Welcome back! It's been a long break and I'm excited to be back talking with Bruce for this episode!

Enjoy!

In this episode we talked about their history together as friends and musical collaborators, the various bands they've been in, their songwriting methods, their faith, and more. Enjoy!

I was initially interested in talking with Thomas to learn more about McCort's new Bright Futures Fund, an alumni-created fund to provide tuition assistant for high performing students. Our conversation touched on this and many other aspects of his administrative work with the school as well as past schools, where he hopes to take the school moving forward, and most importantly, how faith plays into the curriculum and atmosphere of Bishop McCort.

Enough summary, enjoy the episode!

This was a fun one, this is the first time I've had an explicitly politically themed episode. This is meant as the first step for conversation, no matter your own beliefs or ideologies

This was an incredible episode - Bill shared so much wisdom even in the short hour we got to talk. Enjoy!

Check out more of Bill's work:

His music

Link to his books on Amazon

Check out Duncan's work below:

Substack

Website

I know, it's been a LONG break. What started as an extra week for the New Years became a month, but we're back at it. Expect new episodes every three weeks, with a special one thrown in bi-weekly here and there!

https://www.instagram.com/cwn_annwn_/

and her Substack:

https://substack.com/@clarewelsh

Check out his work at his Website & Instagram

I met Alex earlier this year when he was setting up the Bardstock festival to commemorate Gazebo Park in Johnstown before its reconstruction by spotlighting poets, musicians, and artists from all around the country.

This will be the first of many of his appearances on the podcast!

Robbie was awesome to talk to, and I'm really excited for you all to get to listen to this conversation!

Check out Matt and team's work at their website:

https://www.wetinkgames.com/

I had a great time recording this episode with Josh, his passion for the history that inspired heavy metal is really inspiring. Check out his book!

https://www.amazon.com/Heavy-Metal-History-Lesson-ebook/dp/B0DQLP97L5

Josh's Substack:

https://substack.com/@joshputnam

Check out his work at:

https://www.brieckdraw.com/

or his Instragram

@brieckdraw

This was an incredible interview! We had our share of scheduling and technical problems, but, out of all of that we got a really deep, insightful conversation out of it. Enjoy!

Check out Ryan's talks on his Youtube channel, ryan robinson.

We didn't get to touch on all of those sides of his life in this episode, but luckily, we will have him back on in the future for more conversations! I met Ryan through his work at the library, and we are teaching a podcasting class together starting in August 2025!

You can find Creedence at:

https://www.youtube.com/@creedencequestions

https://substack.com/@creedencequestions

Sources to Key Points of the Episode:

John 14:25-29 ~ Jesus promising the Holy Spirit in his absence

Matthew 28:17 ~ references how some disciples doubted Jesus even as he was ascending to heaven

"Light of the World" movie by Salvation Poem Project

"King of Kings" movie by Seong-ho Jang

Disciple's ages: https://ac3.org/2017/04/how-old-were-the-disciples

"Paradise Lost" by John Milton

Angelology: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchy_of_angels

"The Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri

Michael Heiser "The Unseen Realms"

Revelation 12 ~ the angels' battles in heaven

The Books of Enoch

Deuteronomy 32 & Psalms 82, 89 ~ referring to God and his heavenly assembly

Luke 3:8  ~ John the Baptist speaking to the crowds about Abraham

Acts 17:26-27 ~ God portioning out the nations so that people will find him

Creedence's Video on pagan gods

Luke 10:18 ~ Jesus saying he saw Satan fall from heaven

1 Corinthians 2:8 ~ the rulers would not have crucified Jesus if they had known its impact

Genesis 1:26 ~ God makes man in his image

Ephesians 3:9 ~ God's secret plan

"The Two Powers in Heaven" Michael Heiser

Ezekiel 28 ~ King of Tyre is compared to Satan

Gehenna

Hell in the Bible

Revelation 21:1 ~ new heaven and new earth

Matthew 17:1-11 ~ Jesus' transfiguration

Mt. Hermon

Romans 1 ~ the attributes of God

Wes Huff on "Flagrant" podcast

Galatians 4:4-7 ~ fullness of times

Ephesians 2:10 ~ we are God's creative work

Ephesians 2:22 ~ we are a living tabernacle

Enjoy the episode!

Some verses we talked about but didn't quote exactly:

Ephesians 4:11-13 : "And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherd and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God..."

Acts 17:26-27 : "And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him."

2 Corinthians 12:9 : "But he said to me, "'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'"

1 Corinthians 9:21 : "To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law."

Genesis 3:21 : "And the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them."

Galatians 4:4-5 : "But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons."

Galatians 3:24-25 : "Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor."

Warrior Poet Games: https://linktr.ee/warriorpoetgames

Task Automation Partners: https://www.taskautomationpartners.com/

Links to some of our other talking points:

David Lynch's writing method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yngWNmouhP0

Stephen King's writing routine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhwLqRQ8unM

Russell's Website: https://www.russellshorto.com/

Order "Taking Manhattan": https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393881164/ref=cm_sw_su_dp

Links to Collin's Work:

Website: https://people.rit.edu/clf8924/portfolio/Pages/photo-genres.html

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cfluke.photos/

Some Things We Talked About:

Dungeons and Dragons

"Brave New World" Aldous Huxley 

Some Things We Talked About:

• Nosferatu
• Twilight (reluctantly)
• Beowulf (Jim Henson Company)
• Dune
• The Lighthouse
• 28 Years Later
• It Comes At Night
• Hamlet (1990 with Mel Gibson)
• Artic Monkeys

Some things we talked about:

• “The Canterbury Tales" Geoffrey Chaucer

• "Twelfth Night" Shakespeare

• "Hamlet" Shakespeare

• "She Kills Monsters" Qui Nguyen

• Samuel Beckett

• "Not I" Samuel Beckett

• Bertolt Brecht

• Henri Matisse

wizardillustrator on Instagram

wizardillustrator2 on Tiktok

and his projects at linktr.ee/wizardillustrator

Things We Brought Up Throughout the Episode

Bug Boys - Laura Knetzger

Chris' "Mythic Ink" project that he is revitalizing!

Books We Mentioned:

The Bible, Colossians 3:23-24: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

"The Good War" Studs Terkel

Some of the books we talk about (I think I missed a few):

The Gospel According To Luke

"Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail" Ray Dalio

"The Abundant Community" John McClain

"Ishmael" Daniel Quinn (I think this is what Jeremy was talking about, but he didn't give an author)

"Man's Search For Meaning" Dr. Viktor Frankl

"The New Jim Crow" Michelle Alexander

"Leaders Eat Last" Simon Sinek

"The Autobiography of Malcolm X" Malcolm X with Alex Haley

Malcolm Gladwell

"Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World" Adam Grant

"10% Happier" Dan Harris

Some of our interesting talking points to look into yourself:

   James Baldwin (author/activist)

   Pittsburgh Art Council - Creative Hive

   Belle Hooks (author/social critic)

   Jean Michel Basquiat's Essential Reading List:

        // Symbol Sourcebook - Henry Dreyfuss

        // Flash of the Spirit - Robert Farris Thompson

   August Wilson (playwright)

   Hozier “Butchered Tongue”

Words to live by from Pamela:

"If you're surrounded by imagination, you start to trust your own imagination."

While editing this episode, I was reminded over and over of Dr. Viktor Frankl's philosophy, expressed in Man's Search for Meaning, which can be summed up beautifully with a line early in the book that I'll leave for you to think over; "Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual."

Enjoy the episode!