If you’re an avid podcast listener and a student of the Stoics, you’re probably always on the look out for good Stoicism podcasts to plug into.
If you’re not familiar with them, podcasts are a great way to absorb information when reading isn’t convenient. That could be while driving, while working out, or any time in general if you just don’t happen to like reading.
So, when you need a quick dose of Stoicism but don’t have your copy of Meditations close by then a good podcast show might be what you need.
Luckily there are plenty out there so here’s a compilation of the best ones in no particular order!
The Best Stoicism Podcasts
The What Is Stoicism? Podcast
Host: Allan (What Is Stoicism?)
Website: https://shows.acast.com/the-what-is-stoicism-podcast
The What Is Stoicism? Podcast consists of short reflections on using Stoicism in a practical way to navigate all aspects of life.
The 30 Simple Ways to be More Stoic episode is one of the most popular.
The Stoic Handbook
Host: Jon Brooks
Website: https://www.stoichandbook.co/
Jon Brooks is the co-owner of HighExistence, and a thought leader on the modernisation and practical implementation of Stoic philosophy. His aim with The Stoic Handbook is to take ancient, esoteric wisdom and translate it for modern people who seek self-fulfilment.
The Stoic Daily Mindful Review is a great episode with useful techniques you can immediately apply.
The Walled Garden Podcast
Host: Simon Drew
Website: https://thewalledgarden.com/thewalledgardenpodcast
Formerly called The Practical Stoic Podcast, The Walled Garden is an extension of The Walled Garden online community, hosted by Simon Drew, Sharon Lebell, and Kai Whiting. In this podcast the hosts explore a wide range of topics regarding philosophy, theology, beliefs, ideas, art, poetry, music, and creativity from a variety of contributors and members.
Simon has been featured in an interview on The Daily Stoic and has also interviewed amazing guests on his own show, including Massimo Pigliucci, Donald Robertson and Ryan Holiday, who have all written books on Stoicism.
Practical Stoicism
Host: Tanner Campbell and Kai Whiting
Website: https://stoicismpod.com/
This podcast helps newcomers get acquainted and comfortable with the practical aspects of Stoicism – it is a stepping stone to those heavier and denser parts of the philosophy that we all, if we truly wish to commit ourselves to practicing the philosophy of Stoicism, must delve into eventually.
Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life Podcast
Host: Donald Robertson
Website: https://donaldrobertson.substack.com/podcast
Donald Robertson, the author of “How to Think Like a Roman Emperor”, and a cognitive-behavioral therapist, talks about how to apply Stoicism in the modern world, discussing philosophy, psychology and self-improvement with guests from all walks of life.
The Stoic Salon
Host: Kathryn Koromilas
Website: https://www.podpage.com/the-stoic-salon-podcast/
The Stoic Salon focuses on the Stoic concept of flow, of living in agreement with nature, as a way of flourishing in life. Host Kathryn Koromilas, a creative writer and teacher, describes the vibe as “flourishing virtual café.”
The Strong Stoic
Host: Brandon Tumblin
Website: https://thestrongstoicpodcast.buzzsprout.com/
The Strong Stoic Podcast is a raw, honest, and unapologetically deep podcast about philosophy and self-improvement. The host, Brandon Tumblin, breaks down a wide variety of complex and difficult topics while bringing together different philosophies, sciences, and perspectives.
Stoic Sage
Host: Daniel Vargas
Website: https://www.stoicsage.co/
Stoic Sage is dedicated to using past knowledge to empower people of today. The podcast series discusses modern challenges using the wisdom from nearly 2,000 years ago. The goal is to bring about “how to think” rather than “what to think”.
Good Fortune
Host: Matt van Natta
Website: https://immoderatestoic.com/good-fortune/
Although there haven’t been any new episodes of Good Fortune for a while, the great thing about this type of content is that it doesn’t get outdated, so there’s plenty of useful stuff in the currently available episodes.
I enjoyed the intriguingly-titled How Stoics Treat Jerks, which features short readings from Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations followed by Matt’s insightful comments to help you out when you next encounter a jerk.
Stoic Solutions Podcast
Host: Justin Vacula
Website: http://justinvacula.com/
The Stoic Solutions Podcast offers practical wisdom for everyday life and explores a range of topics that are applicable to modern situations. Episodes are released weekly and combine the practical wisdom with guest interviews.
Coping With Negative Emotions is a good episode covering a topic that I suspect most people could always use a helping hand with, I know I certainly could!
Stoic Mettle
Host: Scott Hebert
Website: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/stoic-mettle
Scott describes his podcast as short, actionable, and practical which again, to me, are appealing characteristics of any Stoicism content. On Stoic Mettle, he uses personal stories to present Stoic ideas as well as interviewing contemporary Stoics for further insights. Although Stoic Mettle is no longer publishing new episodes, there is plenty of goodness to be found in the archives.
If you’re a Marcus Aurelius fan, try out the episode The Life of Marcus Aurelius, which is a fascinating deep dive into the life of the Roman Emperor featuring author Donald Robertson.
Stoic Meditations
Host: Massimo Pigliucci
Website: https://anchor.fm/stoicmeditations
Massimo Pigliucci is the author of the excellent book How To Be A Stoic, and a Professor of Philosophy at CUNY-City College. His podcast consists of bite-sized readings from the ancient Stoics, followed by his commentary to put it into context.
The shortness of the episodes make this podcast a great candidate for incorporating into a daily routine if you need your regular fix of Stoicism. The episode Do The Right Thing, Now alone is one that could probably bear listening to every day.
The Sunday Stoic Podcast
Host: Steve Karafiat
Website: https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-sunday-stoic
Sunday Stoic is another podcast focusing on readings of the ancient Stoics and the modern applications of the lessons learnt. As you can probably guess, new episodes are published on Sundays!
Stoic Maxims is a nice episode which covers short sayings that feature in Seneca’s Moral Letters to Lucilius. It emphasizes how maxims like this can be very useful for regularly reminding yourself of the Stoic mindset.
The Tim Ferriss Show
Host: Tim Ferriss
Website: https://tim.blog/tag/stoicism/
I couldn’t have a complete list of Stoicism podcasts without including The Tim Ferriss Show. While it’s not solely based on Stoicism, there are plenty of episodes on that specific topic. Hearing Tim talk about how he applies the philosophy to his own life is one of the things that got me interested in it to begin with.
The episode The Canvas Strategy — What Ben Franklin and Bill Belichick Have in Common is an interesting one as it features another modern Stoic, Ryan Holiday, sharing an excerpt from his book Ego Is The Enemy.
The Daily Stoic
Host: Ryan Holiday
Website: https://dailystoic.com/podcast/
Speaking of Ryan Holiday, he also has a Stoicism podcast over at The Daily Stoic. On weekdays, the podcast is the short audio companion to Daily Stoic’s daily emails. On weekends, longer-form episodes such as interviews are published.
Ryan Holiday & Tim Ferriss Discuss “Alive Time vs Dead Time” is full of insight into how both individuals use the ancient philosophy to deal with modern challenges.
The Scotland Stoics Podcast
Host: Robert Keenan
Website: https://anchor.fm/robert-keenan
Host Robert Keenan uses the Scotland Stoics Podcast to look at the lives of Stoic practitioners and how Stoicism has influenced their lives.
It features interviews with well-known names in modern Stoicism, including this one with Merdith Kunz.
The Stoic Psychology Podcast
Host: Alex MacLellan
Website: https://stoicpsychology.buzzsprout.com/
The Stoic Psychology podcast discusses how Stoicism and wider philosophy matches up with modern psychology research, and how we might use findings from both to live a more contented life.
With the addition of interviews with experts in their fields and musings from host Alex Maclellan, this podcast hopes to provide a simple and enjoyable dose of pop philosophy and psychology.
Stoic Coffee Break
Host: Erick Cloward
Website: https://stoic.coffee/
Host Erick Cloward focuses on a different aspect of Stoic principles in each episode of Stoic Coffee Break. He attributes great personal growth to these principles as they have become a core part of his thinking and ultimately changed his worldview.
This episode on Resistance does a good job of explaining the sometimes confusing concept of Amor Fati.
The Cheerful Stoic
Host: Juan C. Torres
Website: https://anchor.fm/thecheerfulstoic
The Cheerful Stoic is all about reading and enjoying the ancient Stoic texts. There’s a nice emphasis on cheerfulness and being positive which the Stoics would have approved of.
The Introduction episode is a good way to get to know the host before diving into the content, while You are never too busy to be a Stoic is a great reminder for when life gets hectic.
If you know of any good Stoicism podcasts that I’ve missed please let me know on social media via the links on the right of this page!