The Daily Stoic

Adam Hochschild on Our Obligation to the Common Good pt. 2

Dec 3, 2022

In a captivating discussion, Adam Hochschild, esteemed author and historian, delves into his memoir and the impacts of his father-son relationship. He reflects on the moral obligations tied to social justice and the role of empathy in confronting global issues like climate change. Hochschild also grapples with the complexities of political beliefs, urging a deeper understanding of historical contexts tied to today's challenges. Through personal anecdotes, he advocates for compassion and the importance of historical lessons in fostering societal change.

55:51

Episode guests

Adam Hochschild

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

5min

Navigating Parental Expectations and Social Justice

13min

Building Global Empathy

5min

Navigating Contradictions: Understanding Beliefs and Relationships

5min

Navigating Political Disagreement and Historical Legacies

11min

Contextualizing Civil Rights Through American History

4min

Echoes of History: Political Tensions and Civil Liberties

14min

Finding Peace Through Reflection and Writing

3min

In the second of a two-part interview, Ryan speaks with one of the great non-fiction writers and historians of our time, Adam Hochschild, about his classic 1986 memoir Half The Way Home: A Memoir of Father and Son, the impetus for his latest book American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy's Forgotten Crisis, and the process that Adam went through to improve his relationship with his father, and more.

Adam Hochschild is an American author, journalist, historian, and lecturer. He has written 11 books, including the highly regarded and influential King Leopold’s Ghost and Bury the Chains. He has written for the New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, The Atlantic, Granta, the Times Literary Supplement, the New York Review of Books, the New York Times Magazine, and The Nation. He has received many awards for his writing, including the Duff Cooper Prize and the Mark Lynton History Award for King Leopold’s Ghost, and the California Book Awards Gold Medal and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History for Bury the Chains. Adam graduated from Harvard in 1963, and he holds honorary degrees from Curry College and the University of St. Andrews.