Practical Stoicism

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In this episode I'm tackling the thing nobody wants me to tackle: politics. Before you run away, I promise I'm not endorsing anyone or anything. What I'm interested in is how a Stoic engages politically, not who a Stoic votes for. I get into whether Stoics should vote at all (in most cases, yes, because Stoics are pro-social and voting is one way we attempt to benefit the human community), and I share why I've abstained from local US elections since leaving the country in 2023, and why I won't be voting in Scotland right away once we move there.
I also spend a good chunk of this episode on how we talk about our neighbours who vote differently than we do. People assent to the choices they believe are appropriate for them, and flattening someone's reasons into "they must be stupid or evil" is both practically counterproductive and, drawing on Epictetus, deeply un-Stoic, because we cannot truly know the judgements and contexts of minds that aren't our own. From there I look at protest. The Stoic Opposition proved Stoics can stand against tyranny with real force, so protest isn't off the table, but the why matters more than the what. And finally I ask whether we've let politics become a pathos rather than a civic duty, an identity that crowds out our actual identity as Prokoptôn.
Also in this episode: an update on Stoic Brekkie by Post (the 50-person beta filled up fast, thank you), and news that I'm building a little Stoicism educational video game, because apparently your Stoicism guy needed another creative outlet.
Engage. It's your duty. But engage well.
Thanks for listening.

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In this episode, I talk about parenting, exhaustion, frustration, and the very real challenge of remaining Stoic when your emotional battery is running on empty.
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Using a story from my own 43rd birthday, I walk through a morning that did not go according to plan. What I wanted was a peaceful day. What I got was a very normal morning with a two-year-old child who wanted things his way, struggled to communicate those wants clearly, and repeatedly tested my patience.
The story revolves around a simple trip to a café that gradually became a lesson in expectations, frustration, entitlement, and emotional regulation.
The deeper lesson is not really about toddlers. It's about the stories we tell ourselves.
I had convinced myself that my birthday entitled me to a peaceful day. Rationally, I knew that wasn't true. But emotionally, I had quietly bought into the idea anyway. That expectation became the source of much of my frustration.
From there, I explore several Stoic lessons:
Managing expectations before frustration takes hold.
Recognizing when we're running our emotional batteries too low.
Understanding that self-care is not selfishness.
Appreciating how much children learn from our behavior, especially when we're angry.
Recognizing the difference between discipline and rage.

I spend particular time discussing the impression we leave on our children. Children are constantly watching us. Every outburst, every moment of patience, every act of self-control becomes part of the example we set for them.
A parent losing their temper doesn't just solve a problem poorly in the moment—it can shape how a child understands relationships, authority, safety, and emotional expression for years to come.
I also argue that many parents wait far too long to recharge. We run ourselves into the ground, then expect one special day, one holiday, or one break to somehow restore everything. That's not sustainable.
The Stoic approach is much simpler: maintain the battery before it reaches zero.
Even a single hour each week dedicated to rest, reflection, reading, walking, or simply being alone can dramatically improve our ability to show up well for the people who depend on us.
The central message of the episode is this: parenting is hard, and perfection is impossible. But we can dramatically reduce the likelihood of losing our tempers by managing our expectations, protecting our own wellbeing, and remembering that our children are always learning from how we choose to respond.
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In this episode, I talk about heat, irritability, anger, and why being physically uncomfortable can quietly erode our Stoic practice if we’re not paying attention.
First, an announcement: after years of being asked, I’m officially opening applications for 1:1 Stoic mentoring and life coaching. This is a six-month mentorship for people who are serious about applying Stoicism deeply and consistently in their lives. It includes weekly calls, structured curriculum, support between sessions, and a small accountability group. I explain who it’s for, what’s included, and how to apply.
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The core topic of the episode, though, is anger — specifically how heat and physical discomfort make anger far more likely.
I draw heavily from Seneca’s On Anger, where he describes anger as a kind of temporary madness: a passion that overrides reason, destroys judgment, and pushes people toward destructive choices they later regret. I connect this to modern psychological research showing that heat increases irritability, hostility, and aggression.
The basic point is straightforward: when we’re physically uncomfortable, our threshold for frustration lowers dramatically. Small provocations escalate faster. We become less patient, less reflective, and more likely to lash out.
But rather than treating this as an excuse, I frame it as a call for preparation.
A Stoic does not pretend the body doesn’t matter. The Stoic prepares rationally for predictable challenges. If you know extreme heat affects your mood and judgment, then planning ahead becomes part of your moral responsibility.
I walk through some practical examples from my own life living in the UK during a heatwave:
Buying bags of ice in advance.
Staying hydrated constantly.
Having contingency plans for cooler environments.
Saving for a long-term cooling solution.
Refusing to indulge self-pity or dramatics about discomfort.

The point is not “be tough.” The point is “be prepared.”
I argue that failing to prepare for predictable discomfort is itself a failure of Stoic practice because it unnecessarily increases the risk that we’ll act irrationally toward ourselves or others.
The Sage would not ignore heat to prove toughness. The Sage would plan, prepare, adapt, and endure intelligently.
That’s the real lesson of the episode: Stoicism isn’t about pretending external conditions don’t affect us. It’s about anticipating their effects and choosing wisely despite them.
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In this episode, I lay out a practical, step-by-step Stoic framework for making decisions well.
A lot of people interested in Stoicism know the quotes, know the terminology, and understand the broad concepts — but when an actual difficult choice appears in front of them, they still don’t know what to do. This episode is about solving that problem.
I begin by making a distinction the Stoics took very seriously: the difference between wanting something and determining whether something is right. Most difficult decisions are not difficult because we don’t know what we desire, but because we’re uncertain what action accords with virtue and reason.
From there, I walk through an orthodox Stoic decision-making method rooted in Panaetius and preserved through Cicero’s De Officiis.
The process begins with examining what the Stoics understood to be the four roles every human being occupies simultaneously:
Our universal human nature as rational beings bound by the virtues.
Our individual nature — our temperament, strengths, and weaknesses.
Our circumstantial roles — parent, child, citizen, employee, neighbour.
Our chosen roles — career, projects, commitments, ambitions.

I use a detailed example throughout the episode: a person deciding whether to take a major overseas promotion while also caring for an aging mother whose health is declining.
The key Stoic insight is this: the right action is usually found at the intersection of all four roles. Most modern ethical thinking frames difficult choices as trade-offs, but Stoicism instead asks us to search for the action that satisfies all our legitimate roles without violating virtue.
I then explain the “tragic conflict clause” — what to do when no intersection seems possible. In those cases, the Stoics held that lower-order roles must be abandoned before virtue itself is compromised.
After identifying a candidate action, I introduce three tests the Stoics would apply:
The rational defence test: can you clearly explain why the action is right?
The sage test: would a genuinely wise person choose this?
The role-fidelity test: does the action honour your responsibilities regardless of what others do?

Finally, I discuss the importance of post-action review — what the Stoics called prokopē, or progress. Stoic character is built not through perfect choices, but through repeated examination, correction, and refinement over time.
The core point of the episode is simple: Stoicism is not passive inspiration or emotional comfort. It is a disciplined framework for reasoning through life well and choosing in alignment with nature, virtue, and our roles.
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