The Mockingcast

To respond to the opening appeal and support the work of Mockingbird, please click here . All gifts are tax-deductible. Our last episode of the year in which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk mallstalgia, gift aversions, parent-child privilege gaps, and gambling addictions. Click here to read Jason Tebbe's piece on mallstalgia for Tropics of Meta. Click here to read Sarah Hinlicky Wilson's confession, "I H...

In which Dave, RJ, and Sarah talk college essays, supermodel insecurities, ferocious coziness, and because-because propositions. Also, Sarah attends a Renaissance Festival and Dave visits some European comic book stores. Click here to read Joseph E Davis's piece on "The Studied Art of the College Application Essay" Click here to read Carrie Battan's review of Emily Ratajkowski's book in The New Yo...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk the fastest growing sport in America, the allure of conspirituality, exvangelical hashtags, and renamed churches. Also, a pair of golden girls wipe the pickleball court with Mr. Zahl. Click here to read Craig Coyne's piece on "How Pickleball Won Everyone Over" in Vanity Fair. Click here to check out Alex Da Corte's sculpture on the top of the Met. Click here to re...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk travel selves, generational generalizations, optimistic pitfalls, and forgiving bad fathers. Also, Sarah spies some aliens and RJ jumps off several cliffs. Click here to read “You’re a Different Person When You Travel” by Jen Rose Smith in The Washington Post. Click here Louis Menand’s essay “It’s Time to Stop Talking about ‘Generations’” in The New Yorker. Click...

In which Sarah, Dave, and RJ talk self-awareness, gracious friendships, nap ministries, and the "gift" of rejection. Also, RJ explores his haze-ability while Sarah buys a bridesmaid dress. Click here to read David Brooks column on "Is Self-Awareness a Mirage?" Click here to read the interview with Anne Lamott in Time. Click here to read about the Nap Ministry. Click here to read Dave's water polo...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk favorite comedians, status games, personal progress, deconversion narratives, and the allure of re-enchantment. Also, somehow RJ keeps winning. He's insufferable that way. Click here to watch Norm Macdonald deliver the Moth Joke. Click here to read Will Storr's article on Status Games in The Guardian. Click here to read Ed West's review of Storr's book on UnHerd....

In their first episode after the summer hiatus, Dave, RJ and Sarah talk misbehaving consumers, trapped perfectionists, and controversial forgiveness before taking a detour to a little church in Mississippi. Also, Sarah dons a babooshka while Dave drums up some tips. Click here to read Amanda Mull's article on how American Shoppers Are a Nightmare Click here to read Josh Cohen's essay on The Perfec...

In their last episode before the summer hiatus, RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk brand loyalty, thought-terminating cliches, father's day championships, the religion/psychoanalysis intersection, and God's downstairs neighbor. Also, RJ changes his mind about Michael Jordan (sort of). * To support Mockingbird, please visit www.mbird.com/support . * To read Sophie Gilbert's review of Cultish , click here . T...

In which Sarah, RJ, and Dave talk spite, ubiquitous burnout, chaplaincy booms, and our conflicted relationship with newness. Also, Dave marvels at how refreshed the cicadas are looking. Click here to read Charlie Tyson's review in The Atlantic on Why Are We So Spiteful? Click here to watch Todd Brewer's talk on Anger ("If Jesus Had a Twitter Account") from our Tyler Conference. Click here to read...

Recorded live in front of an audience at the Mockingbird Tyler festival, Sarah, RJ, and Dave talk ambivalent mothers, Nordic expectations, getting "on top of things", and elite religiosity. Also, Sarah indulges in some, er, splendid show-and-tell. Click here to read How Adult Children Affect Their Mothers' Happiness Click here to read about The Grim Secret of Nordic Happiness in Slate. Click here...

Surprise! It's a special edition episode of The Mockingcast, in which CJ Green introduces the unpredictable content of the Surprise issue of The Mockingbird magazine. You'll hear an incredible personal essay read by author and professional listener, Helena Dea Bala; an interview on unexpected grief with the Rev Liz Tichenor; and a discussion about jazz and John Coltrane with musician Sam Bush. Plu...

In which Dave, RJ and Sarah talk subtraction strategies, birth order effects, Bieber's redemption, and the spiritual dangers of courting controversy. But maybe that's just what a couple of oldest children (and one middle child) would discuss. Click here to read The Washington Post's report on our aversion to subtraction when it comes to problem solving. Click here to read Lynn Berger's article in...

In which Sarah, RJ and Dave talk vaccinated no-no's, real estate obsessions, recalibrated ambitions, and Easter messages. We almost titled it House Hunters: The Mockingcast Edition. Click here to read The New Yorker's list of Things Fully Vaccinated People Are Still Not Allowed to Do. Click here to read Anne Helen Peterson's newsletter, "I'm Not Ready." Click here to read Nora Caplan-Bricker's ess...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk last chance basketball programs, true selves, teenage errors, and gracious dispositions. Also, Sarah gets kicked off AOL Instant Messenger. Click here to watch the trailer for Last Chance U: Basketball. Click here to read the New Yorker's profile of Sherry Turkle. Click here to read Vice's article on "Why Your ‘True Self’ Is An Illusion" by Shayla Love. Click here...

In which Sarah, RJ and Dave talk baby busts, Instavangelists, and epiphanies of the heart. Also, RJ comes clean about his favorite Disney princess. Clue: It's not Anna or Elsa. Click here to read The Wall Street Journal's report on the intenational baby bust. Click here to read Leigh Stein's piece on The Empty Religions of Instagram. Click here to read Giles Fraser's column on changing attitudes t...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk Covid-Deutsch, the advice column boom, and grieving video game characters. Also, Sarah cozies up to some ghosts while dancing to DMB. Click here to read Rebecca Schumann's overview of the new German words being invented to describe pandemic life. Click here to read The New Yorker's profile of The Age of Peak Advice. Click here to read Sam Bush's One Simple Rule fo...

Highly recommended for Mockingast listeners: All six episodes of the first season of Mockingbird's brand-new podcast are available now at https://thebrotherszahl.fireside.fm/ -- or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe today!

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk peripheral relationships, nervous breakdowns, and nighttime prayers. Also, after making a startling discovery in her father's desk drawer, Sarah goes shopping for yoga pants. Click here to read Amanda Mull's piece on how The Pandemic Has Erased Entire Categories of Friendship Click here to read the report in the Toronto Star about decreasing sexual activity during...

In which RJ and Dave hear from Sarah about her first month of grief, before talking together about family estrangement, faulty memories and the blindspots of Jefferson's Jesus. Also, Dave breaks up with a friend while Sarah goes to the zoo. Click here to read Joshua Coleman's article in The Atlantic about Why Parents and Children Get Estranged Click here to read Heather Havrilesky's column address...

In their final episode of the year, RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk mer-baby mishaps, library impermanence, celebrity pastors, and their increasing distaste for Advent. To support the Mockingcast, text "MCAST" to 77948. We need your help! Click here to read Sarah's message about the tragic news she received just after recording (that RJ mentions in the prelude). Please pray like mad for the Condon family...

In this special extended episode of The Mockingcast, Ethan Richardson takes us on a tour of The Sports Issue of The Mockingbird magazine, featuring interviews with journalist Anna Katherine Clemmons, legendary skateboarder Christian Hosoi, and former Falcons cornerback (and current chaplain) Jason Webster--beamed in, it would seem, almost straight from Friday Night Lights . The game is on! Click h...

In which we celebrate the 200 episode milestone by talking soul toupees, American happiness, None elevator pitches, and the compelling perfectionism of Yeshua. Also, Dave comes to grips with his ADD, Sarah starts a new hobby, while RJ serenades them both like some kind of overgrown Dutch choirboy. Click here to read about Soul Toupees. Click here to read Ruth Whippman's article on America the Anxi...

In which Sarah, RJ, and Dave talk living inside the news, POW uncertainty, segmented sleep, and American paradoxes. Also, RJ peeks behind the Iron Curtain while Sarah scores some great lamps (buffalo check). Click here to preview and/or order the Sports Issue of our magazine. Click here to pre-order the new Mockingbird Devotional, Vol 2. Click here to read (and subscribe to !) Oliver Burkeman's ne...

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk private lives, political junkies, Craigslist confessionals, and the surprising hope of 2020. Also, RJ feels his (lonely) feelings while Sarah buys a birthday cake. Click here to read Mo Perry's Great Rearranging newsletter. Click here to read the NY Times article about "the real divide in America." Click here to read CJ's write-up of Helena Dea Bala's Craigslist C...

In which RJ, Dave, and Sarah talk gracious play, burned out children, burned out workers, burned out clergy, and the hope of unconscious bias training. Also, RJ gets down to some liturgical reggae. Click here to read Sam Anderson's article on the NBA bubble. Click here to read our interview with theologian Nimi Wariboko. Click here to watch the video for The Pioneers' "Let Your Yeah Be Yeah." Clic...