Anderson’s Journey, Philosophy, Stoicism For a Better Life (1h6m) – Episode 445

Episode 445 welcomes Anderson Silver to the podcast to chat with Skyler on the following topics: the French language in Canada; the cultural diversity of Montreal; his journey to self-reeducation; publishing 3 books on Stoicism; how Stoicism saved his life; our physical needs versus our mental and spiritual needs; how we each have a spirit, or soul; Stoicism and parenting; the prevalence of unidentified philosophy, or people learning and choosing the wiser course of action; human capacity for good and evil; striving toward clarity in dire situations; emotions make for bad advisors; Vulcanism versus Stoicism and Virtue Ethics; Stoic insight on New Year’s resolutions; and more.

Patrick’s Journey, Harassing People, & Peaceful Parenting University (51m) – Episode 439

Episode 439 welcomes Patrick Smith to the podcast to chat with Skyler on the following topics: growing up in the Dallas area, his Corvette and run-ins with cops; training to be a voluntary police officer in order to keep the cops off his back, and learning on ride-alongs that cops mostly just harass peaceful people all day long; studying the American founding fathers to answer the question of authority; delving deeper into Judge Napolitano and (old) Stefan Molyneux; his Not Governor campaign; creating Peaceful Parenting University; why communism even at the home/family level doesn’t work; why child dependency on their parents creates a positive obligation; spanking as a protective use of force; Walter Block’s evictionism theory of abortion; his search for practical peaceful parenting tools; was homeschooled for a year as a youth and always wanted that for his own kids; how he “unschooled” himself after hours as a youth; his unique experiences of raising separate sets of kids both traditionally and peacefully; responding to tantrums; how authoritarian parenting creates the expectation of authoritarianism; and more.

The Truly Educated & This is The Way (24m) – Episode 048

Episode 048 looks at two Stoic topics: the first from Epictetus who wrote, “The beautiful and good person neither fights with anyone nor, as much as they are able, permits others to fight . . . this is the meaning of getting an education—learning what is your own affair and what is not. If a person carries themselves so, where is there any room for fighting?”; and the second from artwork by mjhiblenart involving a character from The Mandalorian, a television series on Disney+. The episode begins with sad news about Carl Watner (RIP), the person who introduced Skyler to Stoicism.

Emily’s Journey, Schooling Deficiencies, Human Conation, & Consulting Business (1h1m) – Episode 425

Episode 424 welcomes Emily Melious to the podcast to chat with Skyler on the following topics: why school only works for 20% of kids, and leaves out the rest; the trouble that gifted kids have in school; learning only how to do things according to someone’s “correct” way and the limits this places on kids; schooling versus human nature and creativity; the importance of school grades in the business world; the trilogy of mind: cognition (skills/knowledge), affection (emotions/motivations/personality), and conation (volition/desire); Kolbe Corpe and the way they assess a person’s trilogy of mind; her history learning about herself and advocating for her strengths personally and professionally; why she’s always focused on her capabilities instead of her immutable characteristics like gender; the limits on usefulness of personality tests; the challenges that 2020 has brought to her consulting business LaunchConsulting.io; and more.

Fried Chicken in a Hardware Store

Or, horror fiction on a libertarian website, if you prefer (see my bio below). Most of us have heard this expression, but for the uninitiated, it means attempting to market a product, service, or idea to the wrong or inappropriate audience or demographic. Thing is, I recall a hardware store in New Hampshire about 20 years ago that did sell fried chicken – and it was delicious.

Lauren’s Journey, Raising Kids to Understand Consent (1h4m) – Episode 416

Episode 416 welcomes Lauren Carlson to the podcast to chat with Skyler on the following topics: growing up in a small town and later moving to a bigger city; kids and coronavirus normalization; their respective stories from 9/11; her books on consent for kids, parents, and educators; when parents force their children to show affections to others; the practice of forced feeding of children; how humanity has treated children; the roots of human violence in childhood trauma; children and learning to feel and deal with big emotions; kids taking risks and getting hurt; respecting children saying “No!”; and more.