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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/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Winfield Bevins is an author, a visual artist, and the founding director of Creo Arts, a non-profit that exists to bring beauty, goodness, and truth to the world through the arts. His new book is How Beauty Will Save the World: Recovering the Power of the Arts for the Christian Life. In this episode, Winfield and Jonathan Rogers talk about how beauty will save the world. They also talk about a modern Renaissance of the arts, moving from beauty to truth, and making space for Sabbath rest. Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.