Wisdom in the Face of Censorship | Sharon McMahon and Ryan Holiday

About this episode

<p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/sharonsaysso/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sharon McMahon</a>, aka "America's Government Teacher", hosted Ryan on an Instagram Live to discuss his recent experience at the U.S. Naval Academy. Invited to speak on the topic of wisdom, Ryan was informed just moments before his lecture that it had been canceled due to his decision to address the removal of books from the Academy’s library. What was meant to be a conversation about wisdom quickly turned into a powerful lesson on censorship, free speech, and the challenge of living with virtue.</p><br><p>Sharon and Ryan talk about the importance of confronting history honestly, the controversy around books labeled “too woke,” and the scary implications of silencing ideas in places meant to shape future leaders.</p><p>After years as a high school government teacher, Sharon now runs the non-partisan, fact-based Instagram account <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sharonsaysso/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@sharonsaysso</a> and is the author of <a href="https://www.thepaintedporch.com/products/the-small-and-the-mighty-twelve-unsung-americans-who-changed-the-course-of-history-from-the-founding-to-the-civil-rights-movement-copy?_pos=1&amp;_sid=7a171a0b2&amp;_ss=r" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>The Small and the Mighty</em></a>.</p><br><p>Check out Sharon’s podcast <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heres-where-it-gets-interesting/id1576266622" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Here’s Where It Gets Interesting</a><strong> </strong>and follow her on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sharonsaysso/?hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@SharonSaysSo </a>and on X<a href="https://x.com/sharon_says_so?lang=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> @Sharon_Says_So</a></p><br><p>Sharon's Substack: <a href="https://thepreamble.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Preamble</a>.&nbsp;</p><br><p>🎙️ Listen to Sharon's episode on The Daily Stoic Podcast: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sharon-mcmahon-on-how-we-can-all-be-change-makers/id1430315931?i=1000674341207" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/3jMk4wlyVK5SRVtgqasPei" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spotify</a></p><br><p>📚 Grab a copy of <a href="https://www.thepaintedporch.com/products/the-small-and-the-mighty-twelve-unsung-americans-who-changed-the-course-of-history-from-the-founding-to-the-civil-rights-movement-copy?_pos=1&amp;_sid=7a171a0b2&amp;_ss=r" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>The Small and the Mighty</em></a> by Sharon McMahon at The Painted Porch: <a href="https://www.thepaintedporch.com/products/the-small-and-the-mighty-twelve-unsung-americans-who-changed-the-course-of-history-from-the-founding-to-the-civil-rights-movement-copy?variant=45782527639805" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.thepaintedporch.com</a></p><br><p>🗞️ Read Ryan Holiday's opinion piece in The New York Times: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/19/opinion/naval-academy-speech-censorship.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/19/opinion/naval-academy-speech-censorship.html</a></p><br><p>🎥 Watch the talk that Ryan Holiday was supposed to give at The Naval Academy: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcnE1-SClfg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcnE1-SClfg</a></p><br><p>🎙️ Follow The Daily Stoic Podcast on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dailystoicpodcast/?hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a>: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dailystoicpodcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/dailystoicpodcast</a></p><br><p>🎥 Watch top moments from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@dailystoicpodcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Daily Stoic Podcast</a> on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@dailystoicpodcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">YouTube</a>: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@dailystoicpodcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/@dailystoicpodcast</a></p><br><p>✉️ Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? 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