The What Is Stoicism? Podcast

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 CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: To Live Without Error is Impossiblehttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-to-live-126 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: To Live Without Error is Impossiblehttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-to-live-126 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: To Live Without Error is Impossiblehttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-to-live-126 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: Curl Up And Be Warm In The Presenthttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-curl-up Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: We Should Be Stretching Ourselveshttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-we-should-838 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: It Does No Good To Rage At Circumstancehttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-it-does Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 doesn’t matter. What remains is an invitation to let go of borrowed worries and actually live the day that’s unfolding.👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: We Can Rise To Greater Heightshttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-we-can-rise Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 offering of stillness, meant to be lingered with and returned to, one morning at a time.👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: We Can Rise To Greater Heightshttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-we-can-rise Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 guarantees frustration and conflict.👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: We Can Rise To Greater Heightshttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-we-can-rise Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, correction, and effort. To live as a Stoic is simply to desire progress, and to keep good company along the way.👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: Don’t Always Be Beginning To Livehttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-dont-always-94c Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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—it helps us release what doesn’t matter and act on what does.The question left hanging is simple and urgent: how will you use today’s opportunity before it quietly expires?👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: Don’t Always Be Beginning To Livehttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-dont-always-94c Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode explores the Stoic art of decatastrophizing—learning to meet fear by stripping events down to what they really are, rather than what our imagination makes of them.From Socrates calmly facing death to Seneca’s reminder that we suffer more in imagination than in reality, we see how clarity dissolves panic.The practice isn’t denial or blind optimism, but disciplined attention to the present moment. With repetition, the Stoics show, fear loses its grip and the mind regains its power.👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: The Art of Self-Retrievalhttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-the-art-4d8 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode explores an often-overlooked Stoic lesson: that even wisdom, effort, and reflection must be practiced in moderation.Through David Hume’s gentle warning against burnout—and his nuanced engagement with Stoic exercises—we see how pushing too hard, whether in work or in contemplating life’s fragility, can undermine the very growth we seek.Seneca’s counsel to rest the mind and Hume’s reminder that “going slower” can get us there sooner converge on a timeless truth. Flourishing isn’t found in relentless strain or constant gloom, but in the measured balance that preserves both health and gratitude.👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: The Art of Self-Retrievalhttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-the-art-4d8 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode dives into the Stoic idea of the “passions”—those powerful storms of anger, fear, envy, and grief that arise not from events themselves but from the judgments we attach to them.Epictetus teaches that emotional turmoil begins in the domain of desire, where unexamined impressions harden into false beliefs about what is good or bad.By learning to pause, test our impressions, and assent only to what is true, we reclaim mastery over our inner world.The work is gradual but transformative: each moment of careful attention becomes a step toward clarity, resilience, and the deep calm that comes from governing one’s own mind.👇 👇 👇📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENTCheck out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: The Art of Self-Retrievalhttps://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-the-art-4d8 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.