The 2000-year-old philosophy of stoicism is having a moment – and no one has popularised it for a modern audience more than American author Ryan Holiday.

The college dropout turned marketer has written 13 books, including The Obstacle Is the Way and Discipline Is Destiny, and his Daily Stoic email and social media accounts reach millions of people.

In this episode, we ask Holiday a few questions, including: What does Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius's book Meditations have to teach us about how to live in the 21st century? And what can we learn from the former slave Epictetus? Quite a lot, as it turns out.

Hosting our conversation today is Good Weekend senior writer Gay Alcorn.

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It's not too much of an overstatement to say that for over 30 years, Michael Pollan's books have helped reshape conversations about industrial food systems, animal consciousness and our obligations to other living things.

His new book, A World Appears, is about plant sentience – an immersive exploration of how plants exhibit thinking and memory-like behaviours, respond to physical threats, favour their own species and supply nutrients to struggling neighbouring plants.

In this episode, Pollan discusses compelling new research that argues humans are far from the only living entities exhibiting sentience and indeed, "exquisite" awareness of their environment.

Today’s conversation is hosted by Good Weekend senior writer Greg Callaghan.

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On the cusp of 65, Bonnie Garmus published her debut novel Lessons in Chemistry. It was a global sensation and the copywriter, who had a previous manuscript rejected by publishers 98 times, sold almost 10 million copies and enjoyed being co-executive producer when it was made into an eight-part streaming hit starring Brie Larson.

Today, Garmus talks about her new novel Peck & Peck, which explores – through a delightfully-named young man Batter Gray – the themes of art in a time of pragmatism, and empathy in a world driven by technology intended “to make money, not make what is worthwhile”.

The US-born, now UK-based Garmus also opens up about the importance of poetry, explaining why she reads a new poem every day and how that ritual has changed her. Plus: her 5am starts, the work of writing and rewriting – and beginning anew when everyone believes your time is done.

Today’s conversation is hosted by National Books Editor at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Melanie Kembrey.

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