Table of (Mal)Contents

Coming to you from an undisclosed location in Franklin Tennessee, Dave and I are back together, and we’ve got a friend with us! Scarlet Hiltibidal, longtime friend of the podcast, is joining us on the show.  For how long? The short answer is, as long as she wants.  Listen in as we discuss: Dave’s first week at the new job The books Scarlet pitched that someone needs to pick up What other pop cultu...

Dave and I are back recording in Nashville after our adventures in Minneapolis, and I've been a bit concerned about something of late: have we become too sincere? Listen in as we also discuss: Why comedy directors do a great job directing dramatic films What are a few leadership books we’ve found actually helpful Why Dave is cleaning out his office A few of the books we mentioned on this episode:...

Shortly before heading out to Minneapolis, Dave and I were starting to get into a couple of books by William Kent Krueger. Well, it turns out that he lives in the area, so while we were in town, he graciously agreed to let us swing by and set up shop in his dining room to talk the mechanics of mystery writing, how he got his start, and, of course, what he's reading. Listen in as we discuss: What m...

Continuing our adventures in balmy Minneapolis, Dave and I had the chance to chat with our friend Jeremy Writebol. Jeremy is the director of Gospel-Centered Discipleship (our sponsor for the last few episodes), as well as an author and a pastor. During our chat in a relatively quiet executive lounge, we discussed: The time I gave Jeremy a critical review on his book Dave's commitment to the show a...

While in exotic Minneapolis, sitting in a fancy executive lounge at our hotel, Dave and I had a chance to talk with Canadian blogger and author Tim Challies—and as soon as the mics were on, things got heated. Listen in as we discuss: If Aaron is still a Canadian The fluidity of the English language Trends that Tim’s seen in publishing over the last 15 years The benefit of visual theology Tim’s adv...

Work travel is often challenging, but one benefit of it is going to conferences is that I have the opportunity to chat with writers who don't often come to Nashville. During the Super Bowl last week, Dave and I sat down to chat with Jen Wilkin, who is one of the best theologically-minded writers I know and a whole lot of fun to hang out with. Listen in as we discuss: What Jen really thinks about S...

One of my favorite people to interview is Andrew Peterson. He's been on the show once before (in its previous incarnation), and he's a great guy to talk books, music, and theology with. Well, today I have some good news: Andrew joined Dave and me in the studio to talk creativity, music, books, and his beef with J.J. Abrams. Listen in to hear: Where to get the best burrito in Nashville The differen...

Dave and I are back in the studio, and we've brought along a friend— Joel J. Miller , Chief Content Officer of Michael Hyatt & Company. Dave and Joel are old pals, having worked together at another publisher back in the day, so listen in as they reminisce, while discuss: Joel's career in publishing (and what he misses from his time in the industry) One of the authors Joel really regrets workin...

Today, we're offering a special Dave-less bonus episode featuring our friend Nick Rynerson. Nick was in town on business, and we decided that we should to something amazing: we should go to McKay's, one of my favorite bookstores! Get ready for the weirdest episode we may have ever done as we: Offer hot takes on books we see Recommend books for one another Describe our approaches to bookstore brows...

What's my problem with the weird books that tell men how to be men? Bill Delvaux joins Dave and me in the studio to talk books for men, faith, and gender stereotypes (a little). Listen in as we discuss: What I (Aaron) really thinks of Wild at Heart How guys use busyness as a way to avoid having to deal with personal issues The problem with most books directed toward men Our fascination with Jeff G...

Nancy Guthrie, who is already in the running for best guest ever after last episode, returns for another round of talking books, banter, and throwing shade at Dave (well, actually at me, but I like to pretend it was directed at Dave). Listen in as we talk: Why it's taken us so long to have her on the show Why we like having guests in-studio instead of joining via teleconference If/when one of us w...

At long last, Nancy Guthrie joins us in the studio this week! Nancy is a Bible teacher, host of Help Me Teach the Bible , and the author of many books, including the upcoming Saints and Scoundrels in the Story of Jesus , which we'll talk about a bit next episode. But this week, we're talking about a lot of different and important topics, including: Nancy's history in publishing—from publicist to a...

Our friend Nick Rynerson joins us as he auditions to take over for our former co-host (but still friend of the podcast), Barnabas. Listen in as we discuss: Why Nick's coworkers have a Wendell Berry jar in the office Misunderstood authors (both their work and their lifestyles) How Keanu Reeves can be the nicest man in the world and Neil Young is seemingly not, yet both are Canadian Why Dave is read...

It's time for our last new episode until 2020, and it's time for the three of us to have "the talk." Wait… what? What kind of talk are we talking about? You'll have to listen to find out. But in addition to that, a few other important things happen on the show: We play another round of our favorite game, "Leadership Book or Captain Picard" We discuss if we've embraced the "no hugging, no learning"...

'Tis the season for exhaustive lists of top- something or others from bloggers and podcasters everywhere. So, we're getting right down to business on this episode as we present to you our completely self-serving end-of-year book lists. Along the way, we also discuss: When Aaron sounds most pretentious How we rank Tim Keller’s books The challenge of enjoying poetry Our happiness about our friend Sc...

After a lengthy (?) sabbatical, Barnabas is back with us in the studio to gift you a very special and highly censored discussion of: Where Barnabas has been all this time People using nouns as verbs, and why it should never, ever happen again Terrible ideas for the title of Barnabas's next book Father wounds and our attempt to read a book by a certain ex-megachurch pastor Why parents should post r...

About a year ago, Dave and I had the privilege of being joined in-studio by acclaimed novelist Leif Enger while Barnabas was out on a work-related trip. He declared us really bad friends, and we're okay with that. So, today, as we all gear up for Thanksgiving, we're representing this interview as a special holiday gift to you! Listen in as we discuss: Leif's writing process and why it took 10 year...

With Barnabas still out trying to get his book written, Dave and I are joined by our friend and colleague Todd Adkins, who is the Director of LifeWay Leadership at LifeWay and the host of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast. Here's what you'll hear: Why leadership books needs to offer both theory and practice Which leadership book Aaron thought was the one he hated (but was actually one he liked) W...

While Barnabas is off trying to meet a deadline or working or something, Aaron & Dave discuss all the things, including: The podcast's birthday and a look back on all its iterations Dutch Family Swears The Armstrong family lifestyle changes Dave's big takeaways from Hutchmoot and PubU If you can survive in publishing if you don't really love books Aaron's new ebook A few of the books reference...

It's a special bonus episode of the show as Dave, returning guest co-host Elizabeth Hyndman, and me tackle some very serious subjects: Essential oils and pyramid schemes Some of our favorite books where the characters are places What would happen if you shared that your favorite book was The DaVinci Code in a high brow book club If we should write in books What makes us keep reading vs give up on...

Dave is back in the studio and now Barnabas is MIA! But that's okay, because our friend, Elizabeth Hyndman to take his place and class up the show, while representing all women everywhere. Listen in as we discuss: The types of books she enjoys Books men should read to better understand women If people really need constant reminders to review books If people cosplay Jane Austen characters Who Eliza...

With Dave still off doing something, Jennifer Brogdon returns to take his spot and class up this show. Listen in as we discuss: How men and women might process the difficult elements of Beartown differently Poor choices in cover designs (or when bad covers happen to good books) The right speed and cadence for audiobook narration Dave's favorite new author This week's indie-bookstore shout-out goes...

Dave is off doing something (no one is really sure where he goes), but we've got a special guest! Jennifer Brogdon steps in to replace him talk different kinds of humor, teaching international students, and a book she read the day before recording this episode. Listen in as we discuss: Male vs female humor How Jen's passion for dentistry led her to be a writer Which Leif Enger book you should read...

We're back in the studio with another jam-packed episode of the show. Listen in as we discuss: Which three literary characters would we bring along as part of our own Fellowship of the Ring (that aren't part of the Fellowship of the Ring) If Neighborhood library boxes a good thing, and if people use them How to balance your diet of brain candy and more substantial books A book you we didn't want t...

We finally got the three of us back in the studio, which can only mean one thing: more censorship than I would have thought possible! Listen in as we discus: How Barnabas is settling into his new role at Immanuel Who we were in middle school (and which kid in The Sandlot were we) If Malcolm Gladwell is insufferable (or if it's just his fans) If Barnabas should read Talking to Strangers Titles for...