Faithfulcrum
Faithfulcrum Conversations on faith, spirit, creativity and meaning Faithfulcrum is a space for openhearted dialogue about the things that move us — and the things we’re still trying to understand. Hosted by Mark and Scott, lifelong friends and creative collaborators, each episode weaves together story, song, and searching conversation to explore how we live, create, and believe in a complex world. From late-night thoughts to original music, Faithfulcrum embraces the tension between mystery and clarity — not to solve it, but to stay with it faithfully.
Episodes
In Season 2, Episode 15 of Faithfulcrum, "A Little Dirt on the Vinyl," Scott Simpson and Mark Baldridge dig a little deeper into the relationship between imperfection, creativity, truth, and human connection.
Beginning with a conversation about AI-generated music and why people often describe it as "too perfect," they find themselves asking deeper questions. Is perfection an objective reality, or is it simply a reflection of cultur...
This episode begins with a simple observation and ends somewhere much stranger.
Scott and Mark start in familiar territory—Rush concerts, facial hair, old songs echoing through the hills—but gradually find themselves circling a question that has become impossible to ignore:
What makes something feel human?
Along the way they encounter a young singer whose voice seems ...
In this wide-ranging and deeply thoughtful episode of Faithfulcrum, hosts Scott Simpson and Mark Baldridge welcome special guest Andrew Ley for a conversation exploring artificial intelligence, creativity, education, simulation theory, and what it means to remain human in an increasingly synthetic world.
Andrew brings firsthand experience from the front lines of AI int...
In this episode of Faithfulcrum, Mark and Scott dive into the creative possibilities—and tensions—of making music with AI. What begins as a simple experiment with an old song written for a house full of weeds and wild growth becomes something much larger: a conversation about process, authorship, iteration, and what it means to remain human...
In this episode of Faithfulcrum, Mark and Scott wander into a rich, wide-ranging conversation about learning—what it is, how it happens, and why it might be the one thing that keeps us fully alive. From memories of bad teachers who became unexpected guides, to reflections on mentorship, creativity, and the messy, improvisational nature of growt...
In this episode of Faithfulcrum, Mark and Scott talk about inheritance—what we pass down, what we refuse to pass down, and the quiet assumption that those who come after us must suffer what we suffered.
They’re joined by Brady Licht, who brings a perspective shaped by education, technology, and Zen ...
In this episode of Faithfulcrum, Mark and Scott talk about control—who has it, who wants it, and what happens when we realize we don’t have nearly as much of it as we thought. The conversation moves through spirituality, creativity, religion, theater, Shakespeare, and even punk rock… but it keeps circling the same tension: there’s always some...
In this episode of Faithfulcrum, Scott and Mark are joined by songwriter, poet, and actor Nick Torres. What starts out as a casual conversation about songwriting and creative collaboration quickly drifts into deeper waters—eternity, heaven, fear, the vastness of the universe, and the strange ways humans try to make sense of time.
Along the way the conversation moves through childhood memories of religious teaching, the unsett...
In this episode, Scott and Mark sit down for a wide-ranging conversation with their guest, Heath Johnson.
Heath is a songwriter, arts advocate, and director of the historic Matthews Opera House and Arts Center. A former pastor who once studied for ministry, Heath’s journey has moved through seasons of faith, doubt, deconstruction, and reconstruction — experiences that now deeply inform...
In this episode, Mark and Scott circle some of the most enduring human questions—faith, fairness, belonging, mortality—without trying to solve them. What begins as a conversation about prayer becomes an excavation of inheritance: spiritual, familial, bodily, and cultural. Along the way, they confront exile from religious certainty, the cost of ...
In this episode of Faithfulcrum, the conversation wanders—intentionally and patiently—into the territory of soul, authenticity, creativity, and what it means to truly show up. What begins as a reflection on AI tools and “bringing the soul to the tool” opens into something much older and more human: the idea that the soul is not something to be summone...
In this episode of Faithfulcrum, Mark and Scott circle a question that refuses to stay technical: what happens to the human soul when our tools begin to speak back to us? Beginning with fears of AI as something demonic or exploitative, the conversation ranges widely—through science fiction, loneliness, attachment, imagination, culture, and the long human habit of...
Welcome to Faithfulcrum, where we slow the conversation down long enough to feel its weight—and maybe find our footing again.
In this episode, Season 2, Episode 3, we sit with a force that shapes our lives far more than we’d like to admit: fear. Not just fear of death, but fear in the streets, fear in politics, fear in violence, fear...
In this warm, winding conversation, Scott, Mark, and guest Amy Abeln explore the strange new intimacy of creating with AI—especially when it flatters you. What does it mean when a machine tells you your writing is brilliant? Can digital tools deepen creativity, or do they quietly take something away? And how do you keep your true voice alive inside the noise?
Amy shares s...
In this premiere episode of Season 2, Mark and Scott dive deep into a rich, reflective conversation on meaning-making, creativity, memory, and art. From personal revelations to poetic philosophy, they explore how humans — like bees making honey — are driven to shape beauty, culture, and connection out of the raw material ...
Mark and Scott talk about "inspiration" and the Bible, and what sort of claims the Bible actually makes (or doesn't make) about itself.
Traditional Hymn- Give Me the Bible, lyrics by Priscilla J. Owens. Music: Edmund S. Lorenz, 1883. Performed by the Edmond Church of Christ, March 19, 2011.
New Hymn- Inspired Hath by Mark Baldridge, 2023
Mark and Scott talk about the defensiveness of many conservative Christians, where it may come from, and whom Jesus called people to defend.
Hymn: "Abide With Me" Words by Henry Francis Lyte, music by William Henry Monk. Year of release and songwriting credit from "Edison Blue Amberol," (1912). Croxton Quartet.
New Hymn: "She's Dear Too Hymn" by Scott Simpson (2023)
Mark and Scott talk about the ongoing battle between Evolutionary theory and Biblical Literalism.
Hymn: "There is a Fountain." Words by Rev. William Cowper. Year of release and songwriting credit from "The Edison Phonograph Monthly," v.8 (1910). Sacred hymn. Mixed voices, unaccompanied.
New Hymn: "Two Percent Angel" by Mark Baldridge (2023)
Mark and Scott talk about the tendency for some religious folk to downplay the importance of care for the environment.
Hymn: "Only A Beam of Sunshine" performed by Harry Anthony and James F. Harrison from "The Edison Phonograph Monthly," v.8 (1910).
New Hymn: "I'm Going Mental" by Scott Simpson, 2023.
After having given up podcasting for lent, Mark and Scott are now back and ready to discuss "Spirituality" and "Religion" as the two battle it out for the title.
Hymn: “I Love to Tell the Story,” composed by William G. Fischer, recorded 1913 for Edison Blue Amberol featuring the Edison Mixed Quartet
New Hymn: “The Pigeon and the Dove” (2023) by Mark Baldridge
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