Bryan Caplan, economist and bestselling author, discusses practical wisdom from modern economics and ancient philosophy.

He argues against medicalization of human behavior, champions personal agency, and reveals why appeasement often beats confrontation. Caplan shows how lessons from economics can serve as self-help and why creating a "social bubble" – the modern version of an Epicurean garden – might be the smartest way to navigate modern life.

The conversation spans Epicurean and Stoic perspectives on death, social obligations, and the thinker Thomas Szasz.

Self-Help Is Like a Vaccine [https://amzn.to/4fx6wIX]

The Myth of the Rational Voter [https://amzn.to/4fdRqrp]

Caplan on Szasz [https://econfaculty.gmu.edu/bcaplan/pdfs/szasz.pdf]

***

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Download the Stoa app (it’s a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we'll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations: https://ancientlyre.com/

Bryan Caplan on Epicureanism, Agency, and Self-Help (Episode 158)

Michael and Caleb explore how understanding ourselves as our faculty of choice—not our bodies, possessions, or reputation—transforms our approach to life's challenges.

Learn how clarifying what we are (and aren't) guides self-improvement and decision-making, unlocks insights in Stoic theory, and ultimately leads to a more tranquil existence.

(06:10) Why It Matters Who We Are

(09:30) What Are We?

(16:28) You Are Not Your Thoughts 

(24:25) Personal Identity And Indifferents

(30:29) Solving What Is Up To You

(34:34) So How Do We Live?

(43:22) We Really Really Cannot Be Harmed By Others

***

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Download the Stoa app (it’s a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we'll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations: https://ancientlyre.com/

You Are Not Your Thoughts But You Are How You Think (Episode 157)

Why Epictetus tells us to compare our suffering to others.  This simple exercise can help you in times of crisis.  

Join Michael as he breaks down Epictetus’s Handbook 26.

***

Subscribe to The Stoa Letter for weekly meditations, actions, and links to the best Stoic resources: www.stoaletter.com/subscribe [http://www.stoaletter.com/subscribe]

Download the Stoa app (it’s a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we'll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations: https://ancientlyre.com/

The Stoic's Guide to Perspective: Epictetus’s Handbook 26 (Episode 156)

Has Science proven that the world is nothing more than a physical machine without overarching purpose?

Spencer Klavan’s most recent book answers with an emphatic no. Ancient philosophy and modern science reveal that the worldview of materialism is not enough.

Instead, our picture of the world must include mind as a fundamental ingredient – just as the Stoic and Christian worldviews do.

Light of the Mind, Light of the World [https://amzn.to/3UhhWYO]

Young Heretics Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/young-heretics/id1513602173]

(01:28) Resetting the Narrative About Science

(10:14) Science vs. Religion

(23:30) Secularism and the Sacred

(29:48) Genesis

(42:50) The Stoic View of the World

(49:48) Determinism

***

Subscribe to The Stoa Letter for weekly meditations, actions, and links to the best Stoic resources: www.stoaletter.com/subscribe [http://www.stoaletter.com/subscribe]

Download the Stoa app (it’s a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we'll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations: https://ancientlyre.com/

Spencer Klavan on Science vs. Religion (and Why the Stoics Were Not Materialists) (Episode 155)

What if the things you obsess over daily don't ultimately matter? The ancient Stoics had a radical idea: most of what we chase - wealth, fame, even health - is neither good nor bad. They called these things "indifferents."

In this episode, Caleb reads his short piece on indifferents and adds additional commentary.

Read the piece: https://www.stoaletter.com/p/indifferents

***

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Download the Stoa app (it’s a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we'll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations: https://ancientlyre.com/

Why Most Things Do Not Matter: Indifferents (Episode 154)

In this episode, Michael and Caleb break down Handbook 42, where Epictetus lays out Socratic Intellectualism and explains why people's harsh words say more about them than you

This episode will challenge your assumptions about conflict and equip you with practical Stoic tools for navigating a world of criticism and misunderstanding.

(00:52) Epictetus's Handbook 42

(05:48) Empathy

(09:26) People's Words Say More About Them

(14:41) It Seemed So To Him

(18:48) This Applies To Everything

(23:36) Stoic Determinism

(26:22) Difficulty With Socratic Intellectualism

(33:40) Handbook 42

***

Subscribe to The Stoa Letter for weekly meditations, actions, and links to the best Stoic resources: www.stoaletter.com/subscribe [http://www.stoaletter.com/subscribe]

Download the Stoa app (it’s a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we'll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations: https://ancientlyre.com/

Epictetus on Insults, Fortitude, and Doing Your Best (Episode 153)

Money talks, but what do the Stoics say about it?

In this episode, Caleb and Michael dive into the relationship between Stoicism and wealth. They explore the risks of chasing riches, the virtue of moderation, and why philosophy should come before your bank account.

You'll hear Epictetus' take on why honesty trumps money-making and Seneca's surprising advice on the "shortest cut to riches." The hosts unpack the hidden dangers of comfort and how to avoid them, discuss why obsession with wealth might mean you're missing the point, and offer insights on how to pursue success without sacrificing your values.

Whether you're grinding for that next promotion or living on ramen noodles, this episode will make you rethink your relationship with money. Don't let your wallet own you – tune in and learn how to own your wealth instead.

(00:00) Wealth, Money, and Riches

(05:34) Wisdom From The Stoics

(08:09) When To Pursue Wealth

(14:39) Risks of Wealth

(20:20) You Always Need More

(25:41) Stoic Capitalism

***

Subscribe to The Stoa Letter for weekly meditations, actions, and links to the best Stoic resources: www.stoaletter.com/subscribe [http://www.stoaletter.com/subscribe]

Download the Stoa app (it’s a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we'll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations: https://ancientlyre.com/

The Stoic Wealth Mindset (Episode 152)

Michael talks with Brigid Delaney about her journey into Stoicism, the value it has had in her life, and the unique role it has to play in helping others.

Reasons Not To Worry [https://amzn.to/3XR93q3]

(03:41) Stoicism vs Wellness

(13:15) Ataraxia

(18:07) Stoic Friends

(20:26) Favorite Stoic

(24:14) How To Explore The Stoics

(29:47) Persauding Non-Stoics

(34:11) Stripping Away Illusions

(38:51) Idealism Vs Stoicism

(51:44) Stoic Fable

(53:53) Story Of Stoicism

(57:45) What's Special Today?

(01:02:39) Desire

***

Subscribe to The Stoa Letter for weekly meditations, actions, and links to the best Stoic resources: www.stoaletter.com/subscribe [http://www.stoaletter.com/subscribe]

Download the Stoa app (it’s a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod [http://stoameditation.com/pod]

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we'll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations: https://ancientlyre.com/

Brigid Delaney on Reasons not to Worry (Episode 151)

The four pillars of Stoic Justice.

Justice isn't just about courtrooms and laws. For the Stoics, it was a way of life. In this episode, Caleb and Michael break down the four components of Stoic justice: piety, kindness, good fellowship, and fair dealing.

They explore how these ideas apply to our lives today, from helping strangers to making tough business decisions. You'll learn why the Stoics thought we should expand our circles of concern to include all of humanity, and how to deal fairly with others without being a pushover.

(03:21) Defining Justice

(05:36) Piety 

(11:47) What Piety Looks Like

(16:22) Kindness

(24:06) Good Fellowship

(35:03) Fair Dealing

***

Subscribe to The Stoa Letter for weekly meditations, actions, and links to the best Stoic resources: www.stoaletter.com/subscribe [http://www.stoaletter.com/subscribe]

Download the Stoa app (it’s a free download): stoameditation.com/pod [http://stoameditation.com/pod]

If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we'll set you up with a free account.

Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations: https://ancientlyre.com/

Stoic Justice (Episode 150)

Blushing, sweating, stumbling over words - we've all been there. But what if these physical reactions are holding you back from greatness?

In this episode, Caleb and Michael unpack Seneca's advice on handling embarrassment like a Stoic. 

(00:46) Embarrassing Introduction
(04:50) Seneca On Blushing
(08:08) Feelings vs Judgments
(10:02) You Are Not A Horse
(13:05) Embarrassment For Learning
(14:52) Caring About What Others Think
(19:24) Natural Bugs
(22:47) Seneca On Nature

Download the Stoa app (it's a free download): stoameditation.com/pod

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Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/

Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations: https://ancientlyre.com/

Seneca’s Advice On Nervous Ticks, Embarrassment, and Cringe (Episode 149)

Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay discuss how to build resilience, develop virtue, and make sense of the world through Stoic philosophy.

One episode a week.

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Stoa Conversations: Stoicism Applied