The Habit

This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with Laura Fabrycky , author of Keys to Bonhoeffer's Haus: Exploring the World and Wisdom of Dietrich Bonhoeffer . They discuss the multiple competing narratives of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the centrality of place in the stories of our lives, and connections between writing and civic housekeeping. Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnyst...

In this episode, Jonathan and Nancy discuss the invaluable resource of deep focus, research as practicing the posture of learning, and the clarifying power of talking before writing. Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ned Bustard is a graphic designer, illustrator, author, and printmaker from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. In this episode, Jonathan and Ned discuss the fraught topic of success in art, the clarifying effect of working for one’s community, and how he and his wife, Leslie, have planted seeds in their hometown. Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnystudio....

Jeremy Casella is a singer-songwriter in Nashville. In this episode, Jonathan and Jeremy discuss songwriting as a means of processing life, the abiding value of failure, and the centrality of truth-telling. Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trillia Newbell is the author of several books including United: Captured by God’s Vision for Diversity , and, most recently, Sacred Endurance: Finding Grace and Strength for a Lasting Faith . She is a former journalist and currently the Director of Community Outreach for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission for the Southern Baptist Convention. Jonathan and Trillia discuss the role of...

A man of many interests, Lee Camp is a theology professor, the host of the Tokens variety show, and the author of Scandalous Witness: A Little Political Manifesto for Christians . In this episode, Jonathan and Lee discuss Lee’s controversially orthodox assertions, the necessity for a hermeneutic of love, and the inextricability of true hope and the courage to encounter a new story. Support t...

Going all the way back to 2008, here's an episode of the old Rabbit Room Podcast in which Jonathan reads aloud his release day review of On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness —with an introduction by Andrew Peterson impersonating Alfred Hitchcock. Yeah, we never were sure exactly what that was about. Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnystudio.com/listener...

Francis Su is the author of Mathematics for Human Flourishing . In this episode, Jonathan and Francis talk about revealing the unseen, the ability of math to teach virtue, and what it might mean to re-enchant the discipline of math. Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Jonathan and the Circe Institute's David Kern reminisce about the work of the recently deceased Charles Portis. They discuss the connections between fiction and flim-flammery, the role of the ridiculous in comic storytelling, the importance of leaving some work for the reader to do, the world's smallest perfect man, and one of the world's most perfect opening sentences. David Kern...

Jen Pollock Michel is the author of three books, most recently Surprised By Paradox: The Promise of And in an Either-Or World . In this episode, Jonathan and Jen discuss the role of paradox in writing, the difference between either-or and both-and, and the difference between mystery and paradox. Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...

Writer and photographer Seth Haines is the author of Coming Clean and The Book of Waking Up . In this episode, Jonathan and Seth discuss the slow process of waking up in the "key of joy," the instructive power of pain, and the under-publicized companionship between creativity and sobriety. Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

Elyse Fitzpatrick and Eric Schumacher are co-authors of Worthy: Celebrating the Value of Women . In this espisode, Jonathan, Elyse, and Eric discuss writing as an antidote to reducing other people to categories, the church’s responsibility to defend victims of sexual abuse, the cowriting process for Elyse and Eric, and how they have chosen to navigate a politically fraught topic. Support the...

Lore Ferguson Wilbert is the author of Handle With Care: How Jesus Redeems the Power of Touch in Life and Ministry . She has been blogging since 2000 at Sayable.net . In this episode, Jonathan and Lore talk about the idea of touch as the mother of all senses, the exceeding vulnerability of Jesus, and the surprisingly symbiotic relationship between tenderness and resilience. Support the show: https...

Heidi Johnston is the author of Choosing Love , a book that tries to tell teenage girls the truth about relationships. Jonathan and Heidi discuss the various roadblocks to writing—particularly procrastination and imposter syndrome—the task of writing to tell a truer story, and the wellsprings of originality.  Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnyst...

Meredith McDaniel is the author of In Want + Plenty: Waking Up to God's Provision in a Land of Longing. She's also a licensed professional counselor. Jonathan and Meredith discuss the deep connections between counseling and storytelling, the importance of bodily liturgies for a writer, and learning to give no more or less than what we have to give. Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfue...

Memoirist and humorist Harrison Scott Key is the author of Congratulations, Who Are You Again? and The World's Largest Man , which won the Thurber Prize for humor. In this episode, Jonathan and Harrison discuss the difference between anecdote and memoir, the value of not knowing everything about your own stories, and the link between memoir-writing and therapy. Support the show: https://therabbitr...

Jonathan and Andrew discuss the relationships between creativity and loneliness, the problem of ambition, and the paradox of the age-old search for originality. Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A veteran of the publishing business, Don Pape is publisher at NavPress. In this episode, Jonathan and Don discuss all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into publishing a book, how Don got into the business himself, and the many curious intersections of creativity and industry. Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

S. D. (Sam) Smith is the author of the much-loved Green Ember series. In this episode, Jonathan and Sam explore storytelling as an act of love and service, a magic trick, and an occasion for practicing true humility. Sam is currently offering a free audiobook of The Green Ember , the first book in his series. Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnystudio.com/listener...

Chris Wall is a film producer in Nashville. He was at Big Idea Productions for eleven years, working on VeggieTales and 3-2-1 Penguins! and other projects. More recently, he produced the Wingfeather Saga short film and the Slugs & Bugs Show . In this episode, Jonathan and Chris discuss the making of the Slugs & Bugs Show and the many collaborative situations Chris has found himself in...

Christie Purifoy is the author of Placemaker: Cultivating Places of Comfort, Beauty, and Peace . She says, "I believe that life, in all its pain and beauty and mystery, is a journey of love. Writing keeps my eyes wide-open to this astonishing reality." In this episode, Jonathan and Christie discuss the analogy between writing and gardening, how to name and and rename "weeds," and what it means to...

Tish Harrison Warren is an Anglican priest and the author of Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life , winner of Christianity Today's Book of the Year Award for Spiritual Formation. She is joined by Doug McKelvey, author of Every Moment Holy. In this episode, Jonathan Rogers talks with Tish and Doug about what Tish means by the word "ordinary," the power of liturgical rhythms to...

Ron Block is a banjo player and a long-time member of Alison Kraus's band, Union Station. He is also an amateur theologian, a George MacDonald aficionado, and the star of O Brother, Where Art Thou? (he's the banjo player in this scene ). In this episode, Jonathan Rogers and Ron Block discuss the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset, the "try-harder cycle," and how to turn that n...

JJ Heller 's songs remind people that they are loved. She and her husband Dave have been writing together since before they were married. Lately they have taken up a new discipline: On the first Friday of every month, they release a new song to the various digital platforms. In this episode, Jonathan talks with JJ and Dave Heller about the quest of finding one’s voice, anxiety, the tension b...

John Hendrix is a much-decorated author and illustrator and an art professor at Washington University in St. Louis. His work has appeared in Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Esquire, The New York Times, and elsewhere. His most recent book, The Faithful Spy , is a graphic novel about Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the plot to kill Adolph Hitler. It won a g...