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The Roman city of Pompeii was buried in ash in 79 AD, but a walk through its excavated streets reveals a world that looks remarkably familiar. People were buying fancy real estate to impress others, chasing trends, writing their names on walls, and waiting in line at street vendors. As the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius observed in a haunting passage about the age of the emperor Vespasian, people were doing the exact same things they always do: marrying, raising children, getting sick, dying, waging war, throwing parties, doing business, farming, flattering, boasting, and plotting. The haunting part of that passage is its final line: “And that life they led is nowhere to be found.” This episode of the Daily Stoic Podcast uses that ancient observation as a launching point for a modern argument: the key to a productive, happy life is to drastically limit your consumption of news.
The Stoic Antidote to the 24/7 News Cycle
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What you'll learn
- 1 Main Outline
- 2 (00:00) **Opening: The Timelessness of Human Behavior** - Ryan introduces the episode's central question "Where does it get you?" by reflecting on the unchanging nature of human activity across millennia.
- 3 (01:58) **Marcus's Final Lesson on Impermanence** - Ryan draws the Stoic conclusion about surveying other eras to see how quickly everything and everyone decomposes.
- 4 (02:27) **Personal Reflection and Wayfair Ad** - Ryan shares a Sunday spent redecorating his home for the upcoming school year, then transitions into a sponsored segment.
- 5 (03:52) **Indeed Sponsored Segment** - Ryan discusses the importance of hiring quality candidates for small businesses.
- 6 (05:09) **Three Stoic Strategies for Keeping News in Check** - Ryan introduces the week's Daily Stoic Journal entry on managing the modern information barrage.
- 7 (06:17) **Three Key Quotes from Marcus and Epictetus** - Ryan reads the specific passages guiding this week's reflection.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
People have been doing the same things for as long as there have been people.
📕 Turn off the news and read these books instead:
Trust Me I’m Lying by Ryan Holiday
Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman
The Image by Daniel Boorstin
The Brass Check by Upton Sinclair
📚 Books Mentioned: The Daily Stoic Journal: 366 Days of Writing and Reflection on The Art of Living by Ryan Holiday
🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/
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