The What Is Stoicism? Podcast

This episode looks at how the chase for novelty and the habit of overextension both unsettle the mind. Cicero reminds us that possessions and technologies are not good in themselves—their value depends on how we use them. Seneca adds that taking on too much leaves us primed for frustration and anger. 👇 👇 👇 📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENT Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditation...

This episode treats life’s difficulties as assignments rather than interruptions. Epictetus reminds us that we don’t get to choose every task Fortune sets, but we do choose how well we meet it. Each challenge becomes a chance to practice courage, patience, justice, or self-control—and, when handled well, to encourage others by example. 👇 👇 👇 📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENT Check out one of my l...

This episode explores the Stoic partnership between foresight and acceptance. Preparing for setbacks doesn’t mean expecting misery—it means building the resilience to meet difficulty without being overwhelmed. With Philo’s calm readiness, Rumi’s guest house, and Marcus Aurelius’s reminder that obstacles can become part of the path, we can meet whatever arrives with confidence and imagination. 👇...

This episode explores gratitude as a Stoic practice, emphasizing the transformative power of attention. By imagining what we might have already lost—or even our own death—we can reawaken appreciation for ordinary moments: a conversation, a child’s question, a walk with a pet. Marcus Aurelius calls this the “bonus” life, a reminder that presence and awareness turn the everyday into something precio...

This episode returns philosophy to its ancient meaning: not something merely studied, but something lived. Pierre Hadot shows that figures like Marcus Aurelius practiced philosophy through daily self-examination rather than abstract theory. With four simple Stoic reminders—unity, moral good, human kinship, and the present moment—we offer a practical foundation for living like a philosopher. 👇 👇...

This episode examines the attention we surrender to screens, busyness, and distraction. Eric Pickersgill’s phone-free photographs reveal how strange our habits can look when the device disappears, while Seneca warns that constant bustle is often just a restless mind in motion. The question isn't whether modern life demands our attention, but whether we're choosing where it goes. 👇 👇 👇 📻 FOR MO...

This episode reflects on the quiet evidence of resilience we carry with us: the fact that we have survived every difficult moment that once seemed unbearable. Seneca’s image of the scar reminds us that old wounds are not just records of pain, but proof of endurance. Epictetus adds to the lesson by showing that external events only truly threaten us when our judgments give them power. 👇 👇 👇 📻 F...

This episode explores Stoicism as a love of wisdom and a daily practice of character. By understanding virtue as human excellence—thinking clearly, acting justly, facing difficulty bravely, and resisting excess—the philosophy becomes immediately useful and practical rather than theoretical and abstract. 👇 👇 👇 📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENT Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditat...

This episode turns Seneca’s call to “hold every hour in our grasp” into something more concrete. Through Montaigne’s habits of writing and walking, and Matt Haig’s reflections on acceptance, we look at how attention can slow the feeling of life rushing past. The point isn't to seize time by force, but to notice what's here, accept what can't be changed, and live the hour instead of losing it. 👇...

This episode examines anger through the lens of Seneca and Epictetus. Seneca warns that anger harms us first, clouding reason and undermining self-control, while Epictetus reframes wrongdoing as error rather than malice. Together, they suggest a practical response: pause, question the impression, and consider the cost of reacting. 👇 👇 👇 📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENT Check out one of my latest...

This episode explores how much of our distress comes not from events themselves, but from the interpretations we layer on top of them. Marcus Aurelius reminds us that opinions are optional, while Epictetus shows how easily appearances can mislead us. By sticking closer to the facts and examining our impressions carefully, we reduce unnecessary mental noise. 👇 👇 👇 📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENT...

This episode explores Cicero’s three-part guide to living well: let reason govern impulse, see things as they truly are, and practice moderation. These principles form a practical framework for navigating daily decisions without being carried away by instinct or excess. With Epictetus reinforcing the need to understand before we act, the focus is on building a well-ordered mind step by step. 👇 👇...

This episode is a gentle return to practice for anyone who’s drifted or struggled to begin. Seneca and the Stoics remind us that growth starts with effort, but becomes easier—and even rewarding—once it takes hold. The aim isn’t perfection, but steady progress: correcting judgments, strengthening character, and moving a little closer each day. 👇 👇 👇 📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENT Check out one...

This episode reflects on the Stoic call to care for your own soul. Marcus Aurelius warns that misery comes not from ignoring others, but from neglecting the activity of our own mind. Seneca adds that a well-formed soul—guided by reason, courage, and discipline—becomes independent of fortune, because its true wealth lies within. 👇 👇 👇 📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENT Check out one of my latest da...

This episode looks at how Stoicism handles insults without turning us into “unfeeling statues.” Epictetus suggests taking a cue from a stone: insults only work if we grant them importance. When we pause and refuse that inner assent, the words lose their grip. 👇 👇 👇 📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENT Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack: ☀️ Micro Morning Medit...

This episode explores how Stoicism moves from theory to instinct. The ancients distilled complex teachings into sharp, portable aphorisms—short phrases designed to steady the mind under pressure. From Delphic maxims to Cicero’s call to let reason govern impulse, these lines function as mental anchors when stress rises. 👇 👇 👇 📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENT Check out one of my latest daily Micro...

This episode reflects on the power of everyday kindness—the remembered question, the use of someone’s name, the simple act of inclusion that makes a person feel seen. It explores traditions like Turkey’s askıda ekmek and Italy’s caffè sospeso , where generous acts are done without recognition or reward. 👇 👇 👇 📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENT Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditat...

This episode centres on a question from Epictetus: what is there to fear? By focusing only on what’s truly within our control—our choices and character—we loosen the grip of anxiety. With fear quieted, attention returns to the present, where even ordinary moments become material for reflection and growth. 👇 👇 👇 📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENT Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Medit...

This episode follows Epictetus’s vivid portrait of Diogenes the Cynic—a philosopher who lived as a “spy” on false values, exposing how little we truly need to live freely. From Diogenes’ fearless simplicity to Seneca and Gracián’s insistence on self-respect even in solitude, we explore what it means to answer to yourself rather than to status, comfort, or applause. 👇 👇 👇 📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO...

This episode tackles one of life’s most enduring questions: why do misfortunes so often strike those who seem least deserving of them? Drawing on Seneca’s On Providence and the poetry of Octavio Paz, we look at suffering not as injustice but as a form of moral training and self-discovery. Hardship, in this view, isn't a detour from the good life but the very terrain on which character is formed....

This episode explores how expectation quietly robs us of the only time we ever truly have: today. Through a wry story from John O’Donohue and Seneca’s sharp warning about waiting on tomorrow, we see how imagined futures colonize the present and dull our awareness of what’s already here. Drawing unexpected parallels with Ecclesiastes and Marcus Aurelius, the episode clears away what ultimately does...

This episode is a quiet pause at the start of the day—a meditation on mornings as gifts rather than obligations. Drawing on Stoic gratitude and four short poems by Billy Collins, Mary Oliver, Rumi, and Frank O’Hara, it invites us to meet the day with attentiveness instead of haste. Each poem becomes a way of honoring the simple fact of waking up, before goals, worries, or noise rush in. It’s an of...

This episode examines a quietly radical insight: that much of our suffering comes not from pain itself, but from our attempt to escape it. Drawing a line between Alan Watts’ observation and Stoic acceptance, we explore how resistance to reality keeps distress alive long after the moment has passed. Epictetus helps sharpen the lesson by showing how misplacing “the good” in things we can’t control g...

This episode reframes Stoicism not as a quest for unreachable perfection, but as a practice of steady progress. Drawing on the ancient idea of the prokoptōn —the one who makes progress—we explore why even Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius saw themselves as students rather than sages. Stoic philosophy, we discover, is less about arriving and more about returning: again and again, to reflection...

This episode reflects on how awareness of mortality sharpens our sense of what truly matters, through the unforgettable lesson Randy Pausch taught with a spilled soda and Marcus Aurelius’s reminder that every day arrives with a due date. When time is no longer assumed to be endless, possessions lose their grip and postponed priorities come into focus. Far from being morbid, this clarity is freeing...