How Much News Should a Stoic Consume?

In this episode I wrestle with how much news a practicing Stoic should actually consume. I define a “news media diet,” weigh different source types (fellow citizens, establishment outlets, and subject-matter experts), and argue for a role-driven, locality-first approach that respects our limits of time, competence, and control. I also share my own daily routine and a practical way to stay informed without burning out or being dragged into performative outrage. Key takeaways from this episode include: — Total awareness is impossible and counter-productive; Stoic attention should be selective, role-guided, and locally anchored. — Evaluate sources by access and incentives: citizens (high emotion, low access), establishment media (access but market pressures), experts (highest fidelity, hardest to parse). — Prioritize local → national → global, expanding outward where issues bilaterally affect your locality and where you can meaningfully act. — Caring doesn’t require omniscience: when you lack competence or control, prefer modest, concrete goods (e.g., legitimate humanitarian donations) over performative debate. — Build a bounded routine (e.g., brief market/finance scan, a neutral daily digest, one or two focused newsletters, 30 minutes on local coverage) and avoid doom-scrolling. — Stoic aim: enough awareness to fulfill your roles justly—no more, no less. For an ad-free version of this podcast please visit https://stoicismpod.com/members For links to other valuable Stoic things, please visit https://links.stoicismpod.com If you'd like to provide feedback on this episode, or have question, you may do so as a member. Email sent by non-members will not be answered (though they may be read). This isn't punitive, I just cannot keep up. Limiting access to members reduces my workload. You're always invited to leave a comment on Spotify, member or not. Thanks for listening and have a great day! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices