The Habit

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Daniel Nayeri on The Teacher of Nomad Land Dec 15, 2025

Show notes

Daniel Nayeri’s latest novel—The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story—recently received the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. In this episode Daniel speaks with Jonathan Rogers about Iran’s role in World War II, food writing, fathers, providence, the wisdom of children, and incompetent spies.

This episode is sponsored by The Habit Writer Development Cohorts, a six-week small-group intensive starting January 12. The Habit Writer Development Cohorts provide practical tools, insights, and encouragement that writers at all experience levels.

Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/member

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sally Lloyd-Jones on Delight Dec 08, 2025

Show notes

You probably know Sally Lloyd-Jones as the author of the Jesus Storybook Bible, a book that has been around for almost twenty years. She has also published more than twenty other books for children, including Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing, His Royal Highness King Baby, and Skip to the Loo: A Potty Book. Her latest is Jesus, Our True Friend. Sally is committed to delight, and that makes her a delight herself. This is a delightful conversation between Sally Lloyd-Jones and Jonathan Rogers.

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/member

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malcolm Guite and Junius Johnson Take Up the Tale Dec 01, 2025

Show notes

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/member

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joel Miller's Idea Machine Nov 24, 2025

Show notes

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/member

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mischa Willett Is Equipping a New Generation of Writers. Nov 17, 2025

Show notes

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/member

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rachel Donahue and Emily J. Person Have a Bad Case of Poetry. Nov 10, 2025

Show notes

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/member

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rabbit Room Press Presents: Ben Palpant and Scott Cairns Oct 27, 2025

Show notes

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/member

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Katherine Ladny Mitchell Writes Mystery. Oct 20, 2025

Show notes

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/member

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Grace Hamman on Virtues and Vices Oct 13, 2025

Show notes

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/member

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Karen Walrond Is a Total Amateur. Oct 06, 2025

Show notes

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/member

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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