The Habit

W. David O. Taylor is Associate Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary and the author of several books. His most recent book is A Body of Praise: Understanding the Role of Our Physical Bodies in Worship .   In addition to a range of scholarly essays, he has written for The Washington Post, Image Journal, Religion News Service , Theology Today, and Books & Culture , am...

Jessica Hooten Wilson is the Seaver College Scholar of Liberal Arts at Pepperdine University. She is the author of many books, the most recent of which is Reading for the Love of God: How to Read as a Spiritual Practice . In this episode, Dr. Hooten Wilson and Jonathan Rogers talk about the difference between using a book and enjoying a book; they discuss a trinitarian vision of reading; they disc...

Drew. Jackson is a poet and pastor. His latest collection is  Touch the Earth: Poems on The Way . His work has appeared in Oneing, Made for Pax, The Journal from the Centre for Public Christianity, Fathom Magazine , and other publications. In this episode, Drew Jackson speaks with Jonathan Rogers about shared meals, hospitality, abundance, and the tension in his poetry between receptivity and grat...

Besides being an author, Daniel Nayeri is a publisher, a pastry chef, and a raconteur. His book Everything Sad Is Untrue (a True Story) , won many awards, and with good reason. His new book is The Many Assassinations of Samir, The Seller of Dreams . The Habit Podcast is sponsored by The Habit Membership. Find out more at TheHabit.co . Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member S...

Recorded before a live audience at The Habit Writer's Retreat, this episode features songwriter and poet Katy Bowser Hutson. Katy and Jonathan Rogers discuss play and creativity, and play as a posture toward reality,  The Habit Podcast is sponsored by The Habit Membership for writers. Find out more at TheHabit.co . Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnystudio.com/li...

Faitth Brooks is a writer, speaker, social worker, activist, and co-host of the Melanated Faith podcast. She has served as the director of programs and innovation for Be the Bridge and as director of women's empowerment for Legacy Collective. In all her work, Faitth Brooks is crafting a communal space where Black sisters can explore rest, tenderness, and softness. Her new book is Remember Me Now:...

Jason Baxter teaches Great Books at Notre Dame University. His most recent book is The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis: How Great Books Shaped a Great Mind . Just as Lewis reclaimed the medievals' enchanted view of reality, Dr. Baxter reclaims Lewis's vision for our generation.  Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leslie Bustard and her husband Ned are the driving force behind Square Halo Books and the Square Halo Conference. Leslie’s new poetry collection, her first, is called The Goodness of the Lord in the Land of the Living .  Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael Lamb is an associate professor of interdisciplinary humanities at Wake Forest University, where he is also the FM Kirby Foundation Chair of Leadership and Character, and the executive director of of the Program for Leadership and Character. He is the author of A Commonwealth of Hope: Augustine’s Political Thought . On this week's episode he speaks with Jonathan Rogers about the ways that h...

Andrea Yenne is the "Momerator" and driving force behind the Student Edition of The Habit Membership—an incredibly happy and productive fellowship of teenage writers who give each other a little more courage. In this episode, Andrea speaks with Jonathan Rogers about the things she has learned from her experience as the leader of this glad band of writers. The upcoming online class, Writing Through...

Carlos Whittaker is committed to creating spaces–online and in person–where people are safe to engage in conversation about the topics that matter most but are often avoided. He’s a speaker, he’s the host of the podcast “ Human Hope with Carlos Whittaker ,” and he is the  cultivator and nurturer of a huge and engaged instagram community he calls his instafamilia. He has just released a book called...

Edmund Spenser's 1590 epic poem, The Faerie Queene , is one of the monumental works of English literature. But it doesn't get read much any more. Rebecca Reynolds is doing something about it. She has rendered Spenser's 36,000 lines of very difficult poetry into much more accessible prose. Artist Justin Gerard has painted beautiful illustrations. The books start coming out later this year, but you...

Chris Nye is a pastor and an academic. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, and other publications. He is the author of three books, most recently A Captive Mind: Christianity, Ideologies, and Staying Sane in a World Gone Mad. In this episode, Chris and Jonathan Rogers talk about ideological captivity, the writer’s temptation to confirm the rea...

Jen Pollock Michel's latest book is In Good Time: 8 Habits for Reimagining Productivity, Resisting Hurry, and Practicing Peace . As we look ahead to a new year, with all its goals and resolutions, Jen’s thoughts on productivity, fruitfulness, and time are especially helpful. Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Loren Warnemuende is the author of Exile , Book 1 of the Daughter of Arden trilogy. She started writing Exile in 1995. But life intervened, and the story languished for two decades and more. That delay, as it turned out, made it possible for Loren to write a better book. Anyone who has faced writing roadblocks will find Loren's story encouraging. Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel....

Dawn E. Morrow writes poems for people who think they don't write poetry. Her debut collection is The Habit of Hope . Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Drew Bratcher is a journalist and essayist whose work has appeared in Oxford American, Los Angeles Review of Books, Paris Review, Nowhere Magazine, Garden & Gun, and Image Journal . His debut book is Bub: Essays from North of Nashville . It combines memoir and arts criticism—particularly country music criticism. In this episode, Drew Bratcher and Jonathan Rogers talk about oral storytelling, j...

Rachel Marie Kang is the author of Let There Be Art: The Pleasure and Purpose of Unleashing the Creativity Within You . In this episode, Rachel and Jonathan Rogers discuss creative collisions, finding balance between art-making and other life-responsibilities, and creating right where you are. Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...

Sean Dietrich is a blogger, a storyteller, a musician, a novelist, a memoirist, and a columnist. On his blog, Sean of the South , he posts a new story every day about the people and places of the American South. His new book is You Are My Sunshine: A Story of Love, Promises, and a Really Long Bike Ride . In this episode, Sean and Jonathan Rogers talk about paying attention, talking to strangers, a...

Andrew Roycroft is a poet and pastor in Northern Ireland. His new collection, 33 , consists of 33 poems, each 33 words long, meditating on the life and words of Jesus from the Gospel of John—plus 33 essays about the 33 poems. In this episode, Andrew and Jonathan Rogers talk about poetry's power to distill meaning, the poetic implications of John's idea of Logos made flesh, and Seamus Heaney. Suppo...

Audrey Elledge and Elizabeth Moore started writing liturgies and prayers for their local church in New York City as a way of helping their friends and co-congregants deal with the fear and isolation of the COVID-19 lockdowns in their city. Those liturgies grew to become their new book, Liturgies for Hope: Sixty Prayers for the Highs, the Lows, and Everything in Between . In this episode, Audrey an...

MaryAnn McKibben Dana is a writer, a free-range pastor, a speaker, and a leadership coach. Her most recent book is Hope: A User's Manual . MaryAnn embarked on this book as a way of writing herself back to hope after a grueling few years of life and world events. In this episode, MaryAnn and Jonathan talk about hope that is not predictive, the difference between hope and optimism, and the ways that...

James K.A. Smith is a philosopher and a professor at Calvin University. He is also the editor in chief of Image , a quarterly journal at the intersection of art, faith, and mystery. His work has been especially formative for me. His new book is How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now . In this episode, Jamie Smith and I talk about Ecclesiastes, no-when...

Journalist Bonnie Kristian writes opinion pieces on foreign policy, religion, electoral politics, and more. Her column, "The Lesser Kingdom," appears in print and online at Christianity Today . She is a fellow at Defense Priorities, a foreign policy think tank, and her work has been published at outlets including The New York Times , The Week , USA Today , CNN, Politico , Reason , and The Daily Be...

Ron Block is the banjo player for Alison Krauss & Union Station and the author of Abiding Dependence: Moment by Moment in the Love of God . In this episode, Ron and Jonathan Rogers discuss finding one's true identity, repentance without negative self-talk, and getting free of the anxiety and fear that eat up processing power for a writer or artist. Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givin...