The Strong Stoic Podcast

In the ancient Roman days, burning the capitol and killing one's father were considered the worst of crimes. Oddly, many Western countries are being faced with a similar criticism: is our culture and society a good one, or should we just rip everything to the ground? Some seem to think so. However, where does this motivation come from to burn one's own culture down? And why was it consid...

The word "spirit" scares many away, as it seems to be a predominantly religious term. However, the idea of the spirit is actually a very real one - it represents our capacity to produce good in the world. But what should we do, as a species, community, and individual, to make the world a better place? What actually is "better"? And how do we even go about doing so? Learn more a...

Joshua W. Bertolotti is the host of the In Search of Wisdom Podcast and the Perennial Podcast where he talks about all kinds of ancient wisdom and engages in meaningful conversations with modern thinkers. He also manages the Perennial Leader Project, which includes these podcasts along with a weekly newsletter and blog posts. Josh is a regular guest on the podcast. In this episode, we talk about l...

Many of us “go-getters” struggle with the notion of patience. Patience is naturally a hard thing for us. When we want something, we don’t want to wait for it. No, we want it now! If you just started a new business, for example, I’m sure you can’t wait until you get your first 100 customers. Or maybe you just started going to the gym, and you find yourself looking into the mirror every day thinking...

“The philosophers say that there is a God, and that his Will directs the Universe. But the more important lesson is to discover God’s nature.” Sometimes you’ll hear an atheist say something like: “the way I see it is god doesn’t exist, but if he does exist, he’ll let me into heaven if Im a good person.” Really what this means is: I don’t really care if there is a supernatural god or not. I have a...

Brian is the author of the new book Centering Prayer: Sitting Quietly in God’s Presence Can Change Your Life. He’s an award-winning professor of biblical studies and a transformational coach for pastors and spiritually-minded professionals and also hosts the Deep Dive Spirituality Conversations podcast. In this episode, Brian and I discuss Aleksander Solzhenitsyn, the spiritual journey (which we d...

Hurricane Fiona is just about to hit my home province of Nova Scotia. I thought that this might be a good opportunity to discuss how a Stoic deals with such things. Of course, a Stoic always has the dichotomy of control to implement, and this is a foundational practice in Stoic practice. However, is this the only consideration while awaiting a hurricane? And should we prepare for that which is not...

We often focus on the so called “cardinal virtues” of Stoicism – justice, wisdom, courage and temperance, but there are actually many virtues in Stoicism. The cardinal virtues are called as such because they are the virtues that all of the others hinge upon. They are pure – they are never bad. For example, courage is never bad (though sometimes courage entails retreating if it’s wise). Another vir...

Judith Stove is an Australian writer and philosopher, as well as a regular contributor to The Walled Garden. She has published two books on the life and times of Jane Austen, and many articles on history and literature. In this episode, Judy and I talk about strength, and how maybe it’s best to conceptualize the idea of virtue – the aim of life, at least in some capacity for many traditions – as s...

Most of us catch ourselves complaining from time to time. Certainly, I'm sure we can all point out a complainer who we find incredibly annoying. Despite us deeming it annoying, we naturally find ourselves complaining from time to time. There is a distinction, though, between pointing out a problem and complaining. But where is that line? Is complaining universally bad or is there a bit of roo...

The Stoic life is characterized by a move towards virtue and away from vice. In Stoicism, virtue is the ONLY good. However, we are all deeply flawed individuals, which the Christians have appreciated for a very long time. We inevitably miss the mark, sometimes unintentionally and sometimes intentionally. But is there a place for vice in a virtuous life? Is it wise to incorporate some vice, and wou...

Dr. Kevin Vost is a clinical psychologist, professor, and speaker, and an author of over 20 books. His work covers a wide array of topics from ancient philosophy, theology, and even strength training. In this episode, we geek out on one of our shared passions: strength training, and what lessons we can extract from physical activity. We also talk about humility – the backbone of any growth – his l...

Groups are an inherent part of human experience. We've been in tribes for a very long time from an evolutionary perspective. But not all groups are created equal. Some groups are formed out of love for others within the group. Others, however, are formed out of hatred for those outside of their group. Though it may sound like a subtle difference, it makes all the difference in terms of group...

Nietzsche exclaimed in 1882 that “God is dead”. He wasn’t celebrating this fact; he was actually disheartened by it. He was critical of, well, every philosophy, really, including the Christians, and even the Stoics. And though I don't agree with everything Nietzsche has proposed, he does seem to be right about one thing: the death of God as an idea, a construct, would send humanity into a mas...

Shane Trotter is an author, educator, and a strength and conditioning coordinator. His book “Setting the Bar: Preparing Our Kids to Thrive in an Era of Distraction, Dependency, and Entitlement” is a book that I often recommend to teachers, parents, or anyone else with kids in their lives. He’s dedicated to improving youth development, and my personal exchanges with Shane has led me to the conclusi...

Everything seems to be easier if you can just... relax. And I don't even mean throwing your feet up on the couch and watching tv. No, I mean relaxing DURING your life, work, catastrophes, or any other stressful situations. Like walking in the wind, life seems to be easier if you can just relax. Unfortunately, we often find ourselves tensing up when facing new stimulus. Yet, even when facing a...

Sharon Lebell is a bestselling author, speaker, composer, and performing musician. The wrote The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness, which is a book I highly recommend. She’s also, like me, a founding member of The Walled Garden and it’s an absolute honour to be able to work with her. Sharon is one of the kindest and most compassionate individuals I’ve ever...

Josh W. Bertolotti is the host of the In Search of Wisdom Podcast and the Perennial Podcast where he talks about ancient wisdom and engages in meaningful conversations with modern thinkers. He also manages the Perennial Leader Project, which includes these podcasts along with a weekly newsletter and blog posts. Myself and Josh connected a while ago and we’ve done several collaborations together. ...

There’s nothing like a good laugh. We all enjoy it and seem to like humor in other people. Sure, we like it when they tell us funny jokes, but we also like it when they can take a joke. There are some cheesy quotes all over the place like “laughter is cheap medicine, and yea, it sounds kind of obvious – how can laughter not be a good thing? But is there some deep, underlying reason why laughing is...

We’re all in a battle, in a story. Really, the only story there is: the one between good and evil. It’s tempting while engaging in this fight to consider how easy things would be if we could just destroy evil. Imagine if we could just round up all the evil people and get rid of them - how simple that would be! There are more than a few reasons why that's not a great idea, but even if we could...

Todd Leader is a social worker. He’s spent his over 20-year career leading service development and transformation, particularly in the areas of mental health, addictions, health promotions, and primary health care. This is Todd’s third time on the podcast, and this one takes a somewhat different direction than the previous two. In this episode, we talk about one of the most shocking – for lack of...

The word "soul" carries a certain meaning for most people. Many see it as a solely religious term, often associating it with the Christian supernatural soul. However, is there such a thing as a physical, natural soul? And is the idea of the soul in Christianity and Stoicism something that we should disregard as unscientific? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're currently living in a hyper-sensitive world. There are pros and cons to everything - certainly, there are benefits to being considerate of other's feelings. At the same time, it does seem to be the most common "injustice" discussed today - taking offence. But what do Stoics say about being offended? Should we fight offensive speech, or simply take no offence? Learn more a...

Rocco Jarman is a poet, philosopher, artist, and mindfulness coach. He hosts the Eyes Wide Open Life Podcast where he explores important questions about the human experience. His podcast, like the Stoic Stoic, is part of the Walled Garden Podcast Network as well. In this episode, Rocco and I discuss the Hero’s Journey (we get a bit nerdy on the Lord of the Rings), the current “mess” that we’re in,...

There are numerous well-known benefits to physical exercise. Many often think about exercise as strengthening the body, yet most athletes would argue that the largest benefit is strengthening the mind. What does Stoicism say about exercise? Is it important or mere vanity? Should all Stoics partake in developing the body? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices