This week on The Habit Podcast, I interview Barnabas Piper, author of Hoping for Happiness.

We talk about the unrealistic expectations that artists can sometimes project onto their craft, how much easier it is to write while sad than while happy, and the distinction between hope and optimism.

This week on The Habit Podcast, I talk with Marilyn McEntyre, author of Speaking Peace in a Climate of Conflict.

We discuss the rich etymological depth of the word “conversation” and its connection to “dwelling with”; the lost art of visiting; transactional speech in a capitalist world; poetry’s abiding danger to the status quo; and the recovery of metaphor.

In this week’s episode of The Habit Podcast, I speak with Dr. Irwyn Ince, pastor and author of The Beautiful Community: Unity, Diversity, and the Church at Its Best.

We discuss the truth that beauty refuses to be possessed, the aesthetic impact of pursuing racial justice, and the joy to be found in responding to God’s calling—even and especially when that call entails “divine dissatisfaction.

This week, I talk with Nashville singer/songwriter Ross King about the instructive power of rejection, the complexities of writing for a living in today’s world, and advice for dealing with artistic competitiveness.

I talk with Vesper Stamper, illustrator and author of A Cloud of Outrageous Blue. We discuss how illustration became for Vesper a doorway into storytelling, what her research into the Middle Ages for her new book has taught her about plagues, and synesthesia as the beginning of metaphor.

In this week’s episode of The Habit Podcast, I talk with Gina Dalfonzo about her new book, Dorothy and Jack: The Transforming Friendship of Dorothy L. Sayers and C. S. Lewis. We discuss the often overlooked friendship between Dorothy Sayers and C. S. Lewis, Sayers’ innovative depiction of Jesus in The Man Born to Be King, and her lifelong wrestling with Lewis on the issue of artistic conscience and calling.

In this week’s episode of The Habit Podcast, I speak with bestselling author, pastor, and podcast host Daniel Darling about the complex mix of motivations that go into online interaction, the double-edged sword of content curation, and how to communicate well in an age that prioritizes communicating quickly above all else. Daniel Darling’s new book is A Way with Words: Using our Online Conversations for Good.

We often think of Flannery O’Connor as a lone genius. But her genius was shaped by a (now) less well-known writer named Caroline Gordon. Christine Flanagan, English professor at the University of the Sciences in Pennsylvania, collected and edited The Letters of Flannery O’Connor and Caroline Gordon. These letters paint a fascinating picture of a skilled and generous mentor pouring into the creative life of a younger writer.

Christine Flanagan is my guest on this week’s episode of The Habit Podcast. This was a fascinating conversation. I commend it to you.

In this week’s episode of The Habit Podcast, I talk with singer/songwriter Sandra McCracken. Wee talk about the formative power of hymns, the ancient balance established by the psalms between lament and a vision for what lies ahead, Sandra’s first book, and the role of true confidence in human flourishing.

This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with Cindy Bunch, author of Be Kind to Yourself and associate publisher and director of editorial at InterVarsity Press. They talk about how to maintain a healthy relationship with the inner critic, the many misplaced wishes that writers often throw onto their writing, and the mystery of which readers resonate and which readers don’t.