The Daily Stoic - How You Can Change the World

Episode Date: September 4, 2020

"It’s increasingly hard to deny that we’re facing indisputably massive problems with ever growing threats to planetary health. Scientists, conservationists, ecologists, and environmentalists have been ringing the alarm on global warming, mass extinction, deforestation, and pollution for decades. At this point, the argument is no longer about whether there is anything to be alarmed about, but rather how alarmed we should be. We’re a long way from what the Stoics would have wanted—from their vision of sympatheia or from Seneca's line, Mundus ipse est ingens deorum omnium templum (The world itself is a huge temple of all the gods)."Ryan describes recent insights that lend some hope to the climate fight in today's Daily Stoic Podcast.***If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps with our visibility, and the more people listen to the podcast, the more we can invest into it and make it even better.Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/signupFollow @DailyStoic:Twitter: https://twitter.com/dailystoicInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailystoic/Facebook: http://facebook.com/dailystoicYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/dailystoicSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stood Podcast early and add free on Amazon Music. Download the app today. Hi, I'm David Brown, the host of Wondery's podcast business wars. And in our new season, Walmart must fight off target. The new discounter that's both savvy and fashion forward. Listen to business wars on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. music or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to the Daily Stoic. For each day we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living good life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2000 year old philosophy that has guided some of history's

greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at dailystowach.com. How you can change the world. It's increasingly hard to deny that we're facing massive problems with ever-growing threats to our planetary health. Scientists, conservationists, colleges, and environmentalists have been ringing the alarm on global warming, mass extinction, deforestation, and pollution for decades.

At this point, the argument is no longer about whether there is anything to be alarmed about, but simply how alarmed we should be. We're a long way from what the Stoics would have wanted, from their vision of sympathy, or from Senaqa's line, that the world itself is a huge temple of all the gods. There is good news, though. Those same scientists also agree that we can still fight it. The Stoicism and sustainability lecture and researcher, Kai Wittnings' work, centers around applying ancient wisdom to these challenges, how the life well-lived translates into something bigger than our own personal endeavors. After all, how easy is it to enjoy a life worth living if our water is contaminated?

Our air is polluted and our last remaining green spaces lie over landfill. But with the enormity and complexity of these issues, it's easy to feel like there's nothing we can individually do to make a difference. In our interview with Kai, we asked if he had any recommendations for things people can do in their daily lives that may have more impact than one might think. He said that in his lectures on critical thinking, he asked students, how can you change the world? After they debate the answer, he tells them, how about don't buy crap you don't need? As he explained, so many of us get fooled by marketing and tricked into desiring things we don't need and won't

make us happy. Once we understand that progressing in the good life is progressing in the four virtues and not in keeping up with the Joneses, we massively reduce our waste. We stop fuel and needless production. This change of attitude alone cuts your ecological carbon water and material footprint. It also saves your efforts and resources, including time, because you don't have to work so hard for things that you won't use, don't really want. It's brilliant. Most of what we say and do is not essential, Marcus Aurelius reminds us, if you can eliminate it, you'll have more time and more tranquility. Ask yourself at every moment is this necessary. Also brilliant. This Marcus Aurelius

said was the simple recipe for personal improvement and happiness. It also may be the recipe for change in the world. And you can check out our interview with Kai about climate change and stoicism and ecological sustainability at dailystoke.com. If you like the podcast that we do here and you want to get it via email every morning, you can sign up at dailystoch.com slash email. Hey, prime members, you can listen to the daily Stoch early and add free on Amazon music. Download the Amazon music app today, or you can listen early and add free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts. Celebrity feuds are high stakes.

You never know if you're just gonna end up on page six or Du Moir or in court. I'm Matt Bellesai. And I'm Sydney Battle, and we're the host of Wondery's new podcast, Dis and Tell, where each episode we unpack a different iconic celebrity feud from the buildup, why it happened, and the repercussions.

What does our obsession with these feuds say about us? The first season is packed with some pretty messy pop culture drama, but none is drawn out in personal as Brittany and Jamie Lynn Spears. When Brittany's fans formed the free Brittany movement dedicated to fraying her from the infamous conservatorship, Jamie Lynn's lack of public support, it angered some fans. A lot of them.

It's a story of two young women who had their choices taken away from them by their controlling parents, but took their anger out on each other. And it's about a movement to save a superstar, which set its sights upon anyone who failed to fight for Brittany. wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music or the Wondering app.