The Habit

Mick Donahue and Andy Patton on Serial Publishing 01.06.2026 47min

In recent years there has been a resurgence of serial publishing on Internet platforms. In this episode Mick Donahue and Andy Patton talk with Jonathan Rogers about serial publishing. Mick and his wife Rachel are is the co-founder of the new serialization platform, Flicker.Press. Andy, besides being the Rabbit Room’s Director of Content, is the author of the serialized novel The Ill Starred Knight, published on the Royal Road platform under the pen name Ix.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jeffrey Overstreet Loves Movies. 25.05.2026 52min

Jeffrey Overstreet is a novelist, creative writing professor, and film critic at the intersection of art, faith, hope, and love. His new book, Lost and Found in the Cathedral of Cinema, is a memoir in essays about film. He has described it as “a celebration and an expression of gratitude for the films that shaped my young imagination, that helped me recognize the glory of God's work in the world that God loves, and that then set me free to learn to love the world — the whole world — myself.” If you’ve ever been moved by a movie, you will enjoy this conversation with Jeffrey Overstreet.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malcolm Guite on Galahad and the Grail 18.05.2026 47min

Priest and poet Malcolm Guite has become something of a regular on The Habit Podcast. And yet familiarity breeds ever more amazement at what a gift Malcolm is to the reading world. Galahad and the Grail is Book 1 of Merlin’s Isle: An Authuriad. This four-part epic poem in ballad form will retell the whole story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. In this episode, Malcolm and Jonathan Rogers talk about poetic forms, the beginnings of Malcolm's own work on Arthur, and the old legends about how the grail got to the British Isles.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tish Harrison Warren Grows in Weary Lands 11.05.2026 48min

Tish Harrison Warren is an Anglican priest, a former columnist at the New York Times and Christianity Today, and a writer of wise and thoughtful books about living lives of connection and meaning. Her new book, What Grows in Weary Lands, explores a reality that early Christians often grappled with but that we rarely talk about in contemporary life: at times, God seems to abandon the soul, leaving us feeling as if we are alone and left to our own resources. These are times of futility, when work and relationships feel hard, when prayer feels unsatisfying, and we question whether our efforts amount to anything. In this conversation, Tish and Jonathan Rogers talk about the possibility that aridity, languishing, and even burnout are an invitation to deeper, more connected, and more fruitful life and work. This episode is sponsored by The Habit's Writer Development Cohorts. Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Angela Alaimo O'Donnell's View from Childhood 04.05.2026 49min

Angela Alaimo O'Donnell is a poet, professor, and scholar whose work sits at the crossroads of faith, memory, and the literary imagination. She teaches literature and creative writing at Fordham University and serves as Associate Director of the Curran Center for American Catholic Studies. Her latest poetry collection is The View from Childhood. She has said, “We all have a place that we come from that has helped shape us into who we are. We all have memories that stay with us, bring us joy, and haunt us, and we all face the daily decision of what to do with those memories—to preserve them or to let them fade. My vocation, as a poet, compels me to turn them into story and song. These poems tell my stories, and I also hope they, in some way, tell the reader’s.” In this episode, Dr. O’Donnell and Jonathan Rogers talk about origin stories, Flannery O’Connor, and the idea that any writer who has survived childhood has enough material to last a lifetime.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lee Camp On The Good Life (from the Archives) 27.04.2026 44min

Besides being an award-winning teacher and professor of theology & ethics at Lipscomb University, Lee Camp hosts No Small Endeavor, a podcast that asks What does it mean to live a good life? What is true happiness? What are the habits, practices, and dispositions that facilitate human flourishing? Lee Camp explores these and similar questions with some of the most influential authors, scientists, artists, psychologists, philosophers, and theologians. In this episode, Dr. Camp and Jonathan Rogers talk about ethics, virtue theory, and writerly habits.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alan Noble Tries to Live Well 20.04.2026 47min

Professor Alan Noble is a voice of good sense in a world where good sense seems to be in short supply. His new book is To Live Well: Practical Wisdom for Moving Through Chaotic Times. It is a call to return to the old paths as laid out in the seven virtues of Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, Temperance, Faith, Hope, and Love. In this episode, Alan and Jonathan Rogers talk about the limits of technique, a respect for reality, and largeness of spirit, among other topics.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jennifer Trafton on Lilias Trotter 13.04.2026 55min

Jennifer Trafton’s new book is If Only We Could See: Reimagining Creativity, Compassion, and Calling Through the Extraordinary Life of Lilias Trotter. An historian, a visual artist, and a novelist, Jennifer is uniquely qualified to tell this story. In this episode, Jennifer and Jonathan Rogers talk about the remarkable life of artist and missionary Lilias Trotter. They also talk about the empathetic imagination, the value of seeing what is actually in front of you, and the role of humility in seeing clearly.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Théa Rosenburg and Leslie Bustard Were Strong Allies 06.04.2026 37min

Leslie Bustard did a lot of thinking, teaching, and writing about what God made women to be–as distinct from what women can and can’t do. She was working on a book on this topic when she died in 2023. In the last months of Leslie’s earthly life, writer and editor Théa Rosenburg came alongside to help Leslie get the book over the finish line. As it happened, Théa had to finish the work without Leslie. The book, called Strong Allies, released in 2026. Jonathan Rogers sat down with Théa at the Square Halo Conference in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and recorded the following conversation before a live audience.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jamie Quatro's Two-Step Devil 30.03.2026 47min

Jamie Quatro is the author of Two Step Devil, a southern Gothic novel very much in the tradition of Flannery O’Connor. The Booklist review of Two-Step Devil describes it as "Brilliantly paced and exquisitely detailed, this striking novel takes on such weighty themes as faith, humanity, and frailty without a touch of melodrama . . . A spectacular masterpiece.” Bookpage called Quatro "a saint of Southern discomfort. Jamie Quatro and Jonathan Rogers recorded this conversation in front of a live audience at the Illuminate Conference near Chattanooga.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joy Clarkson Thinks You Are a Tree (from the archives) 23.03.2026 46min

Joy Clarkson is the author of Aggressively Happy and host of the podcast, Speaking with Joy. She is the books editor for Plough Quarterly and a research associate in theology and literature at King's College London. Joy completed her PhD in theology at the University of St Andrews, where she researched how art can be a resource of hope and consolation. Her new book is You Are a Tree: And Other Metaphors to Nourish Life, Thought, And Prayer. In this episode, Joy and I talk about the ways that figurative language shapes the way we think about the world and ourselves, and Joy tries to convince Jonathan that the distinction between simile and metaphor is meaningful. This episode originally aired January 2024.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Timothy Jones is Fully Beloved 16.03.2026 40min

Timothy Jones is a pastor and author known for helping people uncover greater warmth and depth in their relationship with God. His new book is Fully Beloved: Meeting God in Our Heartaches and Our Hopes. As Sandra Mccracken says, Fully Beloved “names the ache of loneliness and our lifelong quest for belonging.” In this episode, Tim Jones and Jonathan Rogers talk about the Trinity, Julian of Norwich, and the creative energy that is released when you realize that you are more loved than you thought.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bethaney Wilkinson's More Beautiful Way to Live 09.03.2026 39min

Bethaney B. Wilkinson is a writer, spiritual director, podcaster, and facilitator who is passionate about slow, sustainable, and soul-nourishing living. Her new book is A More Beautiful Way to Live: Nine Practices to Unlearn Habits of Anxiety, Fear, and Urgency. In this episode, Bethaney and Jonathan Roger talk about tending to your inner terrain, paying attention to your longings while also paying attention to realities and limitations, and the difference between your sphere of influence and your sphere of concern.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wesley Vander Lugt Breathes Beauty (from the Archives) 02.03.2026 37min

Wesley Vander Lugt  is a pastor, theologian, writer, teacher, nonprofit leader, and arts advocate with a passion for beauty, slowness, cultivation, and kinship. He currently works as the Acting Director of the Leighton Ford Center for Theology, the Arts, and Gospel Witness and is Adjunct Professor of Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte. He is also the Co-Founder of Kinship Plot, a community of learning and practice imagining and embodying resonant relationships of every kind. His new book is Beauty Is Oxygen: Finding a Faith that Breathes. In this episode, Wes and Jonathan Rogers discuss just how necessary beauty is. This episode originally aired in June of 2024.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Becca Jordan Adds Glory to the World 23.02.2026 44min

Becca Jordan has referred to herself as a wandering songbird. She’s a singer-songwriter, a writer of essays, and a worship leader in Nashville. She is also working on a Masters Degree in Theopoetics. Becca was our guest at The Habit’s 2026 Winter Writer’s Weekend. The theme of that weekend was “Adding to the Glory.” Becca is an artist who has put a lot of glory into the world in a lot of different ways, so she seemed like an obvious fit. This conversation was recorded in front of a roomful of writers. In this episode, Becca and Jonathan Rogers talk about glory, longing, and related topics.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Curt Thompson Goes to the Deepest Place (from the Archives) 16.02.2026 47min

Curt Thompson is a psychiatrist, a speaker, and the author of several books–most recently, The Deepest Place: Suffering and the Formation of Hope. In this episode, Curt and Jonathan Rogers talk about what it means to be hospitable to your own suffering, engaging suffering as the way of redemption, and the role of storytelling in mental and spiritual health. This episode originally ran in August 2023.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Roycroft's Calling Hasn't Changed. 09.02.2026 37min

Andrew Roycroft is a freelance editor and writer. He has published poetry in a number of Irish and British literary journals, has produced work for BBC Radio 4, has contributed to Arts Council Northern Ireland projects, and written commissioned work for New Irish Arts. Andrew is also a regular contributor to the Rabbit Room Poetry community. His Substack is New Grub Street. In this episode, Andrew and Jonathan Rogers talk about calling, Substack, and Seamus Heaney.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marsh Moyle Spreads Rumours of a Better Country 02.02.2026 43min

Marsh Moyle is an interesting man. He’s an Englishman but he grew up in Malta. He and his wife Tuula lived for 17 years in Vienna when the Iron Curtain divided Europe. There they organised book translation and distribution while researching the beliefs, practices, and problems of life under communism. In the post-communist period, they lived in Slovakia for 16 years, establishing publishing houses in seven countries. They also ran a learning community and held seminars with student groups in Central Europe, Russia, and Ukraine, committed to awakening the imagination, encouragng critical thinking, and fostering a deeper practical understanding of biblical ideas. Marsh is the author of Rumours of a Better Country: Searching for Trust and Community in a Time of Moral Outrage. In this episode, Marsh and Jonathan Rogers talk about utopianism, individualism, and the surprising truth that we can only be our true, distinct selves when our selves are shaped by the people around us.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leif Enger on I Cheerfully Refuse (from the archives) 19.01.2026 41min

This week's episode is an old favorite from 2024. Leif Enger writes novels about good people living through bad times. His new book, I Cheerfully Refuse, epitomizes what the Los Angeles Tines calls Enger's “musical, sometimes magical and deeply satisfying kind of storytelling.” In this episode, Leif Enger and Jonathan Rogers talk about dystopian fiction; courage, literacy, and hope; and the bass guitar.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joyce McPherson Writes Books 45 Minutes at a Time 12.01.2026 36min

Joyce McPherson has written ten biographies–as well as several middle-grade novels–in 45 minute increments snatched from a busy life as a mother of nine and as a college instructor. Her most recent book is a biography of Jane Austen. In this episode, Joyce McPherson and Jonathan Rogers talk about how her mother convinced her to start writing for publication when she had two small children. We talk about research for biographies and historical fiction. And we talk about Joyce’s experiences with both traditional publishing and self-publishing.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.