Seneca on Despising Death

Today, Ryan presents a reading of Epicurus’s Letter to Menoeceus in which the philosopher and father of Epicureanism lays out to his friend why he believes that living a life of pleasure based on virt...

5 Feb 202317min

Ryan speaks with Ian Happ about how practicing Stoic principles helps him play better baseball, the mindset of a professional athlete, how he uses discipline to overcome self-doubt, and more.Ian Happ ...

4 Feb 20231h 4min

Why did Marcus Aurelius write his Meditations? It wasn’t for an audience. It wasn’t simply to practice his Greek or his rhetorical abilities—he was already good at all those things. The book lacks an ...

3 Feb 20239min

We think we need a lot to be happy. We think we need piles of money. And power. And fame. And to get that perfect house and to marry that perfect person. There are so many things we tell ourselves we ...

2 Feb 202310min

Ryan looks back on some of the best discussions of 2022 that he and his guests had about building better habits. Featuring Dr. Nate Zinsser on looking for the positive aspects of your life while maint...

1 Feb 20231h 3min

We think if we just make enough money, someday we won’t have to worry about it anymore. We think if we just get big enough, strong enough, we won’t have to worry about being pushed around. We think if...

1 Feb 20232min

Obviously, the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The earlier you get started on something that takes time, the bigger and better the results will be. As Seneca once said about the days that p...

31 Jan 202318min

History is the same thing happening over and over again, Marcus Aurelius said. There’s nothing new under the sun.And yet, like all things in philosophy, the opposite idea must also be held true at the...

30 Jan 20238min