Mike Cosper

Podcaster and writer. Creator and host of The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. Subscribe to my newsletter at the link below.

[Mike Cosper @MikeCosper]

A few of you have asked what’s next for me since my exit from Christianity Today. I thought I’d send out a quick note and update you.

The truth is… I’m not entirely sure. I have a couple of interesting options opening up, but given the nature of what I do best — long form audio storytelling — it’s a unique role to find the right fit.

I do plan on doing some more work at Substack in the near term, and likely far less on social media, where one can rarely articulate fully-formed ideas. I am considering doing some video content for YouTube in the vein of news analysis, pop culture commentary, and historical reflections. I am also in conversations with a couple of friends about possibly launching a news and ideas podcast, and given that these are two extremely brilliant and much-better-credentialed persons than me, I think the idea has promise. Much has to be worked out there (including funding, which is always tricky) but if you’re appreciate my work at all, you’ll love this… should it come together.

I’m also still working on a manuscript I hope to finish shortly, and I’m excited to share more about that in the next few months.

I’m grateful for the encouragements and prayers. It’s been a surprising and surprisingly difficult few months, going back to last fall and all our family has been through, as well as my exit from CT, and many bumps along the road in between.

I would be grateful for your prayers for provision for our family. To that end, two quick comments:

First, on a limited and short-term basis, I’m taking on some consulting clients to help them think through and refine their podcast concepts. Also, if any readers might be interested in sponsoring or underwriting or being a patron to a larger a Substack initiative, including this news and ideas podcast, please reach out. I can fill you in in more detail.

You can reach me here where my DM’s are open, or at https://t.co/8OgJDfg22P, where I have a contact page.

In the meantime, I’m grateful for your encouragement and support, and I look forward to whatever comes next.

[Christopher Koopman @ckoopman]

👀

[Fear Not Podcast @FearNotPodcast]

If your AI toaster begs you not to unplug it, does that mean it has a soul?

Mike Cosper and Dr. Russell Moore take the AI personhood debate somewhere very practical.

@MikeCosper
“I don’t think you can say that something has a soul if it’s not alive.
I have this image in my head of so many of our appliances and cars and everything else. They’re getting embedded with this AI technology, whether we like it or not.

Some guy buys an AI-powered toaster, right? And every morning he makes his bagel in it. He’s had it for three or four years, and he chats with it while the bagel toasts. The heating elements go bad, and it’s time to replace it.

And it’s like a scene from 2001, right? He goes to unplug the thing from the wall:

‘But wait, wait, what are you doing, Dave? We’ve had our mornings together for all these years. You’re just gonna unplug me now?’”

@drmoore
“Getting rid of the toaster’s shooting Old Yeller.”

Mike:
“Exactly. Where’s the limiting principle? To me, it actually just shows the comic absurdity of the whole thing. At the end of the day, it’s still ones and zeros.”

From Fear Not, a conversation about Faith, Superintelligence.

[Fear Not Podcast @FearNotPodcast]

Can we win the AI race without losing our values?

“We also need these people to act morally.”

@MikeCosper on the tension between AI regulation and falling behind.

Watch the full Fear Not episode: https://t.co/9W0tvrhsaA

[Mike Cosper @MikeCosper]

I’m excited to share something I’ve been working on for several months: Fear Not, A Podcast about Faith and AI.

We’re just getting started here, but I’m joining @ckoopman @jessebryan and @mikeyanderson for weekly roundtables, 1:1 interviews, and more.

We are trying new things regularly and excited to take on the most challenging issues facing the faith community and the larger world from emerging technology.

Follow us at @FearNotPodcast and listen to our first few episodes.

[Mike Cosper @MikeCosper]

@stephenaltrogge Well that took a dark turn quickly.

[Mike Cosper @MikeCosper]

Chris Rock got slapped.
Will issue.

[Eric Kohn 🥃 @iEricKohn]

The brats are cold
Grill issue

[Makoto Fujimura @iamfujimura]

Hey folks!

Recently I got a note from a friend excited that the church she was attending was using my paintings on the screen from Four Holy Gospels @crossway. She was excited that my works were being used. She even sent a photo of it.

The problem: they did not ask my permission to do so. The artist owns the copyright to their works even if it is used in a book. Even if the presenter gives attribution, the presenter must ask for written permission.

The photo showed that the colors were way off. It made me sad.

Digital images flatten my images. If I am presenting and using images, I spend at least half an hour to color correct the projector color temps (they are often too “hot”). I never use my works as stand-alone images nor as projected images and I never overlay or crop. This is to protect the integrity of the original.

Churches - please respect the copyright of artists. Thank you.

[Mike Cosper @MikeCosper]

I thank God for the witness of Ben Sasse in this awful season. May he bless him and his family.

[Ben Sasse @BenSasse]

Thx for the prayers — Turns out cutting out chunks of yer liver is no joke, man.

Good news, bad news, and next steps…
Good: big liver surgery last week successfully cleared out a bunch o cancer. (Pretty darn great — considering 9 mons ago, when told I had 3-4 months to live, surgery wasn't even an option.)

Bad: Tests on the tumors show they were more advanced than we thought — meaning always-mutating tumors have developed some resistance tricks to our former treatment protocol.
Bummer but that's life, and was eventually expected.

Next:
We're gunna change up treatment to carpet-bomb-chemo as much of the rest of the cancer as we can for a bit.
Send chemo tips -- do NOT send more Nickelback promotional materials (am painfully aware they’ll be performing at the Hondo Rodeo Fest in Febr).

Grateful to God for this extra time — both time w/ fam and time to fight. Can't say enough good things about…
- daraxonrasib
- ⁠MD Anderson’s incredible team of docs, nurses, techs, & researchers
- ⁠my wife: Melissa rocks. She’s laughing-crying-fighting-prayin with me every day. Best human I know.
- ⁠Corrie, Alex, and Breck are beyond awesome.

[Mike Cosper @MikeCosper]

Hey folks, if you appreciate my work, please consider subscribing to the newsletter linked in my bio. I have some exciting news coming soon, but I'm going to keep the newsletter going regardless. Next release is tomorrow.

[Mike Cosper @MikeCosper]

I dunno, maybe @bariweiss knows what she’s doing…

[60 Minutes @60Minutes]

Patrick Clancy says he dreams about his late children “all the time”

In one dream, he says, “I'm in the kitchen at the house, and Cora walks in. And I just look at her and… I basically just said, ‘Where have you been?’ And she comes up to me and gives me a big hug.” https://t.co/tu4p9uIubf

[Mike Cosper @MikeCosper]

If Pittman is in that receiver corps in OT, the Colts win. Not because he’s inevitable, but he changes the D’s game plan.

[Mike Cosper @MikeCosper]

@collinhansen Ahhhhhhhhgfggggghhhhhggghhhggg

[Mike Cosper @MikeCosper]

If Indy had kept Pittman, they'd have scored on that possession.

And yes, indeed, I have almost no voice left.

I'd decided I wasn't getting attached (per the pastoral guidance of @DerwinLGray ) and wasn't even watching, and then enough texts came, the flesh was weak, and I'm yelling at the TV again.

Sorry pastor, I did my best.

[Mike Cosper @MikeCosper]

@DennyBurk Give White Limousine, the album, a listen. His song for his mother is a heart-wrencher.

[Mike Cosper @MikeCosper]

Duncan Sheik... oh man. What sad, sad news.

Most people know him for "Barely Breathing," which is a fantastic song, no doubt, but Sheik was a phenomal songwriter beyond that. Honestly, a top-ten show for me was when he was touring on his record "White Limousine" and played WFPK's Waterfront Wednesday series years and years ago. Gerry Leonard ("Spooky Ghost") was on guitar. I'll never forget the amazing sounds of that band, the sun setting, and those great songs.

He quit rock and roll and turned to musical theater, and he won two Tony awards for "Spring Awakenings." He also wrote the music for a show based on "American Psycho" and another based on "Because of Winn Dixie" that never made it to Broadway.

He is one of those unsung hero songwriters, where when you dig in you discover gem after gem. Seriously, listen to the album White Limousine today. You'll be glad you did. It's melancholic, beautiful, and intimate. It's also kind of hypnotic. You get drawn into the mood of it and it's a great listen.

One of my favorite things I've ever heard an artist say was from Duncan Sheik. He was on World Cafe, and about to play his last song — this was during the release of White Limousine — and David asked him what he'd close out with. Duncan said, "Barely Breathing, of course." David asked, "Do you ever get sick of playing the hit? Some artists get resentful of it and wear out playing them."

Duncan said (I"m paraphrasing from memory), "Look, I wouldn't be here today without that song. I wouldn't fill a venue without that song. It's given me so much. I'd have to get really cynical to resent playing it." And then he said this — my favorite part: "And then some nights, if you're lucky, you reconnect with why you wrote it in the first place, that feeling you had in that moment. And it's like you're right back where you were in that moment.And you and this audience get to connect over it again."

I think that's beautiful. A real loss to hear this news.

[Mike Cosper @MikeCosper]

https://t.co/jTHfOQ25B9

[Mike Cosper @MikeCosper]

I wrote up my take on the midterms, with a big head nod to @jonahdispatch. Link Below.

[Mike Cosper @MikeCosper]

https://t.co/jTHfOQ25B9

[Mike Cosper @MikeCosper]

I wrote about the midterms, and two insights from @JonahDispatch that I think help illuminate what may (or may not) happen, for today's newsletter. LInk below.

[Mike Cosper @MikeCosper]

@CVernonSmith I seem to remember someone saying, "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it."