The Strong Stoic Podcast
The Strong Stoic Podcast is a raw, honest, and unapologetically deep podcast about philosophy and self-improvement. Join your host, Brandon Tumblin, as he breaks down a wide variety of complex and difficult topics while bringing together different philosophies, sciences, and perspectives.
Episodes
402 episodes
#401 - Multitasking Is Ruining Your Life (The Stoics Warned Us)
Our culture glorifies multitasking—but the Stoics would call it a mistake.In this episode of The Strong Stoic Podcast, we explore why doing more at once often means experiencing less. Drawing on Marcus Aurelius and Seneca, we ex...
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Episode 401
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16:48
#400 - Internal vs External Regulation — And When Reflection Becomes a Trap
Not everyone regulates themselves the same way.Some people measure their actions by character. Others measure by consequences. In this episode, we explore the difference between internal and external regulation, why Stoics tend to...
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Episode 400
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19:11
#399 - Be Dangerous, But Leave Room for the Human
Most leadership failures don’t come from incompetence.They come from imbalance.Too much edge and people comply—but stop trusting you.Too much kindness and standards quietly collapse.Real leadership lives in the tensi...
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Episode 399
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19:58
#398 - Stoic Resilience: You're Stronger Than You Think | With Kyle Sarka
In this episode, Brandon sits down with an educator and school principal, Kyle Sarka, to explore Stoic resilience—not as brute toughness, but as endurance guided by wisdom.The conversation moves fluidly between Stoic p...
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Episode 398
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1:27:44
#397 - Why Does Progress Often Feel Like Failure?
In this episode of The Strong Stoic, I explore a Stoic paradox: the one making the most progress often feels it the least.Drawing from Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and real-world examples from leadership, fitness, and pe...
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Episode 397
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19:18
#396 - Life Isn’t Fair — And That’s the Point
Life isn’t fair — and Stoicism never said it would be.In this episode, we explore what it actually means to live with integrity in a world that doesn’t reward effort, honesty, or discipline in predictable ways. We talk about the differen...
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Episode 396
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20:52
#395 - Living Between Reaction and Intention
We all try to live with intention—but life keeps interrupting us.In this episode, I explore the tension between daily reactivity and long-term vision through a Stoic lens. Why do we keep returning to Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus...
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Episode 395
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18:33
#394 - The Stoic Warrior's Restless Night
Imposter syndrome doesn’t mean you’re weak.It often means you’re growing.In this episode of The Strong Stoic Podcast, I explore imposter syndrome through a Stoic lens—why it shows up during periods of growth...
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Episode 394
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15:42
#393 - Strong at the Broken Places: How Stoics Rebuild After Breaking
In this episode, Brandon explores Hemingway’s famous line: “The world breaks everyone.”But instead of treating breaking as failure, we look at it through the Stoic lens—as a natural part of being human, and the raw material for ...
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Episode 393
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21:02
#392 - Diogenes the Dog: Stress-Testing Stoicism with Inger Kuin
In this episode of The Strong Stoic, I’m joined by classicist and author Inger Kuin to dive deep into the wild, hilarious, and surprisingly practical life of Diogenes—the original Cynic and, in many ways, the “stress test...
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Episode 392
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48:23
#391 - The Path to Personal Growth
In this episode, Brandon discusses the journey of personal growth and self-improvement, emphasizing the importance of learning from past experiences and embracing change. He highlights how incremental improvements can lead to greater wisdom and...
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Episode 391
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15:44
#390 - Kai Whiting on Illness, Identity, and Practicing Stoicism When Life Collapses
After nearly two years away from the Stoic world, author and researcher Kai Whiting returns to share—candidly—what happened: sudden metabolic illness, becoming a father, career upheaval, a public rift, and rebuilding meaning from first p...
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Episode 390
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1:11:36
#389 - The Stoic Heart of Star Wars
The Jedi sought to control their emotions. Luke Skywalker mastered them through compassion. In this episode, I explore how Star Wars reflects the core tension in Stoicism — the balance between discipline and humanity. We’ll ex...
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Episode 389
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21:39
#388 - Confronting Darkness: A Stoic Look at Ed Gein
We often think of monsters as creatures hiding under our beds. But real monsters walk among us — and sometimes, they are born of sickness, isolation, and the collapse of reason.In this episode, Brandon explores the story of Ed Gein
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Episode 388
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21:40
#387 - Unfinished Sentences: On Dying, Fear, and Truth
An 18-year-old boy lies dying. When asked if he’s afraid, he simply says, “Yeah.”In this episode, I explore what that single word reveals about mortality, honesty, and the limits of Stoicism. From family stories of loss to Christopher Hi...
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Episode 387
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21:12
#386 - Don't Trade Your Problems for Other Problems
In this episode, I explore the idea that life is not about escaping problems but learning how to face them. We often think the grass is greener on the other side—that a new job, relationship, or lifestyle will free us from the struggles we face...
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Episode 386
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18:21
#385 - Red Pill vs. Stoicism: Facts, Values, and Virtue in Relationships
In this episode, I revisit my recent conversation with Tim Ash on evolutionary psychology and take a deeper dive into its most cited facts. From sex differences in mate preferences to jealousy, pair bonding, and courtship rituals, these scienti...
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Episode 385
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27:13
#384 - Travel, Stoicism, and the Cosmopolis
In this episode of The Strong Stoic Podcast, I share reflections from my recent two-week trip to Vietnam—my first time in Asia. Travel today is often portrayed as a flex on social media, but beneath the highlight reels lies a deeper op...
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Episode 384
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13:55
#383 - Epictetus on Wealth and Detachment
In this episode, I explore Epictetus’ challenge: Can you gain wealth and possessions without losing your dignity, self-respect, and character? Drawing from Enchiridion 24, I unpack the Stoic idea of detachment—why posses...
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Episode 383
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14:33
#382 - Tim Ash: Primal Dating & Evolutionary Psychology
Dating has never been more complicated. Between the rise of online apps, shifting cultural expectations, and the pull of red pill and feminist extremes, many people are left frustrated—or giving up altogether.In this episode, I sit down...
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Episode 382
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1:08:59
#381 - The World's Not Out to Get You
In this episode, I dive deep into one of Epictetus’s striking passages: “As a target is not set up for the archer to miss it, so there is no intrinsic evil that exists in the world.” At first glance, it’s an odd way to phrase things...
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Episode 381
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18:46
#380 - The Power to Change with Chuck Chakrapani
In this episode of The Strong Stoic Podcast, I sit down once again with Chuck Chakrapani, author of The Power to Change: Stoic Strategies to Transform Your Life. Chuck shares practical wisdom on how Stoicism can be appli...
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Episode 380
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32:02
#379 - Justice Without a Gavel: Living Fairness the Stoic Way
From the outside, my decision at work didn’t make much sense — it cost more time, more money, and even confused a few people. But it was the right call for the people involved. That’s justice in the Stoic sense — not just what’s legal, not just...
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Episode 379
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16:43
#378 - Recovery Is Not a Weakness — It’s the Foundation of Strength
In this episode, I dive into something I’ve recently experienced firsthand—what some might call overtraining, but what I’ve come to see as something deeper. Yes, I was pushing hard in the gym, but I wasn’t just tired—I had adapted so well to th...
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Episode 378
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14:27
#377 - Joshua W. Bertolotti | Cultivating Calm: Stoicism, Self-Awareness, and Emotional Presence
In this episode, I’m joined by longtime friend and fellow philosopher Joshua Bertolotti—writer, father, and host of Dying Every Day. We dive into what it really means to know yourself, why emotional presence matters more...
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Episode 377
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26:15
