Pub and Porch: Applied Stoicism

In today's episode, Adam and Mick talk about the Free Press, and what that meant for the Stoics as well as what it means today in the modern democracies that we live in. The hosts talk about why a free press is important, and talk about why the role of free press in creating an informed populace is so integral to what it means to live in a functioning democracy. URL: pubandporch.com Email: in...

Today, Mick and Adam discuss another hot topic which is AI and a measure of its potential for consciousness. A recent article from Richard Dawkins started today's discussion, and eventually led to discussions on what it means to be conscious, how the Stoics viewed our own consciousness, and even ended up with a discussion on Transhumanism and what the birth of new AI technologies could mean f...

Today, Adam and Mick dive into a deep subject that will probably never stop coming up as we progress through the podcast - Loss. Our episode opens today by discussing what loss mean be it loss of material goods, relationships, or loved ones. The Stoic views on this topic is discussed in detail, both the text book response as well as a rebuttal of a common misconception of the Stoics being consider...

This week's episode is a solo episode hosted by Adam, as Mick is on the road traveling. Adam reads to use the parable The Choice of Heracles as told by Prodicus in Xenophon's Conversations of Socrates . Adam's reading is followed by a discussion around choice, and the choice that we all face in our lives between a life of virtue and a life of vice. As discussed, often the virtue isn...

In today's episode, Adam and Mick talk about a topic related to one of the most recent natural disasters occurring right now: the flash floods in Nepal. The melting of glaciers and the destructive forces of natural disasters like this are contributed to by climate change and our environment, and Mick and Adam discuss how the Stoics would have approached this topic even from the perspectives o...

In this first of a two-part episode, Adam and Mick discuss the film The Odyssey and compare it to the original story, while also providing commentary on the takeaways and comparisons that both the ancient Greeks and the modern world will see. Discussion starts with the closure of Odysseus' encounter with the Cyclops, and then discussion centres around differences between the original tale, an...

In the second half of this two-part episode this week, Adam and Mick finish of their review of the movie The Odyssey by picking off where they left off on Odysseus' encounter with the Cyclops. Then the pair transitions through the rest of the journey discussing the Ithacans' encounter with Circe, their trip to Hades, their decision between Charybdis and Scylla, and their eventual final i...

This week, we start a multi-episode series on The Odyssey which gives Mick and Adam a chance to discuss the original story as well as the new movie hitting theatres right now. This week's episode centres on the history of The Odyssey, understanding fact from fiction, and the connections between Stoicism and The Odyssey including commentary from prominent Stoics in history.  URL: pubandporch.c...

In this week's episode, Adam and Mick discuss the concept of imperfection, starting with the use of Brene Brown's book  The Gifts of Imperfection as a starting guide. Adam and Mick discuss how noone is perfect, and how the Stoics knew that perfection was only an ideal, and attaining it was to achieve apotheosis - the act of being elevated to being a god, therefore making it unrealistic....

Today, the podcast is celebrating 1 year of episodes! Adam and Mick decided that for this week's episode they would do a "pulse check" to see how they both felt the podcast had been going since its start last year. Adam and Mick each discuss how they feel about the first episodes, the current episodes, and the future that is forthcoming for the podcast. Also, this podcast is also th...

In today's episode, Adam and Mick discuss the impact of rumors and how Socrates devised a three-step plan for deciding when to say anything called the Three Sieves. Adam and Mick start off with the first sieve: Is it true? and discuss situations both theoretical and personal. The conversation moves back and forth between whether or not you are the one sharing the information, or the informati...

In today's episode, Adam and Mick discuss a very practical topic which is the discussion of burnout. The episode begins by discussing what burnout is, what it might mean to different people, and we hear from Adam on his personal reasons for bringing this up as an episode topic. The we delve into how Stoics would probably view burnout, and discuss some key themes as to why burnout needs to be...

In this penultimate episode on raising kids, Adam and Mick dive into the topics of fostering and adoption. Mick shares personal stories of his first-hand experience of fostering, and the relationship that he built that still exists today. Adoption is also a major topic in today's episode, and Adam and Mick both share personal stories related to that topic from their own lives.  URL: pubandpor...

Today's episode continues our series on Raising kids with episode 3, focussing on the last 3 rules from Musonius Rufus on raising children: praise character and effort more than achievement, teach responsibility and accountability, choose friends and influences wisely, teach that happiness comes from character not possessions. Adam and Mick talk about the important topics from Stoicism includ...

In today's episode, recorded on Father's Day itself, Mick and Adam delve further into Musonius' rules about raising kids. The episode starts out by talking about what it means to "provide" as a father, referencing the Kelly Brothers and their experience as children. Then the topic of the "fatherlessness" problem comes up, and the hosts step back into the rules as...

To honour Father's Day, today's episode centres around raising kids. We focus on the teaching of Musonius Rufus and his rules about raising children, and start to discuss the first few rules from Musonius' teachings. Discussions in this episode move from the past to the present, and discuss some of the modern challenges of being a parent while Adam and Mick share their own views on...

In this week's episode, Adam and Mick discuss one of the "Big Three" of Stoicism: Epictetus. In discussion is Epictetus' origins, what we know (or don't really know) about his early life, how he came to become a slave, and how he ended up in Rome. The discussion turns to some of his core views, and where they might have originated based on the experience that we know that...

In this week's episode, Adam and Mick continue the conversation in part 2 of the main topic for this week's episode which is the selection of leaders, be it political, industry, military, or otherwise. Concepts around the current trends we are seeing in the world, and some of the responsibilities that citizens and Stoics have when looking to select their leaders, are a prevalent theme in...

In this week's episode, Adam and Mick open with a little life update to each other and also talk a little bit about some recent space program events going on. Then, the conversation shifts to part 1 of the main topic for this week's episode which is the selection of leaders, be it political, industry, military, or otherwise. Concepts around the current trends we are seeing in the world,...

In today's episode, Mick and Adam discuss a topic that has become quite prevalent in these past few years: freedom of speech. Concepts around what is means by definition, but also what it means in practice, are major topics throughout the podcast today. The idea of freedom of speech also coincides the idea of freedom to disagree or debate, and that is another key topic in today's discuss...

In today's episode, Adam and Mick continue our episodes on the classical Stoics. Today's episodes covers Musonius Rufus, a prominent Stoic in Rome during the time of Octavian and Nero and also the teacher of one of the "Big Three" Stoics, Epictetus. Key parts of Musonius' life are discussed, as well as some of the key tenets of Musonius' teachings that make him both m...

This week, Adam and Mick start a new series of episodes one the original Stoics of history. In this first episode, their topic is Zeno the original founder of Stoicism. The story of his origins, how he came to be in Athens, how he lost everything and then founded the first Stoic school all take place in this episode, but Adam and Mick also talk about the different motivations and some key points i...

In this week's episode, Adam and Mick discuss the Stoic virtue of Temperance . Opening with some initial definitions of the word, Adam and Mick discuss their views on temperance meaning self-control and the choices we make versus temperance as a sort of demeanor or appearance of character. Also discussed are ideas around humility and modesty, and how temperance can help shape how we view ours...

In this week's episode, Adam and Mick talk about change. The conversation starts by focussing on how change is constant, and an expected part of the universe, and how we can approach that as Stoics and as human beings. Then, Adam and Mick focus on the idea of choice and action, and Mick delves into the topic of resilience and how we can use those tools to address change as it expectedly comes...

Today's episode revolves around relationships, and how Stoics approach them. Historical references to Stoicism's stance on relationships are where we start, with clear discussions on Stoicism's key tenets and beliefs around them even in relation to other philosophies. Relationship discussions go from marriage, to friendship, as well as other relationship types like family and work c...