The Mockingcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 259: Last Chopper Out of Vietnam May 01, 2024

Show notes

Recorded live in front of the audience at Mockingbird's annual conference in NYC, RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk quarter-life crises, parental control, dating types, and the relief of not being God. Also, Dave and RJ finally figure out who won.

Click here to read The New Quarter-Life Crisis by Maggie Mertens in The Atlantic.
Click here to Kathryn Jezer-Morton's piece on "Parenting Through Control Issues" for The Cut.
Click here to read The One Big Thing You Can Do for Your Kids by Arthur Brooks.
Click here to read Lillian Fishman's advice column for The Point, asking Can We Ever Trust Ourselves?
Click here to read Seven Words That Sum Up the Entire Bible by Anthony Robinson on Mbird.

Episode 258: The Greatest Bible Study of All Time Apr 20, 2024

Show notes

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk furniture flipping, rental people, lunar eclipses, and Rwandan redemption. Also, RJ drops some serious science.

Click here for more details about next week's Mbird Conference in NYC
Click here to read the excerpt from Amanda Montell's new book The Age of Overthinking in Marie Claire
Click here to receive Sarah Hinlicky Wilson's newsletter Theology and A Recipe, the most recent installment of which is Bad Pie
Click here to read Todd Brewer's piece Looking for Enchantment on Mbird
Click here to read Denise Uwimana's "How Far Does Forgiveness Reach?" in Plough

Episode 257: Screwing Up Is a Good Start Mar 25, 2024

Show notes

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk elephant mudslides, liquid death, Alzheimers, and atonement. It's an instant classic!

Click here to register for the NYC Conference (April 25-27). To reserve a spot for the James Tissot exhibit, email info@mbird.com ASAP.

Click here to read Sallie Tisdale's piece in The Atlantic, "Do Animals Have Fun?"
Click here to read Jacob Stern's article on how Of Course America Fell for Liquid Death.
Click here to read The Case Against the Instant Classic by Sam Bush on Mbird.
Click here to read the (first three quarters of) of the Garrison Keillor's blog entry that Sarah quotes.
Click here to read Jen Pollock Michel's Mbird essay "The Long Lent of Alzheimers."
Click here to read "God's Forgiveness Is Costly" by Emil Brunner on Plough.

Episode 256: God Is Not a Puzzle to Be Solved Mar 11, 2024

Show notes

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk interpersonal dislikes, luxury beliefs, and Roman revenge. Also, polyamory.

Click here to read the Ask Polly newsletter, "It's Not a Moral Failure to Dislike Someone" by Heather Havrilesky
Click here to read Rob Henderson's op-ed in the Wall Street Journal "Luxury Beliefs That Only the Privileged Can Afford."
Click here to Ash French's review of The Book of Clarence in Salon.
Click here to read Meaghan Ritchey's interview with James K.A. Smith on Mockingbird.

Click here to order your copy of the Mystery Issue of our magazine (where you can read the sermon Dave references)!

Episode 255: Mortal Movie Stars and Awesome Astronauts Feb 26, 2024

Show notes

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk rainy days, mean girls, and the strange blessing of Parkinson's. Also, the boys learn an important lesson about temperature.

Click here to order a copy of The Mystery Issue of The Mockingbird Magazine. And here for more details about our upcoming NYC Conference (4/25-27).

Click here to read about Rod Rosenbladt and the Gospel for Those Broken by the Church
Click here to read Gilad Edelman's piece on The Best Small-Talk Topic in the Atlantic
Click here to read Jessica Bennett's piece on Mean Girls in the NY Times
Click here to read This Enchanted Universe by Ben Self
Click here to read Jordan Griesbeck's review of the Michael J Fox documentary, Still

Episode 254: Fellowship of the Cringe Feb 05, 2024

Show notes

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk core memories, superegos, uncool churchgoers, and revenge vampires. Also, Dave sights a celebrity while Sarah dials up some French-Canadian cartoons. Oh, and the gang flips out over Fargo!

Click here for more information, or to pre-register for our NYC Conference (4/25-27).
Click here to read Kathryn Jezer-Morton's newsletter on "Why Are Parents So Fixated on Core Memories?"
Click here to read Michael Roth's review of Mark Edmundson's book in The Washington Post, "What Would Freud Say About Our Online Lives?"
Click here to read Russell Moore's piece on "Grace in the Age of Guilt" in Christianity Today.
Click here to read Mary Harrington's newsletter, "You Need to Be Cringemaxxing."
Click here to read Sarah's Mbird post on Revenge Vampires.

Episode 253: The Ministry of Fun Jan 12, 2024

Show notes

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk Tetris, youth groups, paganism, and magi interlopers. Also, Dave plays some bingo while RJ questions the wisdom of the buddymoon.

Click here to read Angela Watercutter's piece on Why Everyone Is Obsessed With the Kid Who Beat Tetris in Wired.
Click here to read Karen Heller's essay, "Fun Is Dead" in the Washington Post.
Click here to read "The Return of the Pagans" by David Wolpe in The Atlantic.
Click here to read Derek Sweatman's reflection on "Why the Magi Matter" on Mbird.

Episode 252: A Merry Little Rizzmas Dec 18, 2023

Show notes

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk top words, millennial motherhoods, cancerous insights, and sad Christmases. Everyone also gives a few recs from the year gone by.

Click here to read about Mirieam-Webster's word of the year. Click here to read about Oxford's.
Click here to read Jordan Griesbeck's post on Mbird, "Thou Shalt Have a Thing."
Click here to read Rachel Cohen's essay for Vox, “How Millennials Learned to Dread Motherhood.”
Click here to read Josh Jeter's interview with Christian Wiman on Christianity Today.
Click here to read Sarah's article, "Put the Sad Back in Christmas."

The closing song is "Medium Christmas" by Caroline Fowler and is included with permission.

Episode 251: The Horror and the Majesty Dec 04, 2023

Show notes

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk passive aggression, teenage misery, jazz flute comebacks, and wartime prayers. Also, Sarah celebrates Wally Moon day while Dave declares the worst of the meats.

[Click here](www.mbird.com/support) to respond to the opening appeal. We need your support!

Click here to read Josh Cohen's essay on Passive Aggression in 1843 Magazine.
Click here to read Zadie Smith's piece, The Fall of My Teen-Age Self in The New Yorker.
Click here to read Blake Nail's Mbird article on "André 3000’s Flute in the Midst of Loudness".
Click here to read the interview with Phil Klay in the NY Times Magazine, "Finding a Moral Center in this Era of War."

Episode 250: The Gang Goes Goth Nov 20, 2023

Show notes

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk eldest daughters, crypto parents, and a pair of awe-inspiring conversions. Also, Dave binges some Curb while Sarah discloses the worst thing someone said to her in the early days of grief.

Click here to read Sarah Sloat's piece on The Plight of the Eldest Daughter in The Atlantic.
Click here to read Katie Roiphe's WSJ essay on "Why Are We So Obsessed with Sam Bankman-Fried's Parents?"
Click here to listen to Simeon Zahl's talk from Minneapolis, "The World Is a Hospital".
Click here to read the review of Dachner Keltner's book, Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform You Life in The Guardian.
Click here to read about Kat von D's conversion. And click here to watch the video of her baptism.
Click here to read Ayaan Hirsi Ali's column, "Why I Am Now a Christian" on UnHerd.

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