Practical Stoicism

In this episode I respond to a “how to make passive income with AI” video that pushed a lot of buttons for me and led to a Stoic deep-dive on AI, capitalism, work, and the moral fabric of society. Using the example of AI-generated nursery rhyme channels and AI “justice porn” clips, I explore the difference between responsible and runaway capitalism, why AI is not evil in itself, and how our media habits quietly shape our character and our culture. I also talk about the role of traditions (like secular Christmas) in holding a society together, and why the way we use AI right now may mark either a temporary backslide or the beginning of an “Age of Alogos”. Key takeaways from this episode include: AI is a tool, not a villain – The problem is not that AI exists, but how we choose to use it, especially when we use it to chase money with no concern for quality, truth, or human well-being. There is responsible and runaway capitalism – Earning money by creating real value is one thing; farming children’s attention or stoking division with low-effort AI content is another. “Work is a scam” thinking can backfire – Trying to escape “the system” by doing the least work for the most money often means reinforcing the very worst parts of that system. AI “justice porn” and emotional bait reshape our perceptions – Fully AI-generated clips of caricatured “bad people” getting their comeuppance may feel good, but they habituate us toward contempt, fear, and stereotyping. Habituation still rules – What we choose to watch, click, and share shapes our character over time. Media consumption is moral training, whether we admit it or not. Traditions can be moral glue – Healthy traditions (like a secular Christmas focused on giving and belonging) can connect us across generations and steady us against social unraveling. We may be entering an “Age of Alogos” – AI, stacked on top of the internet and social media, is accelerating the reach and confidence of the least thoughtful voices; whether this is a temporary backslide or a lasting darkening is not yet clear. Our duty is local and practical – We cannot control AI, capitalism, or “the culture” at large, but we can control how we earn, how we create, what we share, and what we pass on to our children. For an ad-free version of this podcast please visit https://stoicismpod.com/members For links to other valuable Stoic things, please visit https://links.stoicismpod.com If you'd like to provide feedback on this episode, or have questions, you may do so as a member. Email sent by non-members will not be answered (though they may be read). This isn't punitive, I just cannot keep up. Limiting access to members reduces my workload. You're always invited to leave a comment on Spotify, member or not. Thanks for listening and have a great day! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode I take my favourite holiday film, A Muppet Christmas Carol, and use it to explore the Stoic idea that every human being is pulled toward moral excellence—even when they have spent years rolling downhill in the wrong shape. Scrooge’s story gives us a clear picture of how isolation, habit, early wounds, and neglect warp a person’s disposition, and how a return to goodness is still possible when someone is willing to face their past, see the present clearly, and respond to both with honesty and concern. Key takeaways from this episode include: Isolation blinds us to our shared humanity — and when we habituate isolation, we become harder, colder, and more unjust without even knowing it. The Stoics believed every person has an inborn pull toward Virtue — but that pull is often overridden by poor habits, early trauma, or years of vicious choosing. Scrooge’s transformation shows it is never too late to change shape — our rational faculty can always realign with the natural inclination toward the good. Seeing the goodness of others corrects our cynical view of the world — most people are doing the best they can with what they have, even in hard conditions. Holiday “magic” can be understood Stoically as the felt pull toward Virtue — and we don’t need to limit that awareness to one season. True change requires facing the past, seeing the present, and choosing better now — just as Scrooge does with each ghost and each revelation. For an ad-free version of this podcast please visit https://stoicismpod.com/members For links to other valuable Stoic things, please visit https://links.stoicismpod.com If you'd like to provide feedback on this episode, or have questions, you may do so as a member. Email sent by non-members will not be answered (though they may be read). This isn't punitive, I just cannot keep up. Limiting access to members reduces my workload. You're always invited to leave a comment on Spotify, member or not. Thanks for listening and have a great day! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode I talk about what it’s like to take on a large number of new roles in a very short period of time, and how doing so can leave you feeling detached from yourself unless you approach those roles with clear thinking, humility, and attention. Over the last few years I became a husband, a father, an immigrant, and a practitioner in a new career field — all while continuing the roles I already had. That much change, that fast, forced me to build a framework for integrating new roles without losing who I am or slipping into unreasonable self-judgment. Key takeaways from this episode include: Roles come with duties — and the more life you live, the more roles you’ll have. That’s normal, but it demands active attention. You will not be good at a new role at first — and that’s not a sign that you shouldn’t take it on. It’s a sign that you should start like a student, with humility. You must “titrate” your expectations — judge yourself only according to what is reasonable for your stage of development in that role. Define the “counting to 10” version of any new role — focus on performing the simplest, most fundamental parts well before anything else. Habituation shapes character — who you are today is the sum of what you’ve gotten comfortable with; who you’ll become depends on the habits you build now. For an ad-free version of this podcast please visit https://stoicismpod.com/members For links to other valuable Stoic things, please visit https://links.stoicismpod.com If you'd like to provide feedback on this episode, or have questions, you may do so as a member. Email sent by non-members will not be answered (though they may be read). This isn't punitive, I just cannot keep up. Limiting access to members reduces my workload. You're always invited to leave a comment on Spotify, member or not. Thanks for listening and have a great day! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode I take a current headline—the opening of COP30 in Belém, Brazil—and sit with it like a philosopher, not a pundit. Instead of debating policy language or political victories, I look at what a global event like this means for people trying to live excellently right now. How do we face something as vast as climate change without falling into despair, apathy, or outrage? How do we care well within the limits of what’s up to us? Through the lens of Stoicism, I explore how the virtues of wisdom, justice, courage, and temperance apply to the climate crisis. You’ll hear how to use premeditatio malorum as a calm, practical exercise for readiness; how to transform grief and anger into usefulness; and how to translate anxiety into daily, deliberate action. Key takeaways from this episode include: The dichotomy of control is not a license to stop caring; it’s a guide for caring well. Virtue lives in the roles we already occupy—parent, neighbor, citizen—not in waiting for permission from global summits. Temperance, courage, and wisdom are not abstract ideals but habits that build resilience and trust where you live. For an ad-free version of this podcast please visit https://stoicismpod.com/members For links to other valuable Stoic things, please visit https://links.stoicismpod.com If you'd like to provide feedback on this episode, or have questions, you may do so as a member. Email sent by non-members will not be answered (though they may be read). This isn't punitive, I just cannot keep up. Limiting access to members reduces my workload. You're always invited to leave a comment on Spotify, member or not. Thanks for listening and have a great day! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode I take on a listener question about gender roles and Stoicism — whether they exist, how the Stoics would have defined them, and what any of it means for modern relationships. We look closely at Musonius Rufus, the so-called “fourth head” of the Stoic school, who argued that women and men share reason, virtue, and moral responsibility in equal measure — but who also, being a man of his time, fell back on some outdated assumptions about what that equality should look like in practice. From there, I unpack how we can read those ancient ideas without either dismissing them or accepting them wholesale. What would a Stoic say about “fifty-fifty” relationships today, about who pays for dinner, or who does the dishes? We’ll explore how justice and reason — not gender — define our roles, and how mutual care can guide modern partnerships without falling into pathos or ideology. Key takeaways from this episode include: Musonius Rufus saw virtue as genderless, even if his society didn’t. Stoicism asks us to perform our chosen roles justly, not conform to old scripts. Rational partnership — not cultural expectation — is what makes a relationship Stoic. For an ad-free version of this podcast please visit https://stoicismpod.com/members For links to other valuable Stoic things, please visit https://links.stoicismpod.com If you'd like to provide feedback on this episode, or have questions, you may do so as a member. Email sent by non-members will not be answered (though they may be read). This isn't punitive, I just cannot keep up. Limiting access to members reduces my workload. You're always invited to leave a comment on Spotify, member or not. Thanks for listening and have a great day! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices