Being Better cover art

Being Better

Stoicism for a World Worth Living In

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Being Better

By: Kai Whiting, Leonidas Konstantakos
Narrated by: Liam Gerrard
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £7.99

Buy Now for £7.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

Practical answers to the urgent moral questions of our time from the ancient philosophy of Stoicism.

Twenty-three centuries ago, in a marketplace in Athens, Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, built his philosophy on powerful ideas that still resonate today: All human beings can become citizens of the world, regardless of their nationality, gender, or social class; happiness comes from living in harmony with nature; and, most important, humans always have the freedom to choose their attitude, even when they cannot control external circumstances. In our age of political polarization and environmental destruction, Stoicism's empowering message has taken on new relevance. In Being Better, Kai Whiting and Leonidas Konstantakos apply Stoic principles to contemporary issues such as social justice, climate breakdown, and the excesses of global capitalism. They show that Stoicism is not an ivory-tower philosophy or a collection of Silicon Valley life hacks, but a vital way of life that helps us live simply, improve our communities, and find peace in a turbulent world.

©2021 Kai Whiting and Leonidas Konstantakos (P)2021 Tantor Ethics & Morality Greek & Roman History Philosophy Stoicism

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Breakfast with Seneca cover art
Stoicism cover art
The Good-Enough Life cover art
Dying Every Day cover art
Stoicism Made Simple cover art
America the Beautiful cover art
The 25 Biblical Laws of Success cover art
How to Live a Good Life cover art
Restoring Reason cover art
Do Not Comply cover art
Everything Counts cover art
The Question cover art
Mind Shift cover art
Culture Hacks cover art
A Politics of Love cover art
Thou Shall Prosper cover art
All stars
Most relevant
I have read a few books on Stoic philosophy and this has been my favourite so far. Very accessible and well explained with lots of great examples of how to incorporate Stoic philosophy into your everyday life, become a better person and have a more flourishing life..

Fantastic book on stoicism

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I love learning about Stoicism and am always looking out for a fresh perspective on the philosophy. I very much enjoyed this one and will be listening again.

A fresh perspective

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I've learnt a lot about the practical side of stoicism. It was clearly written and organised well.

A good practical introduction to stoicism

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Kai and Leonidas’ book is one of a kind, expertly weaving timeless wisdom with practical modern lessons that can be easily implemented by either newcomers to Stoicism or those that have been practicing for years. I really enjoyed the structures of the chapters which use real life examples of people living out the concepts described. Then at the end of each chapter there are engaging questions that allow you to map the concepts onto your own life to better incorporate them and improve your practice.


It’s a really inspiring read, that allows you to elevate your Stoic practice above mere personal development with lessons and ways of thinking that places your stoic practice in the wider context of your family, your community and the entire cosmos.


I have read a lot of books on Stoicism yet Being Better is really the only one that captures, what I call, the “Social Kindness” I feel when I read Mediations or the Enchiridion. So many books of modern stoicism focus intensely only on self-development (which has its place). But Being Better takes the concept of social kindness and places it at the centre of the book, giving a much needed answer to the question of “who are we being better for?” The answer – Fellow humans, animals and the environment.


If you haven’t already you should really check this book out, it may just widen your understanding and appreciation of Stoicism in a larger context… it certainly did for me.

Brilliant, Bold and Beautiful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, not even as a basic introduction to Stoicism, given the fact that the authors don't understand the meaning of "Nature" in Stoic philosophy. This is the main issue and it has to do with the subject of the book. Other issues are virtue signaling, a precarious understanding of how the sport industry works and the chaotic structure of the book. I finished it only because it's short. Listen to How to think like a Roman emperor by Donald Robertson instead.

My first bad review (on anything)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews