Search a title or topic

Over 20 million podcasts, powered by 

Player FM logo
Artwork

Content provided by Evergreen Podcasts. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Evergreen Podcasts or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.
Player FM - Podcast App
Go offline with the Player FM app!

The Stoic Blot [with Jason Pack]

1:00:50
 
Share
 

Manage episode 517204692 series 3349193
Content provided by Evergreen Podcasts. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Evergreen Podcasts or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

In this episode I talk with Jason Pack — a world-class backgammon grandmaster, geopolitical analyst, and host of Disorder, a podcast about what he calls “the global enduring disorder.” It’s an unexpected mix of topics: the psychology of high-stakes decision-making, the Stoic discipline of attention, and how lessons from the game board apply to politics, leadership, and life. What starts as a conversation about dice and probability evolves into a reflection on courage, restraint, and rational focus — the same virtues Stoicism trains in us every day.

Key takeaways from this episode include:
— Backgammon teaches Stoic focus: attention belongs to the present move, not to past mistakes or imagined futures.
— “Tilting” in games — or in life — is what happens when emotion overruns reason; Stoic practice helps restore composure and clear judgment.
— The best players (and the best leaders) understand their own dispositions — courage, restraint, or excess — and correct for them.
— Stoicism and strategy both demand discernment between what’s up to us (our choices, our attitude) and what isn’t (chance, luck, politics).
— In a chaotic world — Jason’s “enduring disorder” — wise cooperation and measured risk are the antidotes to reactive nationalism and impulsive power.
— Whether in global politics or a roll of the dice, fortune favors those who prepare reasoned courage and act decisively when the moment comes.

For an ad-free version of this podcast please visit https://stoicismpod.com/members

For links to other valuable Stoic things, please visit https://links.stoicismpod.com

--

You can listen to Jason Pack's Disorder podcast here: https://linktr.ee/disorderpod and learn more about it here: https://disordershow.com/

Why Backgammon Can Help us Order the Disorder Marc Olsen and Jason Pack on what BG teaches us about life: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ep-132-why-backgammon-can-help-us-order-the-disorder/id1706818264?i=1000718750592

For more on Backgammon Galaxy visit - https://www.backgammongalaxy.com/

For a very fun video produced by Marc and featuring Jason about the World Backgammon Championship and what BG teaches about Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TebkgCNS7OI

--

If you'd like to provide feedback on this episode, or have question, you may do so as a member. Email sent by non-members will not be answered (though they may be read). This isn't punitive, I just cannot keep up. Limiting access to members reduces my workload. You're always invited to leave a comment on Spotify, member or not.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  continue reading

373 episodes

Artwork

The Stoic Blot [with Jason Pack]

Practical Stoicism

155 subscribers

published

iconShare
 
Manage episode 517204692 series 3349193
Content provided by Evergreen Podcasts. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Evergreen Podcasts or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

In this episode I talk with Jason Pack — a world-class backgammon grandmaster, geopolitical analyst, and host of Disorder, a podcast about what he calls “the global enduring disorder.” It’s an unexpected mix of topics: the psychology of high-stakes decision-making, the Stoic discipline of attention, and how lessons from the game board apply to politics, leadership, and life. What starts as a conversation about dice and probability evolves into a reflection on courage, restraint, and rational focus — the same virtues Stoicism trains in us every day.

Key takeaways from this episode include:
— Backgammon teaches Stoic focus: attention belongs to the present move, not to past mistakes or imagined futures.
— “Tilting” in games — or in life — is what happens when emotion overruns reason; Stoic practice helps restore composure and clear judgment.
— The best players (and the best leaders) understand their own dispositions — courage, restraint, or excess — and correct for them.
— Stoicism and strategy both demand discernment between what’s up to us (our choices, our attitude) and what isn’t (chance, luck, politics).
— In a chaotic world — Jason’s “enduring disorder” — wise cooperation and measured risk are the antidotes to reactive nationalism and impulsive power.
— Whether in global politics or a roll of the dice, fortune favors those who prepare reasoned courage and act decisively when the moment comes.

For an ad-free version of this podcast please visit https://stoicismpod.com/members

For links to other valuable Stoic things, please visit https://links.stoicismpod.com

--

You can listen to Jason Pack's Disorder podcast here: https://linktr.ee/disorderpod and learn more about it here: https://disordershow.com/

Why Backgammon Can Help us Order the Disorder Marc Olsen and Jason Pack on what BG teaches us about life: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ep-132-why-backgammon-can-help-us-order-the-disorder/id1706818264?i=1000718750592

For more on Backgammon Galaxy visit - https://www.backgammongalaxy.com/

For a very fun video produced by Marc and featuring Jason about the World Backgammon Championship and what BG teaches about Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TebkgCNS7OI

--

If you'd like to provide feedback on this episode, or have question, you may do so as a member. Email sent by non-members will not be answered (though they may be read). This isn't punitive, I just cannot keep up. Limiting access to members reduces my workload. You're always invited to leave a comment on Spotify, member or not.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  continue reading

373 episodes

All episodes

×
 
Loading …

Welcome to Player FM!

Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. It's the best podcast app and works on Android, iPhone, and the web. Signup to sync subscriptions across devices.

 

Copyright 2025 | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | | Copyright
Listen to this show while you explore
Play