The Mockingcast

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk mission trips, mistaken restaurant orders, Indian toilets, and toxic achievement culture. Also, RJ pines for Portugal while Sarah considers turning off the radio (but doesn't). Click here to learn more about Mbird's upcoming Minneapolis conference (9/29-30). Click here to read Joshua Musser Gritter's piece Why I Love Short-Term Mission Trips. Click here to read Fo...

Back from their summer hiatus, RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk tourism, punctuality, Swiftie conferences, and the new old age. Also, RJ remembers the elephant butte while Sarah plays the food game. Click here to read Agnes Callard's "The Case Against Travel" in The New Yorker Click here to read Sam Bush's post on the Ethics of Being Late Click here to read David Brooks' essay on "The New Old Age" in The...

In their last episode before the summer hiatus RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk tip creep, accomplished achievers, grieving comedians, and Tim Keller. Also, a Condon brings home the trophy for Best Dancer at the Middle School Dance. Click here to respond to RJ's opening appeal. Click here to read Rachel Wolfe's report on Why Tipping Prompts Are Suddenly Everywhere for the Wall Street Journal. Click here t...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk baby name consultants, coronation invitations, and escape room birthday parties. Also, Dave finally reveals the Mockingcast's methodology while Sarah loses an appendix. Click here to read Rebecca Jennings' article about baby name consultants in Vox. Click here to read Nick Cave's response to the coronation. Click here to read about "Why Millennial Men Are Turning...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk road rage, representation, financial obsession, and extremely short sermons. Also, RJ narrowly avoids a lemon squeeze, while Sarah learns something shocking about New England Puritans. Click here to read the LA Times article about Beef. Click here to read Michael Mechanic's piece in the Atlantic, "Stop Asking Whether Money Buys Happiness." Click here to read Eliza...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk subjective age, the danger of knowingness, the perils of project religion, and the hope of Holy Week. Also, RJ reveals why he's in sales, not management. Click here to read Jennifer Senior's essay on "The Puzzling Gap Between How Old You Are and How Old You Think You Are" in The Atlantic Click here to read Jonathan Malesic's piece on the problem of Knowingness in...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk almond moms, wellness curses, and theories of change. Also, Dave runs away from a German. Click here to order a copy of The Sickness & Health Issue of The Mockingbird. Click here to become a monthly supporter of Mockingbird (and receive a complimentary magazine subscription!). Click here for more information about the Mockingbird Virtual Book Club, including h...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk NBA scoring records, Manhattan treadmills, imposter phenomena, and children with addiction. Also, a cat named Esther says the Sinner's Prayer. Click here to read what Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Thinks About LeBron James Breaking his NBA Scoring Record Click here to read Caitlin Moscatello's essay "The Fleishman Effect." Click here to read Wesley Hill's reflection on the...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk sleepover stories, mindfulness apps, prison ministries, and dangerous cliches. Also, Sarah lipsyncs to Amy Grant while Dave avoids the noid. Click here to read Erika Christakis' Case for Sleepovers in The Atlantic Click here to read the Dear Cloud column in Wired about mental health apps. Click here to read Rina Raphael's Well to Do newsletter. Click here to read...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk one-downing, dry January, raging creatives, and Nigerian faith healers. Also, Sarah reveals how to get people to care, and Dave finally says what we're all thinking about RJ. Correction: around the 30 min mark, when Dave says "Johnny Walker" he meant to say "Jack Daniels." Click here to watch the clip of Colbert speaking with Quinta Brunson Click here to read The...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk words of the year, overly honest friendships, gift giving snafus, and Rob Delaney's late son Henry. Also, RJ gets chosen while Sarah throws shade at some Swifties. Click here to watch The Chosen Click here to check out Kobe Campbell's Instagram, and here to pre-order her book, Why Am I Like This? Click here to listen to the episode of Heavyweight Dave mentions, an...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk sleep tracking, the therapy/gospel dichotomy, public apologies, and the Second Coming. Also, Sarah almost ruins a baby shower. ** Click here to respond to the opening appeal to support Mbird ** Click here to read (part of) CJ's opener for the Sleep Issue of the magazine Click here to order your copy of the Sleep Issue today Click here to read Tara Isabella Burton'...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk the moneyballing of everything, the perils of oversharing, the contradictions of adult orphanhood, and the beauty/difficulty of Sunday School. Also, RJ overshares some feelings about our national pastime. Click here to read Derek Thompson's newsletter on what Moneyball-for-Everything Has Done to American Culture. Click here to read Michael Waters' piece in the Atl...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk moralized therapy, misunderstood jobs, and the underrated upsides of an altar call. Also, Sarah laments the snow crabs while RJ loses a wrestling match. Click here to read Mychal Denzel Smith's article "Why Do People Think Going to Therapy Makes You a Good Person?". Click here to read Huw Green's article "We Have Reached Peak 'Mental Health'". Click here to read T...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk vanishing cursive, gentle parenting, church families, and grieving rockstars. Also, RJ reveals why he doesn't like writing thank-you notes, while Sarah sings one, er, hell of a spiritual. Click here to read Drew Gilpin Faust's piece on how Gen Z Never Learned to Read Cursive in The Atlantic. Click here to read Jessica Winter's profile of The Harsh World of "Gentle...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk deceased royalty, love languages, low anthropology, moralized effort, and virtuous bewilderment. Also, Sarah calls the midwife while RJ goes insane. Click here to read Peter Coy's newsletter about The Moralization of Effort. Click here to read The NY Times article "The Sixth Love Language Does Not Exist" by Alisha Haridasani Gupta. Click here to read Jane Grizzle'...

In their first episode following the summer hiatus RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk Frederick Buechner, worker productivity scores, Effective Altruism, and Afrikaner sadness. Also, Sarah's sabbatical diverts her somewhere... fabulous. Recommendations: The Brothers Zahl podcast, Soultime , Radical Love by Zachary Levi, Better Call Saul, and The Neal Morse Band Click here to read David Brooks' "The Man Who...

In which RJ, Sarah and Dave talk insane crafts, normie churches, dying neuroscientists, the healing power of children's books and hope in a weary world. Click here to respond to the opening appeal and support The Mockingcast. Click here to order a copy of The Success & Failure Issue of The Mockingbird Magazine. Click here to join our digital mailing list. Click here to listen to the recordings...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk library fines, viral dynamics, sad teenagers, and Easter vendettas. Also, Sarah has quite a run-in at the airport. Click here to read the report about returned library books in NYC. Click here to read Matt Pearson's commentary on the returned library books for Mbird. Click here to read Virginia Heffernan's essay for Wired about The End of Alcohol. Click here to re...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk goblin modes, unproductive sabbaticals, shaming complexes, and historical miracles. Also, Sarah takes a tour of a church crypt, and RJ sees yellow (and a lot of movies). Click here to read The Guardian's piece on Goblin Mode. Click here to read Peter Seversen's post for Mockingbird on The Gift of Leisure in a Hustling World. Click here for Becca Rothfeld's rundown...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk healthy forgetfulness, vengeful superheroes, theories of enchantment, and personalized religion. Also, Dave breaks some troubling news to a bunch of children. Click here for more details or to pre-register for our upcoming conference in New York City (April 28-30). Click here to read the NY Times column on forgetting the pandemic. Click here to read Blake Nail's r...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk cheugy parents, happy churchgoers, urgent prayers, and long defeats. Also, while Dave makes a Pink Floyd faux-pas, RJ does some stitching. Click here to read Katie Couric's confession of cheugy-ness. Click here to read the NY Times Magazine's interview with Laurie Santos. Click here to read The School of Life's entry On Nagging. Click here to read Torey Lightcap's...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk porch pirates, fading friendships, trivialized trauma, and hopeful humor. Also, God works through a robot vacuum cleaner. Click here to read Meghan O'Gieblyn's answer to the question "Do Good Doorbell Cams Make Good Neighbors?" in Wired Click here to read Jennifer Senior's essay on "It's Your Friends Who Break Your Heart" in The Atlantic. Click here to read Lexi P...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk Wordle distractions, parenting silos, mental midwinters, and undeserving fairy tales. Also, Sarah recalls the glory of heads-up seven-up. Click here to read Charlie Warzel's newsletter about Wordle backlash. Click here to read Anne Helen Petersen's newsletter on Screaming Parents. Click here to read The School of Life's entry on Mental Midwinters. Click here to re...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk habit formation, performative meetings, Latin American religion, and the benefits of falling apart in church. Also, George Costanza chimes in with some tips on working less. Click here for more information about our Tulsa Conference (1/21-22). Click here for more information about the Same Old Song "Preaching During Lent" virtual event. Click here to read Sarah's...