The What Is Stoicism? Podcast

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.

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📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO CONTENT

Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: To Live Without Error is Impossible
https://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 CONTENT

Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: To Live Without Error is Impossible
https://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 CONTENT

Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: Curl Up And Be Warm In The Present
https://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 CONTENT

Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: We Should Be Stretching Ourselves
https://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 CONTENT

Check out one of my latest daily Micro Morning Meditations here on Substack:

☀️ Micro Morning Meditation: It Does No Good To Rage At Circumstance
https://whatisstoicism.substack.com/p/micro-morning-meditation-it-does
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.