William O. Stephens, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus of Philosophy
Creighton University
stoic at creighton dot edu
His interests include ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, Stoicism as a way of life, Stoicism and popular culture, ethics and animals, and environmental ethics.
“Marcus Aurelius with William O. Stephens” (49:00) History with Jackson podcast (7 Feb. 2026).
“Marcus Aurelius: The Philosopher Emperor” (1:09:00) The Ancients (Episode 595), a History Hit podcast with Tristan Hughes (19 Oct. 2025). [Excerpted clip (1:40) on the purple dye of the toga purpurea]
Reason in Society panel hosted by Brittany Polat with Aldo Dinucci and Jacob Klein for Stoicon 2025: Engaged Citizenship (18 Oct. 2025).
“Marcus Aurelius: Philosopher-King” (11:57) episode of Conversations with Modern Stoicism (11 Oct. 2025).
“William O. Stephens — Marcus Aurelius: Philosopher-King” (55:00) The Avid Reader Show, Wellington Square Bookshop, interview with Sam Hankin (2 Oct. 2025).
“Democracy, Education, and Environmental Cosmopolitanism” (23:50) talk at the virtual conference Democracy and Tyranny: A Deep Look into Democracy’s Future [from 1:19:33 to 1:43:24] by Plato’s Academy Centre (26 July 2025).
“Models of Vice and Virtue? Animals in Stoic Philosophy” (30:01) episode of Conversations with Modern Stoicism with Phil Yanov (17 May 2025).
“Stoicon X Melbourne 2024 conversation with William O. Stephens” (52:48) hosted by Judith Stove (26 Oct. 2024).
“William O. Stephens, Scott Aikin, and Matthew Sharpe: The Enchiridion of Epictetus” (1:23:00) on The Walled Garden (15 April 2024).
“An Hour with A. A. Long” (1:07:00) with A. A. Long and Tanner Campbell on The Practical Stoicism podcast (22 March 2024).
“On Being Oikeiôtic with Prof. William Stephens” (1:03:45) with Tanner Campbell on The Practical Stoicism podcast (5 Jan. 2024).
“William Stephens on the Six Core Themes of Stoicism” (50:38) with Caleb Ontiveros on StoaMeditation.com (5 Jan. 2024).
“Stoicism and Emotions: The Good and the Bad” (1:25:17) with Matthew Sharpe and Judith Stove on The Walled Garden (1 Dec. 2023).
“William O. Stephens on Musonius Rufus, Food, and Fashion” (58:26) with Caleb Ontiveros on StoaMeditation.com (10 Nov. 2023).
“If You Ought, You Kant” (1:04:34) with Tanner Campbell on The Practical Stoicism podcast (3 Nov. 2023).
“Unveiling the Love of Wisdom: A Journey through Ancient Philosophy and Stoic Ethics, An interview with William O. Stephens” on Plato’s Academy Centre (9 June 2023).
“The Meaning of ‘Resilience’” (28:50) presented at Philosophy and Resilience: Choose not to be harmed, a virtual conference of Plato’s Academy Centre (20 May 2023).
Marcus Aurelius Anniversary Symposium 2023 (1:42:11) with Donald Robertson and John Sellars on Marcus’s life, philosophy, and practical relevance today (26 April 2023).
“William O. Stephens on Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius” (1:05:23) with Donald Robertson of Plato’s Academy Centre (25 April 2023).
“William Stephens on Epictetus’s Handbook” (51:38) with Caleb Ontiveros on StoaMeditation.com (17 March 2023).
“Sports, Virtue & Stoicism” (1:15:49) with Nick Davis and Simon Drew on The Walled Garden (12 Jan. 2023).
“Rediscovering Unity in the Midst of Fragmentation” (1:42:58) on Stoic theology and cosmology with Simon Drew on The Walled Garden (7 Oct. 2022).
“What Did the Stoics Think: Marcus Aurelius with William Stephens” (51:25) The Magna Aurea podcast interview with Halston Williams (22 June 2021).
“An in-depth conversation about Stoicism with William O. Stephens” (53:35) [iTunes, Spotify, iHeart Radio, YouTube] The Archetypal Mosaic with Mikhail Tank (17 March 2021).
“William Stephens — Writing Stoicism and Happiness” (57:01) The Hidden Why podcast interview with Leigh Martinuzzi (23 Aug. 2020).
“William Stephens on Marcus Aurelius, philosopher” (1:07:13) a Stoa Nova conversation with Rob Colter and Massimo Pigliucci (25 Oct. 2020).
“William Stephens: An Introduction to Marcus Aurelius” is eight short audio clips from an interview with Caleb Ontiveros on StoaMeditation.com (12 July 2020).
“Why Marcus Aurelius Matters, in 5 of His Classic Quotes” explained by WOS, HowStuffWorks.com story with Dave Roos (26 May 2020).
“Living in Agreement with Nature” (1:01:06) The Practical Stoic podcast interview with Simon Drew (17 April 2020).
“Stoicism during COVID-19” (26:06) with Janey Goddard (6 April 2020).
“William Stephens’ Guide to Marcus Aurelius” (56:41) with Caleb Ontiveros on StoaMeditation.com (19 Dec. 2019).
“A Stoic Approach to Travel and Tourism” YouTube video (22:44) of presentation at Stoicon, Royal Holloway, University of London, England (29 Sept. 2018).
“Phobias, Terrorism, and Stoic Fearlessness” YouTube video (35:45) of presentation at Stoicon, Toronto, Canada (14 Oct. 2017).
last updated 17 January 2026
William O. Stephens 