Wisdom in the Face of Censorship | Sharon McMahon and Ryan Holiday
The Daily Stoic11 Mai 2025

Wisdom in the Face of Censorship | Sharon McMahon and Ryan Holiday

Sharon McMahon, aka "America's Government Teacher", hosted Ryan on an Instagram Live to discuss his recent experience at the U.S. Naval Academy. Invited to speak on the topic of wisdom, Ryan was informed just moments before his lecture that it had been canceled due to his decision to address the removal of books from the Academy’s library. What was meant to be a conversation about wisdom quickly turned into a powerful lesson on censorship, free speech, and the challenge of living with virtue.


Sharon and Ryan talk about the importance of confronting history honestly, the controversy around books labeled “too woke,” and the scary implications of silencing ideas in places meant to shape future leaders.

After years as a high school government teacher, Sharon now runs the non-partisan, fact-based Instagram account @sharonsaysso and is the author of The Small and the Mighty.


Check out Sharon’s podcast Here’s Where It Gets Interesting and follow her on Instagram @SharonSaysSo and on X @Sharon_Says_So


Sharon's Substack: The Preamble.


🎙️ Listen to Sharon's episode on The Daily Stoic Podcast: Apple Podcasts, Spotify


📚 Grab a copy of The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon at The Painted Porch: https://www.thepaintedporch.com


🗞️ Read Ryan Holiday's opinion piece in The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/19/opinion/naval-academy-speech-censorship.html


🎥 Watch the talk that Ryan Holiday was supposed to give at The Naval Academy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcnE1-SClfg


🎙️ Follow The Daily Stoic Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailystoicpodcast


🎥 Watch top moments from The Daily Stoic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dailystoicpodcast


✉️ Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail


🏛 Get Stoic inspired books, medallions, and prints to remember these lessons at the Daily Stoic Store: https://store.dailystoic.com/


📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episoder(2954)

Make It Happen. Whatever It Takes.

Make It Happen. Whatever It Takes.

On this day in 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. Her solo exploits are well known. Less so is that Earhart had already made the same flight less than five ye...

20 Mai 20192min

Don’t Let Yourself Be Rushed

Don’t Let Yourself Be Rushed

Robert Caro is getting old and people are getting worried. He’s now 83 and each day that passes makes it increasingly unlikely that he’ll ever finish his epic (and must-read) series on Lyndon Johnson....

17 Mai 20192min

Find The Space

Find The Space

Think about the last time that someone made you upset. What did they say? What did they do? Now think back: How did you react? What did you say? What did you feel?Now think about the situation another...

16 Mai 20192min

How To Overcome Selfishness

How To Overcome Selfishness

Bertrand Russell was no fan of the Stoics. He thought they were cold, hated riches and passion. He thought Seneca and Marcus were hypocrites. But then again he himself was a rather big hypocrite—havin...

15 Mai 20193min

The Only Measure of Success

The Only Measure of Success

There’s plenty written about people pushing through failure, pulling themselves out of the depths of despair, rising above against all odds. There are countless inspiring stories of the struggling art...

14 Mai 20193min

Look For Teachable Moments

Look For Teachable Moments

On the eve of the 2008 election, the journalist Joe Klein asked Barack Obama how he’d made his decision to respond to the brewing scandal about Obama’s pastor, Jeremiah Wright, having made controversi...

13 Mai 20193min

If It’s Right, It’s Right For You

If It’s Right, It’s Right For You

Sometimes we get asked or tasked with doing stuff in life we’d rather not have to do. Maybe that’s working a less than glamorous job when we’re young. Maybe that’s filling a role in your family that d...

10 Mai 20192min

You Decide The End of The Story

You Decide The End of The Story

When James Stockdale was shot down in Vietnam, he was taken prisoner by the North Vietnamese. He spent seven years being tortured and subjected to unimaginable loneliness and terror. He had little cho...

9 Mai 20192min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

stopp-verden
dine-penger-pengeradet
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
e24-podden
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
pengepodden-2
pengesnakk
finansredaksjonen
rss-politisk-preik
utbytte
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
stormkast-med-valebrokk-stordalen
rss-markedspuls-2
rss-sunn-okonomi
lederpodden
rss-pa-konto
okonomiamatorene