The Habit

Galahad and the Grail is Book 1 of Merlin’s Isle, Malcolm Guite’s retelling of the King Arthur legends in ballad form. It releases in March of 2026. In the prelude to Galahad and the Grail, a voice shimmering in the morning air says: Poet, take up the tale–Take up the tale the land still keeps,In earth and water magic sleeps,The dryad sighs, the naiad weeps,But you can lift the veil. Malcolm has taken up a very old tale and lifted the veil on stories that have lingered in the traditions of the British Isles longer than the English language itself.  Scholar and teacher Junius Johnson is taking up the tale in another way. Starting in January 2026, Junius is teaching a 20-week online class on the King Arthur legend. He describes the class as a chance to see for yourself why this story has fascinated the imagination for so many centuries. In this episode, Malcolm, Junius talk with Jonathan Rogers about how King Arthur rode into their lives, and what these stories have meant to them. This episode is sponsored by The Habit Writer Development Cohorts. Join "Cohort Week Zero," a free mini-class, at TheHabit.co/Development.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Besides being the proprietor of the much-loved Substack, Miller's Book Review, Joel Miller is the author of a new book that has made its way into the world after a thirteen-year gestation. In The Idea Machine: How Books Built Our World and Shape Our Future, Joel make the case that books are one of the most important but overlooked factors in the making of our contemporary world. Books don't just preserve ideas, yes, but they also provoke new ones: they are true tools for thinking. This episode of The Habit Podcast was recorded live as part of a book-release celebration at The Rabbit Room’s North Wind Manor.  This episode is sponsored by The Habit Writer Development Cohorts. Join "Cohort Week Zero," a free mini-class, at TheHabit.co/Development.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mischa Willett is a poet and writing professor. He is the Director of the Whitworth Writers' Workshop MFA in Creative Writing at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. In this episode, Mischa Willett and Jonathan Rogers talk about MFA programs, failure as a means of getting work done, and apology letters written by robots. This episode is sponsored by The Habit Writer Development Cohorts. Join "Cohort Week Zero" a free mini-class, TheHabit.co/Development.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In her role as poet, Rachel Donahue has a track record of gathering other poets, encouraging them in their work, and giving them space to shine. In her role as publisher and editor at Bandersnatch Books, she has done all those things for poets by envisioning, then bringing to life I’ve Got a Bad Case of Poetry, an anthology of poems for children by dozens of poets, gorgeously illustrated by Emily J. Person. In this episode, Jonathan Rogers speaks with both Rachel and Emily about the origins of A Bad Case of Poetry, the joys of creating in community, and the role of delight in the making of art—especially art for children. To get I've Got a Bad Case of Poetry by Christmas, preorder at Kickstarter before December 5.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rabbit Room Press has started a new podcast called Rabbit Room Press Presents, serialized audiobooks of favorite Rabbit Room Press titles. The first season consisted of the seventeen interviews with poets that make up Ben Palpant’s book, An Axe for the Frozen Sea. Each episode is a different interview. Besides being an excellent writer in his own right, Ben is a great interviewer. This episode of The Habit Podcast is a rebroadcast of the first episode of Rabbit Press Presents—en Palpant, reading the Preface to An Axe for the Frozen Sea, followed by Chapter 1 of that book, his interview with the poet Scott Cairns.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Katherine Ladny Mitchell is a mystery-writer. Not To Be is the first in her Pen and Paintbrush mystery series, in which a writer and a painter, two sisters, work together as amateur sleuths. In this episode, Katherine and Jonathan Rogers talk about the rules of mystery stories, and how they apply to other kinds of storytelling. And they discuss the ways that the habit of art could make artists of all kinds good crime solvers.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Grace Hamman is a writer and independent scholar of late medieval poetry and contemplative writing. Her work has been published by academic and popular outlets, including Plough Quarterly and The Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies. Her new book is Ask of Old Paths: Medieval Virtues and Vices for a Whole and Holy Life. In this episode, Grace and Jonathan Rogers talk about the virtues and vices, and the ways that virtues present differently in different people. They also talk about unicorns.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Karen Walrond is the author of The Lightmaker’ Manifesto and Radiant Rebellion. She and her work have been featured on Brené Brown’s Unlocking Us podcast, Huffington Post, CNN.com, and the Oprah Winfrey Show. Her blog Chookooloonks is a lifestyle, inspiration, and photography destination. Karen’s new book is In Defense of Dabbling: The Brilliance of Being a Total Amateur. In this episode, Karen and Jonathan Rogers talk about hobbies, the value of doing things you aren’t very good at, and the seven attributes of intentional amateurism. This episode is sponsored by The Habit Focus Retreat—a four-day writing getaway in Nashville, October 26-30. TheHabit.co/Retreats.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kate Gaston’s essays are usually hilarious and always wise. She is the proprietor of the Substack That Middle Distance and a regular at the Rabbit Room. She will also be a featured guest at The Habit's Focus Retreat at the end of October. In this episode, Kate and Jonathan Rogers discuss her essay, "The Heavy Lift of Creativity."Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Louis Markos is Professor of English at Houston Christian University. He’s an authority on C. S. Lewis, apologetics, and ancient Greece and Rome. He’s the author of close to thirty books, most recently From Aristotle to Christ: How Aristotelian Thought Clarified the Christian Faith. In this episode, Dr. Markos and Jonathan Rogers talk about the relationship between virtue and happiness, the difference between wishes and choices, and the role of contemplation in the creative life. This episode is sponsored by The Habit's Focus Retreat, October 26-30 in Nashville. Find out more at TheHabit.co/Retreats.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carey Wallace is an author and speaker who has devoted much of her professional life to equipping and encouraging other writers and artists. Her most recent book is The Discipline of Inspiration: The Mysterious Encounter with God at the Heart of Creativity. In this episode, Carey and Jonathan Rogers talk about inspiration, openness, surprise, and the connections between spiritual practices and creative practices.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker and author Vicki Courtney has been writing books for women since the late 90s. Her new book is Motherhood Is Not Your Highest Calling: The Grace of Being a Good-Enough Mother. Vicki says iIt’s the book she would have liked to read when she was a young mother unable to shake the idea that motherhood defined her identity. In this episode, Vicki and Jonathan Rogers talk about swapping “perfect” for “good enough.” We talk about fitting a writing life into motherhood. And we talk a little about what it’s like to change your mind about something you published twenty years ago.  This episode is sponsored by The Habit's Focus Retreat, October 26-30 in Nashville. Find out more at TheHabit.co/Retreats.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

W. David O. Taylor is Associate Professor of Theology & Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary, as well as the director of various initiatives in worship, theology and the arts. He teaches courses in systematic theology, art and worship, art and theology, art and beauty, spiritual formation through the psalms, and theology and science fiction. Along with Daniel Train, he edited a new collection of essays about art and the Holy Spirit—Naming the Spirit: Pneumatology and the Arts. One of the contributors to that collection is Steve Guthrie. Steve is a professor of theology and religion and the arts at Belmont University in Nashville. He is also chairman of the board of the Rabbit Room. In this episode, David, Steve and Jonathan Rogers talk about inspiration, breathing in and breathing out, particularity and mutuality, and quite a few other things. This episode is sponsored by The Focus Retreat, presented by The Habit. October 26-30 in Nashville. Find out more at TheHabit.co/Retreats.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jason M. Baxter is a speaker, college professor, and author of eight books, including the best-selling Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis, A Beginner's Guide to Dante's Comedy, Why Literature Still Matters, and now a new translation of Dante's Comedy. On his Substack, Beauty Matters, he writes about the role of the humanities in our technologically driven age. He currently works at Benedictine College in Kansas as the Director for the Center for Beauty and Culture. In this episode, Dr. Baxter and Jonathan Rogers talk about why literature matters, and how the arts begin to close the gap between who we are and what we long for.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Father Damian Ference is a priest of the diocese of Cleveland.  He serves at Borromeo Seminary in Wickliffe, Ohio as Director of Human Formation and Assistant Professor of Philosophy. He is also the author of Understanding The Hillbilly Thomist: The Philosophical Foundations of Flannery O’Connor’s Narrative Art. In a letter to a friend, O’Connor wrote, “Everybody who reads Wise Blood thinks I’m a hillbilly nihilist, whereas I would like to create the impression…that I am a hillbilly Thomist.” Father Ference argues in his book that O’Connor wasn’t just making a throwaway joke, but that the philosophy and theology of Thomas Aquinas shaped O’Connor’s art all the way to the ground. In this episode Father Ference and Jonathan Rogers talk about solid, down-to-earth metaphysics, trusting the senses, showing and telling, and virtue, habit, and freedom as they apply to creative work.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Heidi White is a teacher, a podcaster, a speaker, and an author. In her speaking and writing she explores literature, education, and the Christian imagination. Her new book is The Divided Soul: Duty and Desire in Literature and Life. In this episode, Heidi and Jonathan Rogers talk about the division and ultimate reunification of “want” and “ought,” and they discuss the truth that this division is central to all story because it is central to the human experience.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Karen Swallow Prior is a public intellectual— a writer, speaker, and literature teacher. Her work centers on the intersection of faith, narrative, and cultural life. Her Substack, The Priory, is devoted to the holy cultivation of a rich inner life. Her new book is You Have a Calling: Finding Your Vocation in the True, Good and Beautiful. In this episode, Dr. Prior and Jonathan Rogers talk about following your passion (she has her doubts about that advice), knowing your limitations (she doesn’t think you can be anything you want to be), and listening for your calling (she doesn’t think it has to be all that mystical).Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mitali Perkins (mitaliperkins.com) has written many books for young readers, including You Bring the Distant Near (nominated for a National Book Award) and Rickshaw Girl (adapted into a film), all of which explore crossing different kinds of borders. Her goal is to make readers laugh or cry, preferably both, as long as their hearts are widening. Her new book is for grownups. It’s called Just Making: A Guide for Compassionate Creatives. In it, Mitali begins answering the questions, “Why should we make art while injustice and suffering wreak havoc?” “How can we justify making beautiful things?” and “How do we keep doing the work?” In this episode Mitali Perkins and Jonathan Rogers talk about justice and creativity, the ups and downs of Mitali's career, five destructive interior forces that keep us from doing creative work, and practices that counteract those forces.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carolyn Weber was our special guest at The Habit Summer Writers’ Weekend this past June. Carolyn is the author of Surprised by Oxford and Sex and the City of God. She is also a professor at New College Franklin in Franklin, Tennessee. The following conversation was recorded in front of a live audience of writers. Carolyn and Jonathan Rogers talk about memoir-writing, the memoirist’s ever-developing sense of self, and what it means to be both honest and honoring of others in a memoir.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Songwriter Wendell Kimbrough has been writing, recording, and performing songs based on the Psalms for the last few years. His most recent record is called You Belong. In this episode, Wendell and Jonathan Rogers talk about loneliness, perfectionism, feeling like an outsider, learning to belong–and how one writes songs that sound like the Psalms while also sounding like the Gulf Coast.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.