Stories Are Soul Food

Latest Episodes:

How to Fake the Shroud of Turin Sep 03, 2024

Show notes

Did you know that N.D. Wilson found a method that would have allowed a medieval to fake the Shroud using glass and paint, including photo negativity and all? This Stories Are Soul Food episode has the entire scoop -- including: Nate's impetus for the whole experiment (a professor discarded the Bible because the Shroud was "proof of the resurrection"); how the inspiration came to him (through a monstrous collection of G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown stories); and how his theory continues to be ignored by contemporary Roman Catholics (although the medieval Roman Catholics declared that the Shroud of Turin was fake because they'd found the craftsman who had faked it!). You'll also hear why, if you believe your Bible, you already should have known the Shroud was fake. But for the first time in the modern era, we've got a frontrunner for how the Shroud of Turin was made (and it wasn't made at the moment of Resurrection).

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8 Million Copies Aug 21, 2024

Show notes

After a quick discussion of Brian's decision to shout more at Nate to please a few vocal liseners, the SASF guys discuss what it takes to sell more than 8 million copies of your books. Turns out, if you published in the 2010s, putting "Girl" in the title pretty much did it. If you follow publishing, you should be able to guess the books that sold the most copies in the 2010s: EL James's 50 Shades series (the trilogy sold 35 million copies). Nate and Brian discuss the crisis that publishing such successful smut caused Random House -- and how RH made it go away. They also introduce you to Doug Wilson's reviews of Twilight and 50 Shades. Then they move on to identifying the expertise required to sell what fills out the rest of the top 10 list for the previous decade in this books-focused episode of Stories Are Soul Food. Includes discussions of Hunger Games, The Help, Gone Girl on a Train with Tattoos, Divergent, and more, all of which sold about 8 million copies or more.

IT'S HERE! Pre-Order the 4th installment of the Ashtown Burial Series at ashtownburials.com.

Living Forever Aug 07, 2024

Show notes

Will we tell stories in heaven? Nate says the answer is so obvious it's a dumb question. Brian tries to make him answer anyway. Instead, Nate talks about a sci-fi story he is working on in which nobody lives past age 18. Turns out storytelling is fundamental to humanity, and we should be living like it now. Then Brian brings up a related listener question about how to choose what you're doing with your life now: What happens if you're working a blue collar job but you want to go to seminary and you also want to write? Prepare for an episode of Life Advice with Nate™ , and you best believe he's not sympathetic to decision paralysis. Pick what you want to do, and do it. God doesn't steer a parked car. You'll often get Open Doors when you least expect it, because your life is a story, and you don't get to know what happens in the future. The conversation blasts off into a conversation about human nature and winning the lottery, and how we love to complain in the midst of richness. You'll also get to know Grandpa Kohl's slogan, "Better than I deserve," and how you should look for God's choicest wines in the cellar of affliction (Rutherford). You'll also notice we opened this week's SASF with a new song just for fun: Check out Aaron Rench's "Fences" streaming everywhere now.

IT'S HERE! Pre-Order the 4th installment of the Ashtown Burial Series at ashtownburials.com.

Fast Starters Who Fade Jul 30, 2024

Show notes

Prepare for a very convicting episode of Stories Are Soul Food. Jesus warns of one kind of seed that springs up fast but quickly withers away. It's this kind of character the SASF guys discuss today, with Brian asking questions about Saul and Judas. Nate identifies one fundamental error such characters always make: They mistake their place in the story, making themselves the main character. Saul thinks the kingdom of Israel is about him. Judas thinks he can make the Messiah drive out the Romans. But the most common place Nate has seen this error? Parents. Moms who can't see past their own trials. Dads who sabotage their kids goals for their own. Turns out, mis-reading the story is the way we all make things easier on themselves.

IT'S HERE! Pre-Order the 4th installment of the Ashtown Burial Series at ashtownburials.com.

The Boy and the Heron (feat. Crispin's Rainy Day) Jul 22, 2024

Show notes

Nate and Brian invite Forrest Dickison on to make sure he takes first place as SASF'S Most Invited Guest. But really they want to discuss Forrest's debut picture book, Crispin's Rainy Day, a story about a boy who wants to join a crew of pirate frogs -- but only if he can escape from his little sister first. The book is a perfect chocolate chip story with stunning illustrations -- meant to be enjoyed as a family -- but it has a contentious depiction of gender roles reflected in the relationship between Crispin and his sister Rose. "Contentious" means "traditional" in this case -- Rose wields delicious slices of cake and is completely uninterested in swords. The discussion of the heroic feminine leads naturally into a discussion of Miyazaki's latest feature film, The Boy and the Heron, with some amazing female characters of its own and bold narrative choices (man-eating parakeets, anyone?). Forrest calls it a masterpiece; Brian wanted it to be better. You'll have to listen to the episode to find out what Nate thought. If you're an NC Wyeth fan, you'll also get some recognition in this episode. Visit crispinsrainyday.com for more.

IT'S HERE! Pre-Order the 4th installment of the Ashtown Burial Series at ashtownburials.com.

Trump Survives Jul 15, 2024

Show notes

How do we, the members of a rotting democracy, read the story of the botched assassination of President Trump? God put a few more minutes back on the clock when DT turned his head to look at that immigration chart. Not only did we get a key character moment from Trump -- courage after being shot cannot be faked -- but we also got even bigger helpings of legacy news spin cycles flailing and bureaucratic incompetence. There have been at least three other assassination attempts in a millennial's lifetime (Reagan, Bush grenade, Clinton Cessna), but this is the first one to happen in an age of social media. And the photo op alone has tanked Democrat plans for the DNC. Also, we never would have gotten that moment with a competent Secret Service (or a male Secret Service agent). Nate tells us when to admit that you'll never know the complete truth (and why that's okay), and how to avoid becoming a Trump Apostle while still praying fervently that he'll win (Nate makes his claims about the election this November into the camera). Brian asks about the Deep State and Good Paranoia, and Nate wants our country to turn its attention to the Deepest State: public schools. But what the guys want you to take away from this episode is how to read this moment as a Christian -- Trump is AN answer, but the not THE answer. And you need to turn your attention back to the task that matters right now: build build build.

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng-wHzp3oNs

IT'S HERE! Pre-Order the 4th installment of the Ashtown Burial Series at ashtownburials.com.

Unsung Heroes Jun 11, 2024

Show notes

This week Brian has abandoned Nate to attend the birth of his daughter, so Nate strikes back by having two of his own daughters on the pod instead. The discussion begins with what books the girls, Lucy and Ameera, are reading, and why Lucy hates detective novels and green food. Lucy is moved to love, though, when the trope of "unsung heroes" is introduced. Nate pursues this line, getting his daughters to articulate exactly why praise-less sacrifice is such a stirring concept. Frodo finally gets the love that he has been missing both from the hobbits of the shire and the audience of the Peter Jackson's movies. This episode touches down on all sorts of authors, ranging from the obligatory Tolkien (All Hail!) to Terry Pratchett to Jane Austen, Agatha Christy, and (who else?) C.S. Lewis. It wouldn't be a SASF episode though if Nate didn't sneak in some comments at the end about behaving like the kind of character you want to be and ... which episode number are we on anyway?

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNxOrsD1YQc

IT'S HERE! Pre-Order the 4th installment of the Ashtown Burial Series at ashtownburials.com.

Innocence in the Postapocalypse Jun 03, 2024

Show notes

Today's Stories Are Soul Food episode covers two new dystopian tales, a book and a show. The book is Leif Enger's "I Cheerfully Refuse", which Brian cheerfully despised for Leif's overly luminous characters and bass-playing giant protagonist. The show is Amazon Prime's "Fallout," which Nate skipped his way through, watching the innocence of the virginal protagonist be stripped from her episode by episode through violence, immorality, and (apparently) cannibalism. Nate talks about how the show's potential was ruined because the director, Jonathan Nolan, had only one trick: take innocence and corrupt it. Beyond that, the show never gets beyond the video game logic which bounds it. Brian asks why the destruction of the innocent seems to be the theme of most postapocalyptic fiction, and the guys talk their way through Margaret Atwood, The Road, Mad Max, and other tales of scientific dystopia. Why do we love such stories? Brian answers that it's because our lives are so easy. Listen to the episode to see if Nate agrees...

#SASF #StoriesAreSoulFood #Books #Movies #NDWilson #JonathanNolan #Fallout #AmazonPrime #ICheerfullyRefuse #LeifEnger #DystopianSciFi #Postapocalypse #Innocence

IT'S HERE! Pre-Order the 4th installment of the Ashtown Burial Series at ashtownburials.com.

Not All Burgers Are Equal May 28, 2024

Show notes

If you're a crippled Eskimo girl, would the best story you could ever read have a crippled Eskimo girl as the hero? Many book publishers and movie studios today would say YES. (The part they don't say is that the only reason they don't make more movies about Eskimos on crutches is because that demographic doesn't sell enough tickets.) Another way to ask this question: Do stories appeal because the main character represents you? Or do they appeal because you connect with the main character? Here's the takeaway: Representation is pointless; connection is the holy grail of storytelling. And the confusion of "representation" and "connection" is behind much of our worst woke storytelling today. Nate doesn't connect with a "father of five" on screen because he himself feels represented as a father of five -- there needs to be some human connection, some shared feeling or experience, if you want a character to resonate with the audience. The SASF guys discuss the difference between, say, the generic heroine of Princess Diaries versus Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. And then they get into a discussion of character archetypes, and how, in storytelling as in a restaurant, you can have all the ingredients of a great burger and still end up with a terrible burger. You also get to hear Nate hate on Shakespeare's tragedies while Brian tries to defend them, and hear which Shakespeare play Nate has adapted into a high-school rom-com.

#SASF #StoriesAreSoulFood #Books #Movies #NDWilson #Shakespeare #PrincessDiaries #wokestorytelling

IT'S HERE! Pre-Order the 4th installment of the Ashtown Burial Series at ashtownburials.com.

Filtering Bad Books May 20, 2024

Show notes

Nate talks about his ability to sense changes in the weather, and proceeds to roast Brian for his opinions on prologues. But that's not the occasion for this wandering episode: If you're a regular SASF listener, you'll know that the guys are big proponents of filtering films for family movie night (they recommend ClearPlay and VidAngel both). But what about books? When do books cross the line, and what should you do about it? Brian and Nate discuss this question. They kick things off, though, with a discussion on prologues -- turns out Brian hates them and Nate has written them, so stay tuned for the drama.

#SASF #StoriesAreSoulFood #Filters #Books #Movies #NDWilson #prologues

IT'S HERE! Pre-Order the 4th installment of the Ashtown Burial Series at ashtownburials.com.