They Are Not Your Rivals | Ask DS
What’s the opposite of Stoicism, this austere philosophy based on toughness and resilience, virtue and service? Well, in the ancient world, it was Epicureanism–a philosophy that said that pleasure was...
23 Helmi 20239min
Anthony Everitt on Nero, Rome’s Most Misunderstood Emperor
Ryan speaks with Anthony Everitt about his book Nero: Matricide, Music, and Murder in Imperial Rome, how Rome would have been different if Nero were free to become a musician, why Nero’s overbearing m...
22 Helmi 20231h 4min
You Can’t Turn Away From Things That Are Hard
One way to go through life is to turn away from the things that are hard. You can close your eyes and ears to what is unpleasant. You can take the easy way, forgoing difficulty whenever possible. The ...
22 Helmi 20233min
Have You Considered This? | 60 Stoic Lessons In 1 Minute Or Less
We all have reasons we don’t like something. We think a certain comedian isn’t funny or is a hack. We think a certain author is too basic or overhyped. We think that Oscar-winning movie is total garba...
21 Helmi 202346min
How To Achieve Things | Reduce Wants, Increase Happiness
It’s always been difficult to concentrate. In one of his letters, Seneca talks about trying to write while Rome resounds beneath him with cacophony. There are street sellers and protestors and a fight...
20 Helmi 20238min
How to Create Change in Your Life
Today’s audiobook reading features the second excerpt from The Way to Love: The Last Meditations of Anthony de Mello. Anthony was an Indian Jesuit priest, psychotherapist, and spiritual teacher, write...
19 Helmi 202313min
Sam Harris on Stoicism and Mindfulness Practice
Ryan speaks with Sam Harris about the overlap between eastern and western philosophy, how mindfulness practices like meditation help us become better Stoics, why he is so dedicated to providing his co...
18 Helmi 20231h 9min
Just Put It On My Tab | The Enemy of Happiness
Life was just one thing after another for Marcus Aurelius. The plague. The flooding. The wars. He did not meet with, “the good fortune he deserved,” one ancient historian noted, “as his whole reign wa...
17 Helmi 20238min
