This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.geekystoics.com Once you go down the Stoicism rabbit hole, you can’t escape the ubiquitous appeal and words of Marcus Aurelius in Meditations . It’s everyone’s favorite, and for mostly good reason. But Seneca's Letters From A Stoic are even better.
On a flight layover in the UK, Geeky Stoics visits the home, grave and world of famed author, philosopher and academic: C.S. Lewis This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe
We’re experimenting here at Geeky Stoics. Both Stephen and I have really missed the long-form podcast and discussion format, going back to my original podcasting days at the Star Wars Report and Stephen’s at Beltway Banthas . I’m so glad we get to introduce this format here on Substack, featuring a very special guest: Master Samwise. Samwise has a YouTube channel not dissimiliar from our own, where he’s built a community of people passionate about going a layer deeper on stories like Star Wars, ...
If you want to understand the intellectual fault lines of the 20th century, you don’t need to go to a fancy college. You can just sit down with some old movies. We don’t touch on horror movies often on Geeky Stoics, in fact, this is a first. I just finished KINGDOM OF CAIN , a fascinating book about how horror and murder point toward evidence of God. It’s a fresh approach to Christian apologetics and on brand for Klavan, a prolific crime and mystery novelist. The book traces the line between rea...
Hopefully, you’re caught up on Geeky Stoics and enjoyed the panel conversation we hosted with Ryan Holiday of the Daily Stoic. The conversation covered Stoicism and Objectivism, two distinct philosophies with a lot in common and even more in conflict. Now you can move on to the next piece of programming we cooked up for you: a one-on-one interview with Holiday. This came together at the last minute during our trip to Palm Springs. Ryan’s team was not being very accommodating with doing interview...
It’s a good day to be a Geeky Stoics subscriber here on Substack! You all get first access to this week’s video conversations with Ryan Holiday of the Daily Stoic. I told you about the trip to Palm Springs , and it was to moderate this panel tackling the differences and overlaps of Stoicism and Objectivism. To recap: Stoicism is ancient Greek and Roman philosophy rooted in self-mastery, emotional regulation, and letting go of things beyond your control. Objectivism took form post-World War II th...
"What need is there to weep over parts of life? The whole of it calls for tears. New ills will come, or old ones will return. Meanwhile, keep your spirit cheerful." - Epictetus, Discourses The other day, my daughter was stressed about some complicated logistical stuff happening two days in the future. She was visibly distraught and trying to figure out what to be prepared for in case it all went badly. I am not great at this myself, but I reminded her that tomorrow’s troubles don’t require your ...
This week, I put together an essay I’ve been dying to make for well over a year. This is about Star Wars: Andor and whether or not the show supports a Marxist lens on freedom in a galaxy far, far away. Star Wars fans online had a field day with the words and deeds of one character, Nemik, who not only writes a “manifesto” for the Rebellion but also wears in Ushanka -style hat. Naturally, this got the Tankies (online communists) a little excited. In this video essay, being previewed FIRST for ema...
My family has taken to teasing me over my annual surprise when a shrubbery or tree on our property shows signs of life around March or April. I must admit, I do look at my plants in the winter and think to myself, “ Well, that’s it. They’re dead. ” And I do this every year. I kneel at the side of my bushes and snap their branches to check the inside for moist green. I stare at them for long periods of time, wondering if I need to uproot the plant and toss it out for a new one. Tonight over dinne...
Did you see the news about The Chronicles of Narnia? After years of negotiation, director Greta Gerwig has closed a deal to have her Narnia movie hit theaters on November 26, 2026 before streaming on Netflix that Christmas. It’s pretty exciting! We love C.S. Lewis’ Narnia here on Geeky Stoics. The best available information out there points to Gerwig starting her Narnia series with the chronological first book, The Magician’s Nephew . In this video, I explain the significance of Narnia’s return ...
The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater. — Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring Throughout The Lord of the Rings , doom and tragedy are constantly on the doorstep of J.R.R. Tolkien’s heroes. Failure and defeat happen frequently. The Witch King of Angmar overpowers Merry and Éowyn, Boromir is struck down by Uruk-hai scouts leaving the Fellowshi...
It’s a rare and beautiful thing to meet someone with whom you discover so much in common. Not just experiences, but sentiment and aspiration. That’s how I felt after taping a podcast with Evan, best known for his viral Twitter account, @MidddleearthMixr. Going into this conversation about Tolkien and the relevant philosophy of The Lord of the Rings , I didn’t realize I knew Evan from my professional walk. We had a connection. Beyond that, we shared a similar sort of awakening in how we returned ...
The first thing you’ll see in my home when you enter is a framed portrait of Abraham Lincoln. Below the image of America’s 16th president, a man who arguably refounded the United States and became one of its most consequential figures, is a list of his numerous failures. The guy posted a lot of L’s. This list of Lincoln failures is pretty well known, so you might have seen this before. Here is the text I have framed in our doorway. “Lincoln” Lost job in 1832. Defeated for state legislature in 18...
“It is not a golden bit that makes one horse superior to others.” -Seneca, Letters from A Stoic It’s taken longer than I intended to find a Dragon Ball Z topic for Geeky Stoics. This uniquely popular anime in the United States was my second love growing up, right next to Star Wars. My favorite character is Vegeta , the Prince of Saiyans. He is a total jerk, but it’s something of a novelty as the show grinds on. The whole schtick is that Saiyans are immensely prideful and take their race and bloo...
A podcast addition to Geeky Stoics “Don’t seek for everything to happen as you wish it would, but rather wish that everything happens as it actually will—then your life will flow well” - Epictetus, Enchiridion, 8. Grey Worm looks at Missandei, with a profound seriousness on his face but a sort of sadness in his eyes. He has not just accepted what happened to him, but he has chosen something akin to gratitude . “If the masters never cut me, I never am Unsullied. I never stand in the Plaza of Prid...
A few weeks ago, Riley and I got together in Northern Virginia to spend some time working on Geeky Stoics’ future. For me, the highlight was taking a morning walk out in the Manassas Battlefield Park and sharing some ideas with each other about why we take fiction so seriously. The goal was a candid conversation. At the heart of this exchange is a common disagreement between fans of stories like Star Wars , Marvel , or even The Lord of the Rings , which is….are we supposed to take these stories ...
“ There’s no difference between responsibility and adventure ” is something said by Jordan Peterson in his most recent chat with Joe Rogan. I scribbled that one down as soon as I heard it. It resonated for a few reasons, chief among them that accepting responsibility in my own life around age 20 led me to the life I have now…with a beautiful wife of 13 years and an equally lovely daughter of 13. The adventure has been unbelievable and has taken me in so many directions I didn’t anticipate. Like ...
Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings have two very similar moments. As a great threat makes itself known in each world, a band of potential heroes circle up to assess the danger and devise a plan. In Star Wars: Rogue One this is the “rebellions are built on hope speech” delivered by Jyn Erso who has discovered the plans for the Death Star and wants to lead the fractured Rebel Alliance in stealing them. The Rebels are divided and hardly interested in risking everything over a rumor. In The Lord of...
“Just because some people are nice to you, doesn’t mean you should spend time with them” -Epictetus in The Art of Living You probably have gotten an earful for most of your life about choosing your friends wisely. Mom or Dad might have told you this, maybe a coach and most certainly your Sunday school teacher. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t listen to this when I was 16. I wanted to be friends with anyone who accepted me and welcomed my company. That was the extent of my discrimination on w...
“When you’ve done well and another has benefited by it — why like a fool do you look for a third thing on top—credit for the good deed or a favor in return?” -Marcus Aurelius Love languages are funny. Some people really value conversation in their relationship, others value closeness. I remember early on in my marriage I thought it was uncomfortable to sit on the couch in silence with my wife, just watching TV and saying nothing for two hours. Inside I was panicking like, “Are we not in sync?! W...
There are two truths I want you to hold at once. The first truth is that you have no time to waste being someone you’re not. I recently interviewed this young entrepreneur named Nicolas Kirkland, and he said something that stuck with me — “ Why do you gotta act like everybody else? Everybody else is taken. ” We’re either on the hamster wheel of trying to fit in or we’ve slipped into the sinkhole of mistaking someone else’s dream for our own. Related note: One of my absolute favorite musical tune...
This week we’ve been back through Game of Thrones in our house. I haven’t watched it again since 2011 when the series first premiered on HBO and took over popular culture for the next eight years. There’s so much to be said about the characters in this show. Starks. Lannisters. Targaryens. Dothrakis. Baratheons . I’d forgotten how powerful this contest for control of Kings Landing and Westeros is. It’s not my intention to dunk on House of the Dragon , the new spinoff series set generations befor...
While I was chaperoning my daughter’s Scout Troop at summer camp in July, I took The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe with me to revisit the classic C.S. Lewis tale with adult eyes. It was fun. I fully appreciate now why I loved this story so much growing up. I also can appreciate with even more clarity why I loathed the character of Edmund so much. He’s the younger brother and family traitor who sells out his siblings to the White Witch, setting into motion a series of events that results in ...
Owen: " We don't need anything from you, Kenobi." Obi-Wan: "It's just a toy." Owen: "It's a lot more than that. " ―Owen Lars to Obi-Wan Kenobi I’ve been thinking a lot today about why I do this. Here’s what I came up with. Geeky Stoics is about drawing out the transcendent from the entertaining. It’s about reaching beyond “escapism” and expanding your potential in the real world through the enjoyment of other worlds. Every place we visit, we take something home. You travel to South Carolina….you...
Why do our warmest memories sort of hurt? You know the feeling . An old home video from childhood where you’re opening Christmas presents in the company of siblings and cousins, or the memory box from high school full of photos and scribblings featuring your long-lost best friends. We miss these times. Though they were challenging at the time (being a teenager is hard) you can’t help but look back on those years as more… simple . Today, we want to show you a short YouTube video called “ A Love L...
A journey through perspective taking with Star Wars and C.S. Lewis. The glasses we wear in life change everything. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe
“What view is one likely to take of the state of a person’s mind when his speech is wild and incoherent and knows no restraint?” The Roman known as Seneca asked this question sometime around the year 50 AD in a collection of letters now published as Letters From A Stoic . It’s possible I like this book more than Stoicism’s seminal text, Meditations . It’s very practical. Seneca was a lawyer, senator, political advisor and philosopher, and his letters are chock full of very strong takes on matter...
Clive Staples Lewis (C.S. Lewis), known to friends and family as “Jacksie” (or Jack), was a stridently opinionated young man from the earliest age. He was a bookworm, an avid enjoyer of mythology and you could even say he was a bit too pleased with himself for it. During an unpleasant period of Lewis’ life (age 15) studying at Malvern College, a boys’ prep school, Lewis began to form an aspect of his personality he’d work a lifetime to keep in check: scorn . Malvern valued athletics above everyt...
Yesterday I revisited a Robin Williams classic, the Dead Poets Society . This movie likely inspired a generation of English teachers, based on how many times this movie was shown to me in school by a teacher with a twinkle in their eye. Everyone fancies themselves the Williams character, Mr. Keating, who teaches his students about language, romanticism, and “carpe diem”. It’s a great movie and aged well. In a sense, Dead Poets is standard fare for the inspirational drama genre. Its main beats in...
Once there was a Gnat who flew over the meadow with much buzzing for so small a creature and he settled on the tip of one of the horns of a Bull. After he had rested a short time, the Gnat made ready to fly away. But before he left he begged the Bull's pardon for having used his horn for a resting place. " You must be very glad to have me go now, " said the Gnat " It's all the same to me ," replied the Bull. "I did not even know you were there." Ouch! This is one of my favorite of Aesop’s Fables...
