The Habit

A degenerative muscle disease has made Kevan Chandler altogether reliant on others for his daily care. So he has invited friends into his life—deep into his life—making his need a nexus for community and joy. Kevan’s new book, co-authored with his friend Tommy Shelton, is The Hospitality of Need: How Depending on One Another Helps Us Heal and Grow Together . For Kevan, need is an...

Besides being a stalwart of The Habit Membership for Writers, Meredith Davis is the founder of the Austin Texas chapter of The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. And she’s the author of the middle-grade novel series, The Amazing Adventures of Noah Minor. The Minor Miracle was published in 2024; The Minor Rescue was published earlier this year. In this episode, Meredit...

Miroslav Volf is a theologian and professor at Yale Divinity School, where he is the founding director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture. He is widely known for his work on reconciliation, forgiveness, and the intersection of faith and public life. He’s the author of at least twelve books, including the highly influential Exclusion and Embrace , as well as many articles and quite a fe...

Judith McQuoid lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the hometown of CS Lewis—or Jacks, as he was known when he lived there. Inspired by Belfast, her love of Lewis, and her own family history, Judith wrote a middle-grade novel about young Jacks Lewis and an imagined friendship with a boy from a very different background. It’s a book about creativity, friendship, and the ways we can give...

Dr. Warren Kinghorn is a psychiatrist and theologian at Duke University, where he holds joint appointments at Duke Divinity School and the Duke University Medical Center. Warren’s work focuses on the intersection of theology, mental health, and human flourishing—and he brings an integrated, humane perspective to questions that too often get reduced to biology or technique. His new book...

When Andrew Peterson started the Rabbit Room—this was 2006 or 2007—he didn’t know what to expect. He had no way of knowing that this little group blog written by friends and friends of friends would give rise to annual conferences—Hutchmoot and Hutchmoot UK—to a publishing house, to an event space—North Wind Manor—to The Local Show, to Rabbit Room Theater,...

Will Parker Anderson is a senior editor at Waterbrook-Multnomah, a division of Random House Publishing. He’s also the proprietor of a Substack called Writer’s Circle , in which he provides tips on the writing craft and seeks to demystify the publishing industry. In this episode, Will and Jonathan Rogers talk the “three legs” of publishing: platform, content, and concept. Su...

Amy Baik Lee has written that in every place her life has taken her, "there have been hints of beauty and great knocks of mercy that have called to me from beyond my surroundings, always speaking of a King and Friend and Father whose presence is truly Home.” That sense of longing, those clues that perhaps we were made for a different world, make their way out in every thing Amy writes, and e...

Besides creating the One Year Adventure Novel and Cover Story writing curricula for students, Daniel Schwabauer has also written fiction and nonfiction for writers of all ages. He also teaches English at MidAmerica Nazarene University near Kansas City. His new book is The God of Story: Discovering the Narrative of Scripture Through the Language of Storytelling . In this episode, Daniel and Jonatha...

Mark Meynell is a freelance writer and speaker based in the UK. He’s the author of Life After Life and A Wilderness of Mirrors . He’s a co-host of the Tryptich podcast , and he’s an aficionado of Cold-War spy stories. In short, he’s a polymath and an excellent conversationalist. In this episode, Mark and Jonathan Rogers talk about the "immanent frame," instrumentalized art,...

Matthew Clark is a singer/-songwriter, a storyteller, and a free spirit. He drives around America in a van he calls Vandalf, taking his music and stories and wisdom to audiences across the country. For the last six years he’s been working on a project he calls The Well Trilogy. Three albums of eleven songs, each accompanied by a collection of eleven essays inspired by the songs, written by f...

In this episode, Allen Levi and Jonathan Rogers discuss this connections between writerly voice and the voice with which the writer speaks every day. Allen Levi is a singer-songwriter and the author of The Last Sweet Mile and Theo of Golden . This episode is sponsored by The Habit Writer Development Cohorts, a six-week online small-group writing intensive designed to help writers develop their uni...

This archive episode of The Habit Podcast , from the first season, features a three-way conversation between Tish Harrison Warren, Doug McKelvey, and Jonathan Rogers. Tish is an Anglican priest, a former columnist for the New York Times and Christianity Today , a senior fellow at The Trinity Forum and the author of Prayer in the Night and T he Liturgy of the Ordinary . Doug is best known as the au...

Flannery O'Connor's 100th birthday would have March 25, 2025. In this episode, Jonathan Rogers celebrates the life and work of this remarkable writer in an essay adapted from the introduction to his book, The Terrible Speed of Mercy: A Spiritual Biography of Flannery O'Connor. Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ben Palpant loves, for reasons that become apparent in this episode. On assignment from the Rabbit Room, Ben sat down to interview a few poets. He enjoyed it so much, he interviewed a few more, then a few more. When he had interviewed seventeen poets, he collected those interviews into a book called An Axe for the Frozen Sea . It’s a fascinating look into the minds and hearts of poets who wo...

This week's episode is an essay, written and read by Jonathan Rogers. "Love, Happiness, and Creativity" begins (and ends) with an idea from Taylor Leonhardt's song "Diamonds"—the theme song for The Habit Podcast: "You are not an afterthought: Love himself dreamed you up." Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kelly Kapic is a professor of theology at Covenant College near Chattanooga. His most recent book is  You're Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God's design, and Why That Is Good News . In this episode, Dr Kapik and Jonathan Rogers talk about productivity, shame, gratitude and the truth that finiteness is actually a blessing. Also, they talk about magnanimity and pusillanimity. This week&rsq...

Charlie Peacock is a legendary musician, producer, and songwriter. His impact on the music industry spans decades. A Grammy-winning producer and a visionary artist, he's worked with some of the most influential names in music. But even more importantly, Charlie is known for his generosity and hospitality, pouring into the lives and work of artists through the Art House and other creative endeavors...

Andrew Osenga is a singer-songwriter, a guitarist, a record producer, a podcaster , a writer, and a friend and mentor to countless artists. For twenty years and more, he has been right in the middle of things in Nashville’s creative community. In this episode, recorded live at The Habit 2025 Winter Writers’ Weekend, Andy speaks with Jonathan Rogers about being a jack of all trades, the...

Nikki Grimes is an award-winning poet, author, and artist celebrated for her works that highlight African American experiences and address themes of identity, resilience, and hope. She is the author of numerous books for children, teens, and adults, including poetry collections, picture books, and novels in verse. Her new collection of poetry is Glory, Too . Ms. Grimes's accolades include the Core...

Kori Morgan ’s writing has been featured in such publications as Shenandoah, SN Review, Blanket Sea, Agape Review, Switchback, Rubbertop Review, Cantos, and Clayjar Review . She is the founder and Chief Literary Strategist of Inkling Creative Strategies , an author services company that helps writers reach their full creative potential so they can impact and inspire readers. She is also a st...

Maria Bowler is a writer, coach, and retreat leader. She describes her work as “nourishing imaginative souls so they can make new worlds.” Her new book is Making Time: A New Vision for Crafting a Life Beyond Productivity . In this episode, Maria and Jonathan discuss making the shift from a producer mindset to a creator mindset, and from hustle to deep effort. They also talk about ...

Quina Aragon is an author, editor, and spoken word poet based in Florida. Her work has been featured by organizations such as Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, and Risen Motherhood. Her latest book is Love Has a Story: 100 Meditations on the Enduring Love of God . In this episode, Quina and Jonathan Rogers talk about why it took her four years to write a book she thought would take ten mon...

Sarah Clarkson is a writer whose work centers on beauty and grief, story and quiet. She has written of herself, “I’m trying to write well about my own sorrow, and my own encounters with the beauty that defied my darkness and drew me into a life of creativity, quiet, and wonder.” She studied theology at Oxford University. She is the author or co-author of six books, most recently...

You know Sam (SD) Smith as the author of the Green Ember series –#RabbitsWithSwords. Sam and his son Josiah (JC) Smith have joined forces as the co-authors of the Jack Zulu series – Jack Zulu and the Waylander’s Key and Jack Zulu and the Girl with the Golden Wings (so far). In this episode, Jonathan Rogers speaks with the the Smiths about what it’s like to co-write a book and, more to the point, w...