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Steven Pressfield, bestselling author of Gates of Fire, the War of Art, A Man at Arms, and The Arcadian, joins Joe to explore writing, resistance, and the soldier’s long search for peace.

This episode examines the story behind The Arcadian, Pressfield’s latest novel featuring Telamon, a warrior cursed to live lifetime after lifetime as a soldier. Steve shares how the seed for the book began with a quote from Empedocles that he carried with him for more than forty years before finally discovering the story it was meant to become.

Steve and Joe discuss why the idea of a cursed soldier resonates so deeply, especially with those who have served. Telamon’s journey is not just a story about war, exile, or violence. It is about the burden many people carry, the search for redemption, and the hope that we can become something more than the roles we have played for so long.

Steve also reflects on losing his home in the Palisades fire while working on the book and how writing became a refuge during that difficult season. What could have become another form of resistance instead became proof of the very ideas he has spent decades teaching: that the work can save us, steady us, and call us back to ourselves.

Joe and Steve also discuss:

• The connection between soldiers, exile, redemption, and the search for peace
• Why “life is warfare and a journey far from home”
• Why animals and children often carry the divine in stories
• Why great stories often begin with the question “What if?”
• What it means to start over, kill the ego, and become an apprentice again
• Why Steve believes nearly every great story is, in some way, a redemption story

This episode is for anyone who has carried a burden longer than they expected, walked away from a life that once defined them, or wondered whether peace is possible after years of fighting. It is also for writers, leaders, veterans, and readers who believe that stories can help us make sense of exile, suffering, hope, and the long road home.

Watch the full interview on YouTube

A special thanks to this week's sponsors!

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