Table of (Mal)Contents

We're back once again with our latest episode of Table of (mal)Contents! This week, Scarlet, Dave, and I are joined by our friend Jenaye White. Jenaye works as part of B&H Publishing Group's marketing team, where Dave previously worked as well. Now, Dave is sure that he had a plan that would involve talking about the Enneagram as much as possible as we recorded this episode on my birthday. But...

We've got a new episode of Table of (mal)Contents this week, and it's a big one—our 100th episode of the show in its current form! And what better way for us to celebrate than to have Barnabas Piper rejoin us for our look back on 100 episodes of book recommendations, Listen in as we discuss: Barnabas's wedding and how his life has improved even during a pandemic What books we've enjoyed that we we...

I wanted to make some sort of reference to Wayne Gretzky in this episode's title, but it wouldn't make any sense. Aside from it being the 99th episode of the podcast since we relaunched as Table of (mal)Contents. Yes, we're really there after all this time. But this week, we're back with mostly good mics, and joined by a friend of the podcast, Will Mitchell. Will is a teacher, longtime listener, a...

This past week was rough on Team (mal)Contents, y'all. Scarlet's shared a bit about what's going on with her family on social media recently (so go read about it there). Dave was feeling pretty rough on Friday, so we had to postpone recording. But rather than skip this week, I decided to do something fun and introduce you to a member of the next generation of the Armstrong army: my eldest daughter...

So, we had a plan for this episode. (Maybe.) And it was a good plan, too. (Also maybe.) But then one of our co-hosts was called away unexpectedly and couldn't join us when we hit record. So, instead, Dave and I talked about a lot of things. Listen in to hear: Dave airs his grievance with my editing of last week's episode How to interpret the number of reviews of books for children on Amazon Three...

This week, we decided to keep things serious and tackle the tough topics that are shaping the world in which we live. Which, of course, means we're answering questions inspired by Goodreads and our friend Andy Whisenant from B&H Publishing. Listen in as we answer: You are traveling on a Lord of the Rings style journey. You can only take 3 characters with you that are featured in books you've r...

We're wrapping up our special summer series today, where each of the co-hosts jumps into the hot seat to introduce him or herself to our listeners! This time, Dave is in the hot seat—as long as his internet connection holds out. Listen in to hear: How Dave got into publishing (and met his lovely wife) How he fell in love with history books, and how many Winston Churchill biographies he's read (thi...

We're continuing our special summer series today, where each of the co-hosts jumps into the hot seat to introduce him or herself to our listeners! This time? It's my (Aaron's) turn. But there's a twist! One of us had internet problems because he was on the beach or something. So Scarlet got stuck asking me the hard questions and cringing at some of my answers. Listen in to hear: The epic tale of w...

As you are no doubt aware, podcasts are always growing and changing, and new people pick up the show along the way. (At least, we hope that's happening.) So, today we're kicking off a special summer series today on the show, where each of the co-hosts jumps in the hot seat to introduce him or herself to our listeners! Listen in to hear: Scarlet's early life and where she's from The first book she...

Is social media the worst, or are we? What if the answer is yes? Our friend Chris Martin joins us to talk about all things social media and give us the inside track on his upcoming book on the subject on this episode. Listen in as we discuss: What social media does to people's brains Why social media actually isn't morally neutral How Neil Postman speaks to the effects of social media despite writ...

So, we had a plan for this episode. We were going to have some fun talking through some decent questions Goodreads has been posting lately. But instead… well, you'll have to listen to what exactly happened this week. Because none of us are entirely sure. But we did have a lot of fun as we discussed: Nicolas Cage's method of acting Dave's unexpected trip to the ER (and pro-tips for getting to the f...

So with everything that's happening in the world recently, we decided to talk together about books we've read that have helped us explore the experiences of others. Specifically, the experiences of African Americans. This conversation was, honestly, a pretty awkward one for us to have since none of us are African American, and we didn't want it to be perceived as "three white people helping you un...

Recently it looked like we were maybe hopefully getting toward a happier and healthier place in this pandemic. The sun was shining, stores were opening… and well, 2020 keeps happening. But we're not talking about terribly serious stuff on this episode because it was recorded before 2020 got even worse. Maybe we'll get serious and talk about some of that next week. We'll see. But in the meantime, w...

So, many weeks ago, back in the long forgotten times when people socialized together and we recorded our podcast in-person, and before Scarlet teamed up with us to class up this show and keep it firmly in the mostly-family-friendly radio space, there was another co-host. But his life got too busy with a new job, his other show, and a book deadline, so he had to say goodbye to his regular gig here....

As you all know, Dave loves history (almost as much as he loves cats). And because I am a Canadian, he and Scarlet both wanted to help me learn more about American history, in the hopes that I can someday pass a citizenship test. So, we thought, why not have Thomas Kidd join us to help with both? Listen in as we discuss: Is there really more that can be said about some of these well-known historic...

Recently I discovered that McKay's, our favorite second-hand bookstore, has been offering themed grab bags of books to help people stay on top of their reading during this season. So, of course, I bought one—and it was 100% YA fiction. But what kind of YA fiction was it? You'll find out as Scarlet, Dave and I discuss: When we can record in person again Which books from our bag seem like they're wo...

Two countries unite on today's episode of the show as Drew Dyck joins us for a chat about being Canadians in Americaland, Canadian geography, and life on the interwebs. For those not in the know, Drew Dyck is an acquisitions editor at Moody Publishers, an author, and a fellow Canadian. Listen in as we discuss: What Drew loves best about the online world right now What's the worst thing online righ...

As we continue to trudge through this season of social distancing and everyone sheltering at home, we're all finding it to be a struggle to do some of our favorite things. Y'know, like reading. So today, Karen Swallow Prior—one of our favorite guests from 2019—makes a return visit to the show to talk about reading habits, binge-watching, and generally class up the program. Listen in as we discuss:...

We're back with a brand-new episode, and we've brought a friend along! Daniel Darling joins us to talk about some nice, easy subjects including politics, online discussion, and the nature of celebrity. Listen in as we discuss: The difference between being Christian famous and actually famous Why we need to be wise with how we speak online The continued debate over retiring the sucker punch Becomin...

We're back with a brand-new episode, in which Scarlet takes over as our benevolent dictator (she wanted me to call her our benign dictator, but I can't do it). Listen in as we discuss: The myth of extra time Giving books as gifts If giving a book as a gift has ever backfired on us When and why to quit reading a book If we've ever quit books that were convicting and/or offensive How many Churchill...

Well, we're a day later than normal, friends, but we've got a fun episode featuring the whole crew—and our friends, Scott James, as our special guest! Scott is a pediatric physician based in Birmingham, Ala., and the author of several books for families, including the newly released Where is Wisdom? . Listen in as: We weigh in on your answers about retiring the sucker punch Scott corrects us with...

We're coming at you with a special bonus episode of the show today, one that we hope is filled with optimism and joy as Dave continues to prep for the apocalypse. Listen in to hear: An announcement about a very special project from our team Our first very important business meeting, working through last episode's issues The multiple ways to spell Charlotte What books we would take on a deserted is...

We're not going to lie: this whole social distancing thing is taking its toll on us here at (mal)Contents HQ. Dave's wearing Tina Turner's outfit from Thunderdome, I'm preparing to put spikes on my car, and Scarlet is… raising chickens and going to the urgent care clinic. It's a dark time, as you can imagine. But still, you might be surprised at how fun this one is, especially when we discuss: Bac...

We step back in time to the week to the beginning of the month when we last sat in a room together to record a podcast! This time around, we had some fun that’s  We riff on different title ideas for this episode (that I don’t think we ended up using) Advice for past Scarlet, studying publishing Being dependent on Jesus as a writer What’s really frustrating about titling The kind of writers no publ...

Since we're all being encouraged to practice social distancing these days, Dave, Scarlet and I decided to plug in our mics and record our first-ever episode where we weren't in the room together (something that hasn't been done on this show since the old Reading Writers days). Listen in as we discuss from the safety of our own homes (and Dave's office): We officially introduce our new co-host! Whe...