The Habit

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...

Maryrose Wood is the author of The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place , an exceedingly funny six-book series about a governess whose three young charges have been raised by wolves. She is also the proprietor of The Swanburne Academy , an online academy for families who love to learn and grow together. In this episode, Jonathan and Maryrose discuss the ways that stage acting has impacted Maryros...

Drew Miller is a Nashville singer-songwriter, content developer for the Rabbit Room, and the producer of this podcast. This fall and winter he is releasing two EPs, Desolation and  Consolation . In this episode, Jonathan and Drew discuss the interdependence of desolation and consolation, how to evoke genuine emotion in listeners, and the importance of truth-telling in a world full of false co...

Jonny Jimison is a graphic novelist and the author of The Dragon Lord Saga. In October of 2019, Rabbit Room Press is re-releasing Martin and Marco , Book 1 of Jonny's Saga, in full-color. In this episode, Jonathan and Jonny discuss visual storytelling, the age-old search for authentic voice, and board games. Subscribe to The Habit Weekly newsletter. Find out more about The Habit Membership . Suppo...

James K.A. (Jamie) Smith is a philosophy professor at Calvin College and the author of many important books, including Desiring the Kingdom , You Are What You Love , How (Not) To Be Secular , and (most recently) On the Road with Saint Augustine . In this episode, Jonathan and Jamie discuss Augustine’s account of human desire and its implications for fiction-writing; the ever-elusive mystery...

Sarah MacKenzie is the host of Read-Aloud Revival and the author of The Read-Aloud Family . In this episode, Jonathan and Sarah discuss the curious connection between the writer who works in quiet solitude and the family reading aloud together, the instructive power of life's limitations, and Sarah's recent forays into writing picture books. Writers who make Sarah want to write: Jeanie Birdsall (...

Randall Goodgame is the creator of Slugs & Bugs, a family music and entertainment brand that includes eight albums, two books, and now a television show. It starts streaming on September 27. In this episode, Randall and Jonathan talk about the truth-telling of a childhood perspective, the relationship between silliness and sincerity, collaboration, and the sticking to one's vision even when th...

Rebecca Reynolds is the author of Courage, Dear Heart: Letters to a Weary World . She is currently "transposing" Spenser's Faerie Queene for a 21st-century audience. In this episode, Jonathan and Rebecca use the trinitarian paradigm of Dorothy Sayers' Mind of the Maker (Idea, Energy, Power) to discuss the multitude of influences that together make an artist's voice, then apply this wisdom with exc...

Mark Meynell has done a lot of thinking about civility and cynicism and the writer's responsibility not just to win arguments, but to tell the truth. In this episode, Jonathan and Mark discuss the practice of generosity involved in both writing and reading, the virtues and vices of rhetoric, and how fiction and nonfiction persuade us in different ways. Writers who make Mark want to write: Graham G...

Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson, Associate Professor of English at John Brown University, is currently preparing the unfinished manuscript of Flannery O'Connor's last novel for publication. In this episode, Jonathan and Jessica geek out about Flannery O'Connor, exchange strategies for balancing academic writing and fiction, and discuss how reading poetry has made Jessica a better writer.  Writers w...

Mary Laura Philpott is the author of  I Miss You When I Blink , a nationally bestselling memoir-in-essays. Her writing also appears in publications including The New York Times, The Paris Review Daily,   The Washington Post,   O The Oprah Magazine , and others.  In this episode , Jonathan and Mary Laura talk about the unexpected correlations between perfectionism and humor, the...

Joseph Patton is a staff songwriter at Sony/ATV Music Publishing on Nashville's Music Row. In this episode, Jonathan and Joseph talk about what happens in Music Row writing rooms, the difference between songs that help people remember and songs that help people forget, and the tensions between commercialism and "loving thy listener." Subscribe to The Habit Weekly newsletter. Find out more about Th...

Karen Swallow Prior is the author of On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life Through Great Books . In this episode she talks with Jonathan about the instructive power of fictional worlds to shed light on our own, how fiction can teach us to love our enemies, and joy as a courageous act of imagination. Mentioned in this episode: Stylish Academic Writing , by Helen Sword Desiring the Kingdom , by Jam...

Shawn Smucker is the author of Light from Distant Stars (among other books). In this episode, Jonathan and Shawn discuss the nitty gritty of Shawn's writing habits, the unique challenges and rewards of ghostwriting, and how Shawn goes about encouraging and upholding creativity with his family at home. Mentioned in this episode: Ira Glass on the creative process (2 min. video) Subscribe to The Habi...

Jonathan and Kristy talk about her new book Papa Put a Man on the Moon (written in celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing), the process of writing and publishing picture books, the difference between "sweetie pies" and "smart alecks" in character arcs, and her own family's proximity to the moon landing itself. Subscribe to The Habit Weekly newsletter. Find out more about The H...

Jonathan and Helena (author of the Shiloh series ) talk about balancing affirmation with criticism, the difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset, and the importance of maintaining sensitivity to the world. Subscribe to The Habit Weekly newsletter. Find out more about The Habit Membership . Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnystudio.com/listener for...