The Echoes Podcast

Episode Summary 

Five-time Emmy award-winning journalist Rome Hartman talks with Marcus Goodyear and Camille Hall-Ortega to reflect on faith, leadership, and patriotism. They discuss three presidents—Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Gerald Ford—each of whom spoke at H. E. Butt Foundation events in the past. It’s a conversation about humility, power, public service, and the enduring challenge of loving a country honestly—celebrating its gifts while remaining willing to examine its shortcomings. 
 

Show Notes 

• Archival recordings from Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Gerald Ford available on the episode page at echoesmagazine.org/faith-leadership-power-america-250  
• 11 Fireside Chats (F. Roosevelt) | The American Presidency Project 
• President Ronald Reagan begins Saturday Morning Radio Addresses (April 3, 1982)| We Are Broadcasters 

After nearly two seasons of conversations with thinkers, writers, artists, and scholars, Marcus and Camille take time to reflect on the ideas they can't stop thinking about. From mental health and human connection to AI, addiction, and the future of community, this episode explores the themes that have echoed long after the microphones were turned off. It's a candid look at what they've learned, what has challenged them, and what they hope listeners carry forward. 
 

Notes: 

• Dave Nienhaus — the difference between darkness and the deep, and what the church gets wrong about suffering  
• Sally Lloyd-Jones — what children have taught a beloved children's book author about connection and art  
• Andy Crouch — technology as the sorcerer's apprentice, and what we lose when we outsource our humanity  
• Lydia Dugdale — hope is not a feeling but a discipline, a daily choice to orient toward a future good  
• Ian Morgan-Cron — addiction, the Enneagram, and a Big Bend backpacking trip Marcus will never forget 

Summary 

We all hide. We hide from God, from each other, and even from ourselves — and it turns out that's not just a spiritual problem. It's a brain problem. In this episode, psychiatrist and author Dr. Curt Thompson joins Marcus Goodyear and Camille Hall-Ortega to explore what neuroscience and Christian spiritual formation have to say to each other about shame, community, and the human longing to be fully known. 

Links and Resources 

• Subscribe to Echoes magazine (free, quarterly print): echoesmagazine.org 
• Dr. Curt Thompson's website: curtthompsonmd.com 
• The Being Known Podcast: available on all major streaming platforms 
• The Center for Being Known: www.thecbk.org/ 
• The Soul of Shame: Retelling the Stories We Believe About Ourselves (IVP, 2015) 
• The Deepest Place: Suffering and the Formation of Hope (HarperOne, 2023) 
• Paul Borgman, Genesis: The Story We Haven't Heard (IVP, 2001) 

H. E. Butt Foundation: hebfdn.org 

When suffering silences us, where do we turn? Drawing from his forthcoming book And the Sea Was No More, biblical scholar, professor, and author, Dave Nienhuis reflects on suffering, community, and the “victory narrative” that can keep us from telling the truth. This conversation is a powerful look at how God meets us in chaos and how faith makes room for struggle and vulnerability.

Show Notes: 

• And the Sea Was No More by David Nienhuis (available for preorder; releases September 22, 2026) 
• The Psalms (especially Psalm 69) 
• Dark Night of the Soul, St. John of the Cross 
• Mental health support 
• Subscribe to Echoes magazine 
• If this episode resonated with you, be sure to follow The Echoes Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, and share it with someone who might need it. 

What if addiction isn’t just about substances—but about the human soul? 

In this episode of The Echoes Podcast, Marcus Goodyear and Camille Hall-Ortega sit down with bestselling author, Episcopal priest, psychotherapist, and Enneagram teacher Ian Morgan Cron to explore a surprising and deeply human idea: we are all addicts. Drawing from his latest book, The Fix, Ian reframes addiction as a misdirected longing—a search for connection, meaning, and ultimately, God. 
 
This conversation also explores the connection between the Enneagram and addiction, the power of self-awareness, and why “hurt people” may be uniquely equipped to help others heal. 

Show Notes: 

• The Typology Podcast with Ian Morgan Cron 
• IanMorganCron.com 
• The Fix by Ian Morgan Cron 
• The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron 
• The Grace of Letting Go, audio from Ian Morgan Cron's 2025 retreat at Laity Lodge 
• The Big Book from Alcoholics Anonymous 
• Carl Jung and 12 Steps origins 
• Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim’s Tale by Ian Morgan Cron 
• “I do not understand what I do...” Romans 7:15-20 
• Robert “Bob” Goff 
• Enneagram types 
• Introducing the Enneagram with Richard Rohr 

Summary 

Largely due to technology, many of us feel more connected than ever—but we also feel less known than ever. In this episode, Andy Crouch talks with us about AI, anxiety, loneliness, and what technology can never replace. Drawing on The Life We’re Looking For, Andy explores why “formation requires friction” and why real hope begins with recovering a more personal, relational, and loving way of life. 

Listen now and hear a hopeful vision for what it means to stay human. 

Do you like this conversation? You can subscribe to Echoes Magazine for free at https://hebfdn.org/echoes/subscribe/ 

SHOW NOTES:  

• Andy Crouch, The Life We’re Looking For: Reclaiming Relationship in a Technological World  
• Andy Crouch, Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling  
• Ronald A. Heifetz, Leadership Without Easy Answers 
• Ronald Heifetz, Marty Linsky, and Alexander Grashow, The Practice of Adaptive Leadership  
• Luke 1:26-42 
• Hebrews 4:15 
• Mark 10:45 
• John 12:6 
• Andy Crouch, The Tech-Wise Family 
• Christianity Today – Andy Crouch  

Praxis – Awaken Your Redemptive Imagination 

Movies don’t just entertain us—they train our imaginations. In this episode, New York Times film critic Alissa Wilkinson helps us think about Hollywood, media, AI, and the stories shaping our shared reality. It’s a thoughtful conversation about truth, criticism, and how to choose better narratives in a fractured age.

In this episode

• Hollywood is an American “dream machine”
• Movies shape both personal identity and national self-understanding
• What happens when shared cultural stories fragment
• The bright side of film: friendship, representation, and moral imagination
• Joan Didion on truth, spin, nostalgia, and storytelling
• Why criticism matters and how it can model civil disagreement
• How advertising, lifestyle branding, and media shape our picture of the good life
• Why AI-generated video poses a serious challenge to truth
• Practical habits for becoming a more discerning viewer
• Alyssa’s thoughts on the 2026 Oscar nominees and a few films worth seeking out

Books mentioned

• We Tell Ourselves Stories by Alissa Wilkinson
• Salty by Alissa Wilkinson
• How to Survive the Apocalypse by Alissa Wilkinson and Doug Joustra
• An Experiment in Criticism by C. S. Lewis

Films mentioned

• The Truman Show (1998)
• The General (1926)
• Ratatouille (2007)
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
• Sinners (2025)
• The Testament of Ann Lee (2025)
• Train Dreams (2025)
• Hidden Figures (2016)
• The Lord of the Rings (2001 - 2003)
• My Girl (1991)
• Tron (1982)

In this episode, New York Times bestselling children’s author Sally Lloyd-Jones discusses storytelling, faith, and rediscovering childlike wonder. Drawing from her books, including The Jesus Storybook Bible and Jesus, Our True Friend, Sally helps us explore themes of friendship, trust in God’s presence, and the freedom that comes from approaching faith like a child, allowing space for awe, imagination, and grace. 

NOTES:  

• The Complete Nonsense of Edward Lear 
• Sally Lloyd-Jones website 
• Sally Lloyd-Jones and Jon Guerra Tour 
• The Jesus Storybook Bible 
• Jesus Our True Friend 
• Goldfish on Vacation 
• Baby Wren and the Great Gift 
• Tim Keller 
• Henry James: “Try to be one of those on whom nothing is lost.”  
• Hedonic adaptation 
• Yale Happiness Class 
• John 16:33 (NIV) – “…I have overcome the world.” 
• C.S. Lewis – Four Types of Love 
• Proverbs 18:24 (NIV) – “…there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” 
• John 15:13 (NIV) – “…to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.”  
• Thomas Keating: “…chief thing that separates us from God…” 
• Frederick Buechner: “If there were no room for doubt, there would be no room for me.” 
• Dallas Willard quote 

SUMMARY: 

Physician and medical ethicist Dr. Lydia Dugdale (Columbia University) argues hope isn’t a careless wish—it’s a practiced habit oriented toward a future good that’s hard but possible. We talk about hope as a communal discipline, the dangers on both sides—despair and false hope—how doctors actually handle prognoses, why imagination relates to hope, and whether “AI grief avatars” help or harm. Along the way: Aquinas, Augustine, and Howard E. Butt Jr. advising us to stay “steady in the saddle.” 

NOTES: 

• Hope You’re Well! No, But Really. - Echoes Magazine 
• Lydia S. Dugdale, MD | Division of General Medicine 
• The Lost Art of Dying – HarperCollins 
• Between Presumption and Despair: Augustine's Hope for the Commonwealth | American Political Science Review | Cambridge Core 
• SUMMA THEOLOGIAE: Hope, considered in itself (Secunda Secundae Partis, Q. 17) 

“I love being old.” That comment from a woman in her late 80s stuck with Mark D. Roberts. Today he helps people think about how to flourish in the “third third” of life. In this episode of The Echoes Podcast, we cover why relationships at 20–50 shape our health at 80, what the U.S. Surgeon General calls the loneliness epidemic, how churches can foster intergenerational community, when moving in your 60s+ helps—or hurts—your social fabric, and why “it’s all about you” is a terrible retirement story. Practical, hopeful, and unapologetically positive about how to age well. 

NOTES: 

•  “Third Third of Life” work from the De Pree Center Third Third Flourishing - De Pree Center 
• Can We Trust the Gospels? by Mark D. Roberts  
• Ephesians Commentary by Mark D. Roberts 
• Making It Work podcast (co-hosted by Roberts) 
• Harvard Second Generation Study 
• Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation U.S. Surgeon General Advisory on the “15 cigarettes a day” stat 
• Laity Lodge (Texas) 
• Christina Rossetti’s Up-Hill | The Poetry Foundation 
• Psalm 103 
• On Thinking Institutionally (On Politics) by Hugh Heclo 
• Echoes Magazine (free subscription) 
• H. E. Butt Foundation (mission/vision)