Aurelius said about masculinity, and how it might differ from what some modern self-improvement influencers say, despite their claims to be influenced by Stoicism. Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Highlights * The resurgence o...

Areté: Philosophy and Coaching 07.12.2023

In this episode, I speak with Brian Johnson, the Founder & CEO of Heroic Public Benefit Corporation. Brian is the author of a new book called Areté: Activate Your Heroic Potential . Thank you for reading Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life. This post is public so feel free to share it. Highlights * What Brian’s new book Arete is about * How Brian has been influenced by Stoicism * What is “Target...

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