The Habit

Dana Gioia on Poetry & Beauty in Solitude

07 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week on The Habit Podcast, we invite you to listen in on a conversation between poet Dana Gioia, former Poet Laureate of California and former he...

Curt Thompson Puts Himself in the Path of Oncoming Beauty

28 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Curt Thompson is a psychiatrist and founder of Being Known, an organization that develops resources for hope and healing at the intersection of neuros...

Christie Purifoy Plants Flowers

21 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Christie Purifoy is a writer and gardener committed to growing flowers and growing community and cultivating beauty. Her newest book is Garden Maker: ...

Dorena Williamson Builds Bridges

14 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dorena Williamson is an author, a bridge-builder, a speaker, and a co-planter of a multi-racial church that has been doing beautiful work in Nashville...

Lisa Sharon Harper Closes the Narrative Gap

07 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Activist and author Lisa Sharon Harper spent three decades researching ten generations of her family’s story through DNA research, oral historie...

Philip Yancey Is Still Amazed by Grace

31 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Philip Yancey has written more than 25 books, including What’s so Amazing about Grace, Disappointment with God, Where is God When It Hurts, and ...

David French Tries to Move the Elephant

24 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

David French is a political and cultural commentator and senior editor at The Dispatch. He’s a contributing writer at The Atlantic Monthly and t...

Kelly Kapic Is Lacking

17 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kelly Kapic is a professor of theology at Covenant College. His most recent book is You're Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God's Design and Why Th...

Amy Baik Lee Notices Small Splendors

10 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Amy Baik Lee writes essays and short memoirs for The Cultivating Project and on her own blog, A Homeward Life. She is also the co-director of the Arts...

Justin Whitmel Earley and Better Habits

03 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's a new year, and a new season of The Habit Podcast. if you are looking to form better habits, heed Justin Whitmel Earley, author of The Common Rul...

John Cal, Writer-Chef

20 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

John Cal is a celebrity chef—at least among those who have participated in the Rabbit Room's Hutchmoot gathering in the past few years. His food...

Shawn Smucker Has Been Working Hard.

13 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Shawn Smucker has published five novels in the last five years—most recently, The Weight of Memory. He has also co-written some thirty books. Sh...

Daniel Grothe Thinks Small.

06 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Daniel Grothe is a pastor, a rancher, and the author of The Power of Place: Choosing Stability in a Rootless Age. In this episode, Daniel Grothe and J...

Jill Phillips Goes Deeper Into Love.

29 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Jill Phillips is a singer-songwriter and the star of the Gullahorn Happy Hour along with her husband, Andy Gullahorn. She’s also a Marriage and ...

Carolyn Leiloglou Follows the Rules (Sometimes)

22 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Carolyn Leiloglou writes books for children. Her picture book Library's Most Wanted was a 2021 WILLA Award Finalist. She was also a 2018 finalist for ...

Carolyn Weber was surprised by Oxford.

15 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Memoirist Carolyn Weber is the author of Surprised by Oxford and Sex and the City of God. This conversation between Dr. Weber and Jonathan Rogers was ...

Elizabeth Harwell on The Good King's Feast

08 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Elizabeth Harwell's new book is The Good King's Feast—An Invitation to the Lord's Table. It's a picture book that helps children understand Comm...

Luci Shaw and Ned Bustard Put the O in Hope

01 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Luci Shaw is one of the great living Christian poets. She has been a pioneer and role model for generations of writers. Her poem "The O in Hope" is no...

Hannah Hubin on Collaboration

25 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Hannah Hubin is a writer, poet, lyricist, and the originator of All the Wrecked Light, a stage show that explores Psalm 90 through song and spoken poe...

Sad Stories Told for Laughs: Dave Barnes

18 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Dave Barnes is a singer-songwriter, a standup comedian, and a cohost of the Dadville podcast. This episode, the 2021 finale of the Sad Stories Told fo...

Sad Stories Told for Laughs: Don Chaffer

11 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Don Chaffer is a singer-songwriter (Waterdeep), a composer-lyricist-librettist (Son of a Gun, The Unusual Tale of Mary and Joseph's Baby), and a profe...

Alan Noble Says You Are Not Your Own.

04 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alan Noble is Associate Professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University and editor-in-chief of Christ and Pop Culture. His new book is You Are Not...

Rachel Donahue on Place and Poetry

27 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After years overseas, poet Rachel Donahue settled into life on a property that had been in her husband's family for generations. Paying attention to t...

Ben Palpant Writes Letters from the Mountain

20 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ben Palpant is a poet, memoirist, novelist, and writer of nonfiction. His new book, Letters from the Mountain, is a collection of letters to his daugh...

Ashley Hales on a Spacious Life.

13 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ashley Hales is a writer, a speaker, and the host of the Finding Holy Podcast. Her new book is A Spacious Life: Trading Hustle and Hurry for the Goodn...

The Gray Havens feel Sehnsucht

06 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Dave and Licia Radford constitute the husband-wife duo, The Gray Havens. Their upcoming album, Blue Flower, is inspired by C. S. Lewis's autobiography...

Taylor Leonhardt Holds Still

30 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Singer-songwriter Taylor Leonhardt's second solo album, Hold Still, releases in September, 2021. (You can hear several of the songs already on streami...

Carolyn C. Givens on Rosefire & Bandersnatch Books

23 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Carrie Givens is a publisher and co-founder of Bandersnatch Books. She is also the author of the recently released novel Rosefire. In this episode, Ca...

Governor Bill Haslam on Faithful Presence

16 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Bill Haslam was a two-term governor of Tennessee and a two-term mayor of Knoxville. In a political climate marked by metastasizing outrage and divisio...

Diana P. Glyer on C.S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy

09 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Diana Pavlac Glyer is an expert on Tolkien and Lewis, especially with regard to their collaboration in the Inklings group. She is also the e...

JJ & Dave Heller

02 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

JJ Heller writes lullabies with her husband Dave and sings them for children, their parents, and the children inside the parents. Since 2017, the Hell...

Sad Stories Told for Laughs: Buddy Greene & Jeff Taylor

26 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For a decade and a half, Buddy Greene and Jeff Taylor have been making music together in a wide variety of venues and a wide variety of costumes. They...

Sad Stories Told for Laughs: Doug McKelvey

19 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Doug McKelvey is best known as the author of Every Moment Holy, “new liturgies for daily life.” He has also been a songwriter and a screen...

Sad Stories Told for Laughs: Jessica Hooten Wilson

12 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Jessica Hooten Wilson is Louise Cowan Scholar in Residence at the University of Dallas. She’s a much sought-after speaker and the author of book...

Sad Stories Told for Laughs: Thomas McKenzie

05 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Thomas McKenzie is an Anglican priest, the founding pastor of Church of the Redeemer in Nashville, and the author of The Anglican Way. Also, he once b...

Sad Stories Told for Laughs: Ellie Holcomb

28 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Singer-songwriter Ellie Holcomb has just released a new solo album called Canyon—which, she says, is about a deeper sorrow, a higher hope, and t...

Sad Stories Told for Laughs: Andrew Osenga

21 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Andrew Osenga is a singer-songwriter, an artist & repertoire director, and the host of the podcast The Pivot: Stories of People Who Have Made a Ch...

Sad Stories Told for Laughs: Maryrose Wood

14 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The “Sad Stories Told for Laughs” series continues with Maryrose Wood, author of The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place and Alice'...

Sad Stories Told for Laughs: Harrison Scott Key

07 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Sad Stories Told for Laughs" is a special summer series of episodes in which writers speak of their public humiliations for your edification and ente...

S3 E22: Matthew Dickerson

31 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Songs from the Silent Passage explores the literary career of Walt Wangerin, Jr. through a collection of essays by Wangerin's friends and colleag...

S3 E21: Sho Baraka

24 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Sho Baraka is a hip-hop artist, an activist, a co-founder of the AND Campaign, and an author. His new book is He Saw That It Was Good: Reimagining You...

The Habit Turns 100: A Retrospective (Part 2)

17 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this 100th conversation of The Habit Podcast, Jonathan Rogers and producer Drew Miller play back and discuss favorite moments from the first 99 epi...

The Habit Turns 100: A Retrospective (Part 1)

10 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this 100th episode of The Habit Podcast, Jonathan Rogers and producer Drew Miller play back and discuss favorite moments from the first 99 episodes...

S3 E18: Lancia E. Smith

03 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Lancia Smith is the founder of Cultivating, a quarterly online magazine, and the Cultivating Project, a nurtured community of writers and artists comm...

S3 E17: Janna Barber

26 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Janna Barber is a blogger, poet, and memoirist. Her most recent book is Hidden in Shadow: Tales of Grief, Lamentation, and Faith. This memoir is one w...

S3 E16: Stephen Roach

19 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Stephen Roach is a poet, musician, speaker, and creative coach. He hosts the Makers and Mystics podcast and is the founder of The Breath and the Clay,...

S3 E15: Rachel Pieh Jones

12 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel Pieh Jones has been living and writing in the Horn of Africa for the last eighteen years. Her new memoir is Pillars: How Muslim Friends Led Me ...

S3 E14: Doug McKelvey

05 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Every Moment Holy, Volume II is a book of liturgies and prayers for seasons of dying and grieving. Doug McKelvey spent two years in dialogue with bere...

S3 E13: The Hobbit Podcast (feat. Malcolm Guite)

01 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The poet Malcolm Guite wears waistcoats. He smokes a long-stemmed pipe and blows smoke rings. He often ambles about in the countryside. He's not very ...

S3 E12: Andrew Peterson and Friends on the Wingfeather Tales

28 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Wingfeather Tales started out as a Kickstarter stretch goal for The Warden and the Wolf King, Book 4 of Andrew Peterson’s Wingfeather Saga....

S3 E11: Winn Collier on Eugene Peterson

22 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Winn Collier is the Director of the Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination at Western Seminary in Holland Michigan. He was friends with...

S3 E10: Hannah Anderson

15 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Author, gardener, and woods-walker Hannah Anderson wrote, “More than a metaphor, the natural world is a living, pulsating experience o...

S3 E9: Kristin Kobes Du Mez

08 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kristin Kobes Du Mez is a history professor at Calvin University and the author of Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and ...

S3 E8: Benjamin Myers

01 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with Benjamin Myers, author of A Poetics of Orthodoxy: Christian Truth as Aesthetic Foundation. In A Poetics of Ortho...

S3 E7: W. David O. Taylor

22 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

David O. Taylor is a theologian of the arts, Associate Professor of Theology at Fuller Seminary, and a director of initiatives in art and faith. His m...

S3 E6: Jen Pollock Michel

15 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with Jen Pollock Michel, author of A Habit Called Faith: 40 Days in the Bible to Find and Follow Jesus. Jonathan and ...

S3 E5: Tish Harrison Warren

08 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week on The Habit Podcast, Jonathan Rogers and Tish Harrison Warren discuss the difference between true human vulnerability and the "curated" vul...

S3 E4: Lisa Deam

01 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Lisa Deam is an art historian and the author of 3,000 Miles to Jesus: Pilgrimage as a Way of Life for Spiritual Seekers. (She also blogs at The Contem...

S3 E3: Matthew Clark

25 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week on The Habit Podcast, Jonathan Rogers talks with songwriter and storyteller Matthew Clark. They discuss the many facets of Matthew's mission...

S3 E2: Ruth Naomi Floyd

18 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week on The Habit Podcast, Jonathan Rogers talks with speaker, singer, educator, and activist Ruth Naomi Floyd. They discuss the intimate relatio...

S3 E1: Joel Clarkson

11 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week on The Habit Podcast, Jonathan Rogers talks with Joel Clarkson, author of Sensing God: Experiencing the Divine in Nature, Food, Music, and B...

S2 E51: Renee Mathis

21 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with Renee Mathis, fellow writing teacher and mentor at the CiRCE Institute's apprenticeship program. They discuss Re...

S2 E50: Reagan Dregge

14 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's the season for writing Christmas letters. This week on The Habit Podcast, Jonathan Rogers talks with letter-writer Reagan Dregge. They discuss th...

S2 E49: Randall Goodgame

07 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week on The Habit Podcast, Jonathan Rogers talks with Randall Goodgame, songwriter, TV show host, and leader of the Slugs & Bugs universe. Th...

S2 E48: Christiana Peterson

30 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week on The Habit Podcast, Jonathan Rogers talks with Christiana Peterson, author of Awakened by Death: Live-Giving Lessons from the Mystics. The...

S2 E47: Tsh Oxenreider

23 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with Tsh Oxenreider, teacher, podcaster, literary tour guide, and author of Shadow and Light: A Journey into Advent. ...

S2 E46: Crystal Downing

16 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week on The Habit Podcast, Jonathan talks with Crystal Downing, author of Subversive: Christ, Culture, and the Shocking Dorothy L. Sayers. They d...

S2 E45: Charlotte Donlon

09 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week on The Habit Podcast, Jonathan Rogers talks with Charlotte Donlon, author of The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other and ...

S2 E44: Dane Ortlund

02 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jonathan Rogers talks with Dane Ortlund, former Senior Vice President of Bible Publishing at Crossway and current Senior Pastor of Naperville Presbyte...

S2 E43: Andrew T. Le Peau

26 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week on The Habit Podcast, Jonathan Rogers talks with Andrew T. Le Peau, former Associate Publisher at InterVarsity Press and author of Write Bet...

S2 E42: Anne Snyder

19 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week on The Habit Podcast, Jonathan Rogers talks with Anne Snyder, editor-in-chief of Comment Magazine and host of the podcast, The Whole Person ...

S2 E41: Brown Bannister

12 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jonathan Rogers talks with music industry legend Brown Bannister about the difference between “Here I am” and “There you are” ...

S2 E40: Russell Moore

05 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week on The Habit Podcast, Jonathan Rogers talks with Russell Moore, President of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and author of The...

S2 E39: Barnabas Piper

28 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week on The Habit Podcast, Jonathan Rogers interviews Barnabas Piper, author of Hoping for Happiness. They talk about the unrealistic expectation...

S2 E38: Marilyn McEntyre

21 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week on The Habit Podcast, Jonathan Rogers talks with Marilyn McEntyre, author of Speaking Peace in a Climate of Conflict. They discuss the rich ...

S2 E37: Irwyn Ince

14 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with Dr. Irwyn Ince, pastor and author of The Beautiful Community: Unity, Diversity, and the Church at Its Best. The...

S2 E36: Ross King

07 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with Nashville singer/songwriter Ross King about the instructive power of rejection, the complexities of writing for ...

S2 E35: Vesper Stamper

31 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with Vesper Stamper, illustrator and author of A Cloud of Outrageous Blue. They discuss how illustration became for V...

S2 E34: Gina Dalfonzo

24 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with Gina Dalfonzo, author of Dorothy and Jack: The Transforming Friendship of Dorothy L. Sayers and C. S. Lewis. The...

S2 E33: Daniel Darling Has A Way with Words

17 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with bestselling author, pastor, and podcast host Daniel Darling about the complex mix of motivations that go into on...

S2 E32: Christine Flanagan on The Letters of Flannery O'Connor and Caroline Gordon

10 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jonathan Rogers talks with Christine Flanagan, English professor at the University of the Sciences in Pennsylvania and editor of The Letters of Flanne...

S2 E31: Sandra McCracken

03 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with singer/songwriter and hymn writer Sandra McCracken. They talk about the formative power of hymns, the ancient ba...

S2 E30: Cindy Bunch

27 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with Cindy Bunch, author of Be Kind to Yourself and associate publisher and director of editorial at InterVarsity Pre...

S2 E29: Andrew Osenga

13 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with music industry veteran and host of The Pivot podcast Andrew Osenga. They talk about what Andrew’s podcast ...

S2 E28: Claire Holley

06 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with singer-songwriter Claire Holley. They discuss the role of fear in writing, object writing prompts, how to d...

S2 E27: Emily P. Freeman

29 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with Emily P. Freeman, author of The Next Right Thing, creator of the Next Right Thing Podcast, and co-founder of the...

S2 E26: Jericho Brown (feat. Matt Conner)

22 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jonathan Rogers loved Matt Conner's interview with Jericho Brown so much that he wants you to hear it, too. Jericho Brown won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize ...

S2 E25: Amy Alznauer

15 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jonathan Rogers talks with Amy Alznauer, author of The Boy Who Dreamed of Infinity and The Strange Birds of Flannery O'Connor.. They discuss Flannery ...

S2 E24: Michael Ward

08 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with Michael Ward, C. S. Lewis scholar and author of Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C. S. Lew...

S2 E23: Scott Sauls

01 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Jonathan and Scott discuss the difference between being for and being against, why we've recently seen such a renewed interest in Fre...

S2 E22: Karen Swallow Prior

25 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jonathan Rogers talks with Karen Swallow Prior, author of On Reading Well and Booked. They discuss common mistakes in how we read classic literat...

S2 E21: Leif Enger Is Delighted

18 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jonathan Rogers talks with Leif Enger, author of Virgil Wander and Peace Like A River. They discuss Leif’s love of beautiful places in his favor...

S2 E20: Diana Glyer

11 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jonathan and Diana discuss how the Inklings got started and the factors that contributed to their health, the sharpening power of writing groups, and ...

S2 E19: Malcolm Guite

04 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Poet-priest Malcolm Guite has become one of the most important Christian poets of our time. In this episode, Jonathan and Malcolm discuss the “s...

S2 E18: Scott James

27 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Scott James is a pediatric physician and author of Where Is Wisdom? A Treasure Hunt Through God's Wondrous World, Inspired by Job 28. In this episode,...

S2 E17: Laura Fabrycky

20 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with Laura Fabrycky, author of Keys to Bonhoeffer's Haus: Exploring the World and Wisdom of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. They...

S2 E16: Nancy Guthrie

13 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Jonathan and Nancy discuss the invaluable resource of deep focus, research as practicing the posture of learning, and the clarifying ...

S2 E15: Ned Bustard

06 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Ned Bustard is a graphic designer, illustrator, author, and printmaker from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. In this episode, Jonathan and Ned discuss ...

S2 E14: Jeremy Casella Knows What to Do with Hurt

30 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jeremy Casella is a singer-songwriter in Nashville. In this episode, Jonathan and Jeremy discuss songwriting as a means of processing life, the abidin...

S2 E13: Trillia Newbell Endures

23 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Trillia Newbell is the author of several books including United: Captured by God’s Vision for Diversity, and, most recently, Sacred Endurance: F...