In this podcast we deal with two recent emails. One email asks about the military: what lessons did I learn, and how did it change me. Another email asks about what he should be studying in college, and what sort of career he should pursue. There are no easy answers to these questions, but just talking about them can be of real benefit.
Does it sometimes seem as if there are no leaders of substance any more? That, as we look around the world, or around our nation, every so-called "leader" is a mediocrity who does nothing of consequence? Did leaders of previous eras have better character and overall fortitude? We ask whether this sweeping generalization has some elements of truth, and make some related observations.
We deal with two different questions from two different readers. The first question is from a girl who has recently broken up with her boyfriend, and can't decide if she should "give it a second chance." There are complications. The second question is from a high school student who wants to know how he can combine a "great books" program with military school. We offer some thoughts.
This podcast is a great conversation I had with my friend Carlo Prater, who has been an MMA fighter for 17 years. He discusses the mental steps he goes through before, during, and after a bout, as well as other general thoughts on life and work. Don't miss it!
This is probably the most serious question I've ever received from a reader. A very heart-felt email from a man who is faced with an extremely difficult situation: he has been contacted by a dying father who abandoned and abused him as a child, and who now wants to have contact with him. He is unsure whether he should re-establish contact. We offer some suggestions on how to arrive at a decision.
A young man of 24 years has a lot of questions running through his head. He doesn't know what he should be focusing on right now, and is not sure he should focus on business growth, travel, or family issues. We offer some suggestions.
In this podcast we have a bit of fun suggesting who may be the fifteen greatest military commanders in history. It is, of course, a highly subjective exercise, and I need not be told how rash the exercise is. Nevertheless, we persist. On Fortress of the Mind (www.qcurtius.com), I will also post the entire list. My hope is that this will generate some animated discussion.
In this special interview, MMA star Carlo "The One" Prater discusses how he got into martial arts, what it's like to have a family, and many other subjects. Don't miss it!
In this podcast we discuss some impressions of my recent visit to Fortaleza. Then we do a few tweet readings from the G Manifesto.
In this podcast, we discuss a reader's email asking about the differences between courage and recklessness. What are the parameters? And how do we know when we go too far? We then close with more G Manifesto tweet readings.
In 1906 Jack London visited Hawaii as part of his epic journey across the Pacific. There he encountered surfers for the first time, and learned the sport. His observations and impressions were recorded in a chapter of his book "The Cruise of the Snark," and remain fascinating to this day. We read passages from this chapter, and discuss.
"Monstrous and inconceivable" was how Jack London described the conception and construction of his yacht "Snark," the ship on which he planned to sail around the world. This podcast describes his thoughts on building it, his problems and obstacles, and the true spirit of discovery. We then close with some tweet readings from the G Manifesto.
A reader has just been laid off from his accounting job and is distressed. He is not sure what to do next, and is faced with a few difficult options. We discuss some general thoughts, and what principles to keep in mind.
We discuss two fables from Aesop that illustrate the point that we ourselves must take action, and not expect deities to come to our aid. When all is said and done, we must see ourselves as the architects of our own destinies.
"In war the greatest hope lies in the justice of one's cause." This is a line from the historian Appian (IV.12.97), who lived from about 95 A.D. to 165 A.D. We discuss what this line means, and how we can apply it to our own lives.
In this podcast we discuss the subject of having the faith and confidence to follow your creative muse, without looking for the approval or endorsement of others. The herd is always going to try to enforce conformity. Do your homework, do your research, and learn your subject: but at the critical jumping-off moment, you need to keep your own counsel and not let anyone undermine your instinct.
This podcast is in two parts. The first part deals with a good question I received today from a girl who emailed me about a relationship question. The second part is a reading of some G Manifesto tweets, just to have a few laughs. Listen to these amusing tweets, as I try to control my laughter.
Today was a difficult one to bear. We grieve, and feel dismay. I wanted to honor the spirit that created Notre Dame by reading some selections from Joinville's "Life of Saint Louis." He was the king of France known as Louis IX, and he lived from 1214 to 1270. The pious and selfless ethic he professed infused every stone, every brick, and every timber of Notre Dame. France, do not forget your dead king. Vive la France.
Journalist Raphael Rowe's new Netflix documentary series "Inside the World's Toughest Prisons" provides a harrowing look at incarceration in different countries. It also prompts a larger, deeper question. What philosophy is better: rehabilitation, or retribution? We look at the arguments for both sides.
In this podcast we discuss some life advice offered by the medieval Arabic political theorist and philosopher Ibn Zafar in his treatise, "Consolation of the Ruler Amid the Hostility of His Subjects."
In this podcast we answer some of the most common questions I've received about the G Manifesto. "Who is he?" "What does he do?" "Is he really doing the things he says he's doing?" We discuss some of the take-away lessons, and then go into some recent tweet readings.
In this podcast we talk about how the media deliberately tries to foment discord for its own self-serving purposes, and how this aligns with the purposes of the plutocracy. We compare this ethic to an interesting anecdote related by the Roman historian Priscus that occurred while he was traveling to the court of Attila the Hun in 448 A.D. Most people just want to be left alone to live their lives in peace, and this is the ideal we should seek in an era of perpetual outrage.
I read some of the recent tweets of the G Manifesto (Twitter: @MichaelPorfirio. It's all here: chimp strength, coconuts, weesh dudes, game meats, deep ocean swims, swooping mass beautiful girls, and the whole nine yards. What the hell use is anything if you can't enjoy life? Unplug from those negative dorks out there and visualize some real fun.
In this podcast we discuss how fragile and perishable knowledge and learning can be. We discuss the loss of Latin literature in the West, and the dissipation of the holdings of the Alexandrian library of the Ptolemies. It is clear that even a short period of neglect can result in the loss of a catastrophic quantity of irreplaceable knowledge. Every generation must safeguard and promote the legacy of the past, so that future epochs are not deprived of their cultural inheritance. It only took abou...
In this podcast, I read a chapter from my 2015 book "Pantheon." The chapter is entitled "Ice Odyssey: Douglas Mawson's Race Against Death."
I didn't really know what to call this podcast. It's a mix of a few different things. I wanted to talk about the movies I reviewed in the last post here, but I also wanted to toss out an interesting comment made by Samuel Johnson on trade and pleasure. And finally--to relax and unwind--I read a few recent tweets by the G Manifesto. It's important in life to mix things up. Idleness may be the Devil's servant, but so is monotony.
Men's clubs used to be places where like-minded individuals could congregate and discuss topics of mutual interest. As society has changed, this is becoming a rare tradition. To see just what a gentleman's club was like in London in 1783, we go to the original sources and read the club's by-laws. Nothing better illustrates how different that era was from today.
At what point does a man's dedication turn into obsession? And at what point can this obsession turn self-destructive? What role should judgment and restraint play in our lives? We discuss these issues, and offer the example of storm chaser Tim Samaras.
There are times when a leader must deliver a sharp rebuke to someone in order to get him or her back on the right track. It is a technique that has to be used carefully, as it is not appropriate for every situation. We relate an anecdote in which the holy man Athanasios of Athos used it effectively. We then turn to some irreverent fun, with a reading of some of the tweets of the G Manifesto (on Twitter: @MichaelPorfirio).
This podcast is the third and final lecture in a series of three on my translation of Cicero's "On Moral Ends." In this lecture, we focus on the fifth and final book of "On Moral Ends," which deals with the somewhat eclectic philosophy of Antiochus of Ascalon. The speakers in book V, Cicero and Marcus Piso, debate Antiochus's views and tussle over whether his conception of the Ultimate Good is better, or worse, than the Ultimate Good proposed by the Stoics and Epicureans. Can wisdom and virtue s...
