The Daily Stoic16 Aug 2025

When Good People Lose Themselves to Tyrants | James Romm (PT. 2)

History has a way of looking calmer than it really was. In this PT. 2 episode, Ryan sits down with historian and author James Romm to talk about the messy, dangerous, and often absurd reality of life in ancient Greece and Rome, especially for the philosophers who tried to “advise” the powerful. From Plato’s naïve trips to Syracuse, to Seneca’s complicated dance with Nero, to Marcus Aurelius resisting the pull of corruption, they discuss the timeless tension between access and integrity.

James Romm is an author, reviewer, and a Professor of Classics at Bard College in Annandale, NY. He specializes in ancient Greek and Roman culture and civilization. His reviews and essays have appeared in the New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, the London Review of Books, the Daily Beast, and other venues. He has held the Guggenheim Fellowship (1999-2000), the Birkelund Fellowship at the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Writers and Scholars at the New York Public Library (2010-11), and a Biography Fellowship at the Leon Levy Center of the City University of New York (2014-15).

Follow James on Instagram @James.Romm and check out more of his work at his website, www.jamesromm.com

📚 Get signed copies of James' latest book Plato and the Tyrant, and his other books Dying Every Day, How To Die, and How To Give, at The Painted Porch | https://www.thepaintedporch.com/

📚 View the full list of books mentioned in this episode here: https://www.thepaintedporch.com/collections/james-romm

🎥 Head to Ryan Holiday’s YouTube Channel to watch him give James Romm book recommendations at The Painted Porch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUuxMfJRc2c

🎙️ Listen to James Romm’s first episode on The Daily Stoic Podcast: https://dailystoic.com/romm/

📖 Preorder the final book in Ryan Holiday's The Stoic Virtues Series: "Wisdom Takes Work": https://store.dailystoic.com/pages/wisdom-takes-work

🎙️ 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.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(2986)

Heal Yourself With This | The Cure for a Reading Slump

The Stoics urged us to read, study, and journal, not as abstract philosophy, but to help us recover from the stuff life throws at us. 📚 Sign up for Ryan’s free monthly reading list newsletter: https:...

13 Apr 10min

You Think You Have Time. You Don’t.

It’s a tragedy. Too many people, Seneca says, reach the end of life with nothing to show for it but a number.🎥 VIDEO EPISODE | Watch this episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cInStI2DnI🪙 M...

12 Apr 18min

What To Do When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned | Jim Collins

What if the hardest moments in your life aren’t detours but the very things that put you on the right path? In Part 2, bestselling author Jim Collins explains why the moments that derail you are often...

11 Apr 38min

Nothing Can Get In The Way of the Mission | Test Your Impressions

Roles shift. Titles change. But the mission never does.Reading Marcus Aurelius can change your life, but only if you know how to read his work 👉 Head here now to grab your Meditations book and guide ...

10 Apr 7min

This Can Change the Course of Your Life

The right book at the right time is a powerful thing. In fact, it can change the whole course of your life.Reading Marcus Aurelius can change your life, but only if you know how to read his work 👉 He...

9 Apr 4min

Make the Most of Your Life | Jim Collins

What if the reason you feel lost has nothing to do with direction and everything to do with the question you’re asking? Ryan sits down with bestselling author Jim Collins to explore the mindset that d...

9 Apr 48min

You Must Learn to See | The Stoic Lesson of Marcus Aurelius' Crumbling Statue

We must change our aperture and perspective so that amidst the muddle and puddles of life, we can see what the artist and the philosopher sees.Reading Marcus Aurelius can change your life, but only if...

8 Apr 8min

You Can Skip This Part of the Nightmare | Stoicism, Across the World

You may well be in the middle of—or in for—a nightmare. But you can skip part of it, the last part…if you choose. Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoic...

7 Apr 10min