The Philosopher's Compass

Welcome to The Philosopher's Compass podcast. I'm your host, Meredith Alexander Kunz, author of The Stoic Mom blog and co-author of the book Beyond Stoicism and Live Like a Philosopher. What does it actually look like to raise kids with philosophical values — not just as a theory, but as a daily practice? In this episode, I talk with someone who has been thinking about this alongside me for 25 years: my husband, Bob Kunz. Our conversation is the culmination of a quarter century of long talks about life, meaning, and what it takes to raise kids with real character. This episode is personal! Bob is a chief architect by profession and a deep thinker by inclination. He plays poker occasionally with colleagues and local friends — and he brings that same probabilistic thinking to parenting, describing himself as “the poker dad.” One of his key ideas: Teach your kids to read the odds, make the best call with what they have, and know how to get back up after a bad hand. We talk about the Stoic reserve clause and why it changes how you approach parenting goals. We discuss risk. We get into what emotionally engaged fatherhood actually looks like, and why failure isn’t something to protect your kids from — it’s something to teach them to navigate. And we explore how stories, from Star Wars to Marcus Aurelius, shape the moral imagination of a child. Hope you enjoy this episode!

I'm your host, Meredith Alexander Kunz, author of The Stoic Mom Substack and co-author of Beyond Stoicism and Live Like a Philosopher. In this episode of The Philosopher's Compass podcast, I spoke with Commander William C. Spears, a submarine warfare officer and author of the book Stoicism as a Warrior Philosophy (https://a.co/d/07Ikuuo7). We explored the intersection of Stoicism and military life, the influence of James Stockdale, and how Stoicism can be applied in daily life, parenting, and leadership. The conversation takes a look at why Stoicism is popular in the military, and the importance of community and human connection. William shared insights on how Stoicism has shaped his life and leadership style, including his parenting. In addition to his book, you can find William's recent talk for Conversations with Modern Stoicism, "The Stoic Knife," here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHV8EKV3wLA Thanks for listening! Check out The Stoic Mom Substack: https://thestoicmom.substack.com/My book: Beyond Stoicism https://theexperimentpublishing.com/catalogs/winter-2025/beyond-stoicism/

Join me for a new episode of The Philosopher's Compass! I'm your host, Meredith Alexander Kunz, and this time I spoke with Kasey Pierce. A writer/editor from the Metro Detroit area. Kasey is the co-author of The Stoicism Workbook: How the Wisdom of Socrates Can Help You Build Resilience and Overcome Anything Life Throws at You and the forthcoming The Rescuer Trap: A Guide to Overcoming Codependency, Compulsive Helping in Relationships, and People-Pleasing (New Harbinger). She is also the editor of Tim LeBon’s 365 Ways to Be More Stoic. In our conversation, we covered the pitfalls of being a people pleaser, and how cognitive behavioral approaches that stem from Stoic concepts can help with the tendency to "rescue" folks. Kasey shared her insights on finding a path in Stoicism and with Stoic mentors. She is a wise soul, and a wise mom too! If you'd like to learn more about the how Stoic ideas can make a difference in parenting, follow my work at The Stoic Mom Substack. I also invite you to check out my book Beyond Stoicism, co-authored with Massimo Pigliucci and Gregory Lopez (in the UK: Live Like a Philosopher) to learn more about 13 schools of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy. Thanks for listening!

Join me for this episode of The Philosopher's Compass podcast, featuring a my conversation with Leonidas Konstantakos! If you're interested in ancient Greek history - including the history and culture of Sparta - and if you're curious to learn more about the lives of the philosophers who launched ancient Stoicism, don't miss this one!Leonidas is an international relations theorist specializing in Stoicism and just war theory. He's also a military veteran who who recalls reading Xenophon's histories during his deployment in Iraq. Leonidas teaches in both the philosophy and international relations departments at Florida International University, the philosophy department at Miami Dade College, and teaches Ancient Civilizations and Debate at Archimedean Schools. He is the co-author of Being Better: Stoicism for a World Worth Living In and is currently working on a new book on Stoicism and justice in conflict.Leonidas and I met at last month's Stoicon event, where we spoke on the same panel about practical applications of Stoicism in civic engagement today. We learned that we both cared deeply about education and about bringing philosophy down from the heavens into our world (to paraphrase Socrates) I truly enjoyed this conversation and hope you will too!You can follow my work on The Stoic Mom Substack and check out my book, Beyond Stoicism (North America) Live Like a Philosopher (UK)

This episode of The Philosopher's Compass podcast features a conversation with Benny Voncken, the co-founder of Via Stoica and the Via Stoica Podcast. His organization offers Stoic life coaching, corporate training, motivational speaking, and workshops to help people live better lives by applying a philosophy of life. Benny and I have met online and this summer, in Athens, at my seminar co-taught with Massimo Pigliucci, focused on our book Beyond Stoicism / Live Like a Philosopher. Benny and I talked about Stoicism (of course!), existentialism, coaching, and what's really important in life. Thanks for listening! You can find Benny at https://viastoica.com/benny-voncken or YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ViaStoicaCheck out my Substack: https://thestoicmom.substack.com/

Welcome to The Philosopher’s Compass podcast!I’m your host, Meredith Alexander Kunz. I’m the creator of The Stoic Mom Substack, helping parents and kids benefit from Stoic philosophy, and the co-author of the books Beyond Stoicism, and Live Like a Philosopher. I launched this podcast to focus on how people are using practical philosophy, especially Stoicism, in their everyday lives, and how they turn to philosophical thinking to find purpose and meaning.In this episode my guest is Donald J. Robertson. Donald is a psychotherapist and author, and one of the founders of the Modern Stoicism nonprofit. He’s also the founder and president of the Plato’s Academy Centre in Athens. He is the Author of Stoicism and the Art of Happiness, How to Think Like a Roman Emperor, Verissimus: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius, and How to Think Like Socrates. In addition, Donald is the creator of numerous courses,. He was the first person I interviewed for The Stoic Mom blog, back in 2017! And I learned so much from him about anger, resilience, and perfectionism and Stoicism, and more. Every time I speak with him or listen to his interviews, I learn so much - and I think you will too! Follow my Substack at: https://thestoicmom.substack.com/

Welcome to the first episode of The Philosopher's Compass podcast, with your host Meredith Alexander Kunz (creator of The Stoic Mom Substack and co-author of Beyond Stoicism and Live Like a Philosopher)! Thanks for joining me in this exploration of meaning and purpose through practical philosophy. In this episode, I talked with philosophical writer Brittany Polat, co-author of Stoic Ethics: The Basics and Journal Like a Stoic, to explore the benefits of applying Stoicism in everyday life. Brittany and I are both mothers and independent writers/scholars who care about living by our philosophy - which has helped create real change in how we think about our actions and choices. This wide-ranging discussion touched on what we, as 21st century people, tend to misunderstand about Stoic philosophy and ancient philosophy in general, and about Brittany's interest in Confucianism. We also delved into the sense of purpose that Brittany has gained from pursuing practical philosophy, and the work we've done to build our own life's purpose statements. Hope you'll enjoy this free-flowing conversation with one of our great modern Stoics!Edited by Shannon Kunz