How Much News Should a Stoic Consume?

17 snips

Oct 8, 2025

Delve into the delicate balance of news consumption for Stoics. Explore the concept of a 'news media diet' and how to effectively evaluate sources. Discover the pitfalls of relying on fellow citizens and the complexities of establishment media. Embrace a locality-first approach, focusing on where you can actually make a difference. Learn practical tips to build a bounded news routine without succumbing to doom-scrolling and performative outrage. Immerse yourself in the Stoic aim: enough awareness to fulfill your roles justly.

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INSIGHT

Awareness Is A Stoic Duty

Stoics must stay aware of world events to serve their roles and practice moral knowledge.
Total withdrawal from social awareness contradicts Stoic obligations to family and community.

ANECDOTE

Topic Sponsored By A Marriage Observation

The episode topic came from Tanner's wife, who thinks he consumes too much news.
He plans to answer how much time a Stoic should spend on news and explore nuanced limits.

INSIGHT

Three News Source Categories

News sources fall into three useful categories: fellow citizens, establishment media, and subject-matter experts.
Each category has different access, incentives, and typical reliability.

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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.

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