The Daily Stoic – BONUS | Ryan Holiday Curates a Reading List for Nick Thompson

Date: November 6, 2025
Host: Ryan Holiday
Guests: Literary colleagues, historians, authors

Episode Overview

In this special bonus episode of The Daily Stoic, Ryan Holiday—along with a few book-loving colleagues and guests—curates an eclectic reading list for Nick Thompson. The discussion dives deep into powerful works of history, philosophy, memoir, and running, weaving in their insights on ethics, politics, and the role of Stoicism. The tone is casual, warm, and intellectually curious, peppered with personal anecdotes and bookish banter. Stoic themes appear throughout as Ryan and his peers reflect on how great books connect to virtue, endurance, and the examined life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Survival Stories

• (02:38–03:25)
  • Recommending a harrowing true story of a couple stranded at sea after their boat is sunk by a whale:
    • "This couple...decides to go on a sailing trip from London to New Zealand, and then literally in the middle of it...a whale jumps and sinks the boat...they spent like six weeks...in a raft floating in the ocean, and they're catching sharks and turtles. It's amazing."
      — [Historian or Author, 02:38]
  • The story is impactful because much of their journey was chronicled in a diary.

2. Ethics & Human Nature in Extreme Circumstances

• The Berlin Tunnel Project
  • (03:33–04:49)
    • CBS funded a tunnel to help people escape East Berlin, filming the process (at great risk).
    • "You're paying them to commit, like, an international crime that could bring about a nuclear war...But the crazy thing too, is that it also means that the whole process is filmed as it's happening."
      — [Historian or Author, 04:18]
    • Raises ethical questions about the complicity and risks of journalism in political events.

3. Stoic Dilemmas: Seneca in Nero’s Court

• Navigating Power & Responsibility
  • (05:03–06:20)
    • Seneca's narrative: an “adult in the room” or an enabler?
    • "On the one hand, you're constraining them by taking papers off their desk...And then you're also enabling and emboldening them to do the horrible things that they're doing."
      — [Historian or Author, 05:56]
    • Draws parallels to modern examples (e.g., advisors in the Reagan administration).
    • Discussion also touches on the similar arc of Plato and his attempts to influence tyrants.

4. Biographies, Memoirs & Writers’ Lives

• (06:42–09:26)
  • Praise for books about Churchill, Robert Wright, and the dynamic between fathers and sons (including Kafka’s Letter to the Father as a parenting text).
  • "My favorite part of the Kafka thing is that he writes the letter, [gives] it to his mom to give to the [dad]...and then you go, oh, it's a dynamic. It's not just like you have one parent."
    — [Historian or Author, 07:44]
  • Mention of “ghostwriters” who elevate memoirs, highlighting projects like Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog and Prince Harry’s Spare.

5. Running Books: Where Endurance Meets Philosophy

• Scarcity and Standouts in Running Literature
  • (08:35–13:32)
    • Discussion about Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (some find it bland, some find it illuminating).
      • "I don't love his running book...It's a little bland. It's a little too self-involved."
        — [Book Editor or Literary Colleague, 10:41]
    • Endorsements for “Born to Run” (though the panelists lampoon the barefoot trend it spawned), Alex Hutchinson’s Endure, Dean Karnazes’ running stories, and the Greek roots of marathon running.
    • "There's not really that many great running books...Weirdly, very few."
      — [Historian or Author, 13:30]
    • Exploring the link between writing and running as endurance practices:
      • "That's a nice thing in Murakami's book. His lines about what he's learned about writing and how it ties into what he's learned from running. That I like."
        — [Book Editor, 13:55]

6. Medical History & Modern Crisis

• (16:37–17:17)
  • Applauding John Green's book on tuberculosis and its link to contemporary public health complacency:
    • "We could live in a world where no one gets tuberculosis. We just...choose not to."
      — [Historian or Author, 16:48]
  • Comparison to the COVID-19 pandemic.

7. Memoir, Loss, and Unexpected Great Books

• (17:18–19:14)
  • Intense praise for moving memoirs about death and family, such as Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther and works by the lead singer of The Airborne Toxic Event.
  • Reflection on how trauma shapes writing and surprising literary depth in unexpected places.

8. New & Noteworthy Biographies

• (21:12–28:42)
  • Ryan and his guest discuss a biography-in-progress about James Stockdale, stoic philosopher and Vietnam POW, who witnessed the Gulf of Tonkin incident.
    • "He has this terrible secret...that not only is it an explosive secret, but it would make you doubt whether you should be loyal to the country that you are currently giving your life to, not betray."
      — [Historian or Author, 26:04]
  • Stockdale’s intellectual and political arc is explored as a lived example of Stoicism in adversity.

9. History and Publication Legacies

• (29:00–30:45)
  • Touch on the complicated legacies of major publications—The Atlantic included both noble and shameful chapters.
  • "It's nice to have a history that you can be proud of as a publication...We published some real shitty people.”
    — [Book Editor or Literary Colleague, 29:30]
  • Celebrating writers who embodied action and engagement, from Civil War heroes to those who championed marginalized voices (e.g., the Atlantic’s role in publishing Emily Dickinson).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "You can't write without reading." — [Historian or Author, 30:55]
• "Every detour, every obstacle is an opportunity. But it's helpful if you can handle the difficulty inherent in that, if you've got the resilience and the right companion to make it wherever the road takes you." — [Ryan Holiday, 15:11]
• "Studying their lives made me smarter every day. Just like understanding how they made choices and what they did." — [Book Editor or Literary Colleague, 28:51]

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Content | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------| | 02:38 | Introduction to the reading list, survival narratives | | 03:33 | Ethical dilemmas: The Berlin Tunnel | | 05:03 | Seneca, power, and the perils of influence | | 08:35 | Running literature and its connection to philosophy | | 13:32 | The scarcity of great running books | | 16:37 | John Green’s book on tuberculosis and public health | | 17:41 | Memoirs of loss and resilience | | 21:12 | Joan Didion’s unpublished therapy notes | | 23:12 | Stockdale biography and Stoicism under pressure | | 29:00 | The Atlantic's historical legacy | | 30:55 | Reflections on reading and writing |

Tone & Style

The conversation is lively, candid, and steeped in literary enthusiasm—equal parts introspective and humorous. The speakers blend personal connections, deep literary critique, and the perennial relevance of Stoic wisdom, making the episode an engaging literary salon for the modern stoic.

Takeaways

• Great books—biographies, memoirs, history, and running literature—can illuminate timeless stoic themes of endurance, responsibility, and ethical dilemmas.
• Reading deeply and widely is foundational for both living and writing well.
• Stoicism remains relevant in guiding individual and societal choices, from navigating corrupt power to overcoming personal trials.

For a regularly updated and thoughtfully curated reading list from Ryan Holiday, sign up at ryanholiday.net/readinglist.