Slop, Soul, and the Reason I Keep Creating
John Oliver was not wrong about AI slop. The internet is flooded with work that looks clean and says nothing. Here is why I keep creating anyway.
Read the full essay →Author of the Human First books, CEO of Heritage Health, host of Still Here, Still Trying, songwriter and endometriosis advocate in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
John Oliver was not wrong about AI slop. The internet is flooded with work that looks clean and says nothing. Here is why I keep creating anyway.
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By Mike Baker I’ve always believed that leadership should feel human. Not perfect. Not polished. Just real. I know I don’t always fit the mold.
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By Mike Baker www.mikebakerhq.com Saturday was full. The morning started with the League of Women Voters. I spoke about healthcare, real healthcare, for women.
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Notes from a wobbling middle seat on a train racing round a blind curve, and the footage of a child that made me finish a poem and then a song.
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There is a kind of love that does not need applause. It shows up quietly, does the work, and holds steady even when nobody at all is watching.
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By Mike Baker This album wasn’t written to chase a sound. It was written to chase connection, something I think all of us are quietly desperate for.
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The fifth Panhandle Spring Classic in Coeur d'Alene, raising money for the Inland Northwest Girls Hockey Foundation, and what they are building.
Read the full essay →No beat, no hook, no melody to hold onto. Just a voice speaking in a language you have never heard before and somehow still manage to recognize.
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Some trips are about meetings and agendas. This one included all of that, and then left a mark I am still carrying home with me in my chest.
Read the full essay →A personal note about the November that knocked me off balance, and why I wrote a book about optimism while my own supply was running very low.
Read the full essay →People are angrier. Whatever happened to peace and love? A scene from a gritty hospital drama that would not leave me alone for days after.
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Mother's Day reaches well past a single household. A village raises us, and to mother is to choose to show up fully, again and again and again.
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This record came from late-night ice, tired legs, bruised knees, and the silence you sit in between whistles. Not from a studio session.
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That particular frustration of showing up, trying hard, staying present, and watching nothing change at all. You are still moving anyway.
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A rare kind of person leaves people better than they found them. That is Jon Baker. My brother, my friend, and one of my biggest inspirations.
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A lot of late nights, and not the glamorous kind. Calendars full of meetings, a thousand small fires, and the quiet work that hope actually takes.
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Hi friends, I’m incredibly excited to share a project that has been one of the most meaningful journeys of my life.
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When I first wrote the songs on Echoes Reimagined , I released 22 songs on the album Beyond the Shadows I was inspired by the experiences of people close to me.
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On corporate greed, everyday struggle, and an album that pushed me sideways. There is a kazoo on this record and a didgeridoo, and I meant both.
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Looking back on the year Heritage Health opened the Center for Healthy Living, and what progress, connection and gratitude looked like up close.
Read the full essay →My letter is called Just an Ordinary Tuesday. Essays mostly, and now and then a song, an episode, some artwork, or something from the advocacy work.
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