> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Episode 33: Are We Better Than This?
- URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/podcast/are-we-better-than-this/
- Published: 2026-01-21T11:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-23T09:55:33.000Z
- Description: A year into this chapter, the tone feels louder, sharper, and more centered on ego than responsibility. This episode isn’t about politics as a debate.
- Author: Mike Baker
- Tags: Podcast

Season 1 · Episode 33 · January 21, 2026 · 42 min

[YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@MikeBakerHQ) [Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/1iE5t5Nrbs0MyLORJpfiYu) [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-33-are-we-better-than-this/id1826938874?i=1000787951583&uo=4) 

Just an Ordinary Tuesday

New episodes and essays land in my Tuesday letter, along with the Resource Library. Free, and leaving is easy.

Email address Send me the next one 

You’re in. Check your inbox to confirm.

## Show notes

A year into this chapter, the tone feels louder, sharper, and more centered on ego than responsibility. This episode isn’t about politics as a debate. It’s about what this style of leadership does to us over time.

I talk honestly about exhaustion, disappointment, and the quiet ways trust erodes when chaos and self-interest become normalized. I wrestle with optimism, not as denial, but as a discipline. A choice to stay human when it would be easier to harden or check out.

This is a reflection on leadership, culture, and the question a lot of us are asking quietly.

Does this actually feel like who we want to be.

I close the episode with Written in the Stars, a song from the early days of this project, as a reminder that not everything has to be forced and not everything unfolds on our timeline.

Still here. Still trying. Still choosing humanity.

Thanks for listening to Still Here, Still Trying.

If this episode gave you something to think about, please like, follow, subscribe, and share it with three people who could use it in their lives.

You can find more of my work — music, writing, art, and reflections — at:

🌐 [mikebakerhq.com](http://mikebakerhq.com/)

Grab a copy of my book, The Optimist’s Way:

📚 https://a.co/d/4RqPS6g

Thanks for being here.

Still here. Still trying.

Support the Podcast Here:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2516381/support