In this episode Simon Drew speaks to Michael Tremblay (PhD) - philosopher and contributor to the Stoa Meditation app. Website: https://www.tremblaymichael.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/_MikeTremblay Academia: https://www.queensu.ca/philosophy/people/michael-tremblay Stoa Meditation App: https://stoameditation.com/ To join The Walled Garden community, use the promo code PRACTICALSTOIC to get over 20% off he caretaker membership. Go to thewalledgarden.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join the Walled Garden community at thewalledgarden.com. Use the promotional code PRACTICALSTOIC to get a special discount on a Caretaker membership for the first 100 members. In this episode, Simon speaks with Prof. Joseph Siracusa about the potential threat of a war with China. Prof. Joseph Siracusa is the professor of Political History and International Diplomacy at Curtin University. Born and raised in Chicago and a long time resident of Australia, Joseph studied at the University of Denver and the University of Vienna and received his PhD at the University of Colorado (Boulder). He has worked at Merrill Lynch in Boston and New York; the University of Queensland; and for three years served as a senior visiting fellow in the Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance at Griffith University. He has authored and co-authored 310 refereed publications including 75 books, monographs and chapters, 115 journal articles/entries and scholarly reviews, and 120 refereed proceedings. His publications include the following: America and the Cold War, 1941-1991: A Realist interpretation, 2 volumes (Praeger, 2010) Nuclear Weapons: A Very Short Introduction (Second edition, Oxford University Press, 2015) The Death Penalty and U.S. Diplomacy (Rowman & Littlefield, 2013) A Global History of the Nuclear Arms Race, 2 volumes (Praeger, 2013) Language of Terror: How Neuroscience Influences Political Speech in the United States (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015) Diplomatic History: A Very Short Introduction, to be published by Oxford University Press, in early 2021 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this last episode of our Inspiration Sessions, we hear from another contributor Sharon Lebell. Sharon is the author of "The Art of Living: The Classic Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness" as well as an accomplished musician. Sharon shares her thoughts on what she envisions The Walled Garden being--a place of refuge where we can explore new ideas, find peace and meaning in our lives, and try out the experiment of forging deep authentic connections with different people within the digital space. Sharon also shares a spontaneous interlude on her one of a kind instrument, and discusses how she hopes that The Walled Garden can be a place where people can experience what she calls "The Big Amazing".  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode Simon Drew introduces his first published book, The Poet & The Sage, which is now available for pre-order at thewalledgarden.store/products/copy-of-the-poet-the-sage.  About the book: The Poet & The Sage is an esoteric work of deep symbolism and archetypal metaphor. Delivered through the time-tested language of poetry and prose, The Poet & The Sage merges the worlds of philosophy, theology, mysticism, art, mythology, and narrative to convey deep truths about human nature, and about our common aim of being reunited with that which is most divine about us. The careful student will do well not to simply read this book, but to sit with it, and to allow the ideas therein to play gracefully within the heights and depths of their soul. The Poet & The Sage can be purchased in a hardcover format via thewalledgarden.store/products/copy-of-the-poet-the-sage, or can be read online by becoming a member at thewalledgarden.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the third episode of our Inspiration Sessions we hear from Kai Whiting. Kai is the author of "Being Better: Stoicism for a World Worth Living in", a postdoctoral researcher in Stoicism and sustainability, and a current contributor the The Walled Garden. Kai gives an example of what he seeks to offer to The Walled Garden community through a dialiectic discussion on a variety of claims that are made among people today, in regards to the Stoic belief that "virtue is the only good", whether there exists a need for the Stoic God, and what is driving the polarization of beliefs and ideologies within modern society. Through this discussion Kai demonstrates the type of debate and introspection he will be bringing to the community and the different beliefs we hold, and how this can assist us to better aim ourselves toward virtue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join the Walled Garden community at thewalledgarden.com. Use the promotional code PRACTICALSTOIC to get a special discount on a Caretaker membership for the first 100 members.  In this episode, Simon speaks with Prof. Joseph Siracusa about the history and event of 911. Prof. Joseph Siracusa is the professor of Political History and International Diplomacy at Curtin University. Born and raised in Chicago and a long time resident of Australia, Joseph studied at the University of Denver and the University of Vienna and received his PhD at the University of Colorado (Boulder). He has worked at Merrill Lynch in Boston and New York; the University of Queensland; and for three years served as a senior visiting fellow in the Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance at Griffith University. He has authored and co-authored 310 refereed publications including 75 books, monographs and chapters, 115 journal articles/entries and scholarly reviews, and 120 refereed proceedings. His publications include the following: America and the Cold War, 1941-1991: A Realist interpretation, 2 volumes (Praeger, 2010) Nuclear Weapons: A Very Short Introduction (Second edition, Oxford University Press, 2015) The Death Penalty and U.S. Diplomacy (Rowman & Littlefield, 2013) A Global History of the Nuclear Arms Race, 2 volumes (Praeger, 2013) Language of Terror: How Neuroscience Influences Political Speech in the United States (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015) Diplomatic History: A Very Short Introduction, to be published by Oxford University Press, in early 2021 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Continuing our series on our vision for The Walled Garden, this week we hear from another contributor, Jake Bush. Jake shares his experiences growing up in rural Idaho and how spending time in nature contributed toward his philosophies on life. He discusses growing up in, and subsequently separating from the Mormon faith, traveling the world and learning of diverse belief systems and ways of living, and his thoughts on Humanism and how The Walled Garden could help instill a larger sense of unity among diverse members of one human family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is the first of what will be four inspiration sessions within The Walled Garden. These sessions are designed to allow each contributing founder of The Walled Garden (Simon Drew, Sharon Lebell, Kai Whiting, and Jacob Bush) to share what it is that they'd like to contribute to The Walled Garden community.  Today, we're hearing Simon Drew read his epistle: On Radical Claims of Enlightenment. This episode only covers the first 30 minutes of our inspiration session, and if you'd like to hear the discussion and Q&A which followed this section then you can sign up at thewalledgarden.com. Please use the promotional code PRACTICALSTOIC if you'd like over 20% off the Caretaker membership. This offer is only valid for the first 100 members of The Walled Garden.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the first episode of the revamped Practical Stoic Podcast, now The Walled Garden Podcast. In this episode, Simon Drew, Sharon Lebell, Kai Whiting, and Jacob Bush discuss their new collaboration - thewalledgarden.com. They discuss the vision and mission of The Walled Garden, as well as the symbolism behind the name. ----more---- Discount for all listeners of the Practical Stoic Podcast: PRACTICALSTOIC Use this discount code to get over 20% off your Caretaker membership on thewalledgarden.com. Plus, you won't pay anything for the first month. Go here to join: thewalledgarden.com/membership-levels/ ----more---- About Sharon Lebell: Sharon Lebell has been an inspiring writer and speaker about philosophy, spirituality, and religion for thirty years. She is best known as the author of the international bestseller The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness, a contemporary interpretation of the Stoic teachings of Epictetus. Her primary focus is how to live a life of virtue and meaning. Central to her message is how we can use our lives to improve the lives of others and the necessity of beauty and engagement with art, music, and design as keystones of a well-lived life. About Kai Whiting: Kai Whiting is a Stoicism and sustainability researcher and lecturer based at UCLouvain in Belgium. He is the co-author of Being Better Stoicism for a World Worth Living in, which tells the personal stories of Zeno, Cleanthes, Epictetus, Musonious Rufus, and ancient Sparta so that we can solve some of the key challenges of the 21 st century. When Kai is not thinking and writing about Stoicism, he likes to build Lego, work out, and read books in Spanish and Portuguese. About Simon Drew: Simon Drew is a poet, musician, photographer, and philosophical mentor. He has a Bachelor of Music Performance from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music and is currently studying for a Master of Divinity at Trinity College. He is most well known for his work with the Practical Stoic Podcast, which has since evolved into the Walled Garden. Simon's poetry and writings often play in the realms of mysticism, prophecy, and wisdom, bringing the deepest insights of his consciousness to light in search of answers to life's most fundamental questions. His first book, The Poet & The Sage, is set to be released in late 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices