It's old news that the boys aren't reading. The NY publishing industry was obsessed with the idea when they first took at look at Nate's work twenty years ago. This episode of SASF features the story of the (female) editor who wanted to reach boys with Nate's manuscript of Leepike Ridge by 1) taking out the treasure, 2) taking out the father figure, and 3) making the book about the relationship between the boy and his widowed mom. The industry at large moved on to graphic novels to try to get boys to read. But Nate says things have gotten worse since then: Boys weren't reading then; they aren't even watching now. Hollywood is currently freaking out over the difficulty of getting young adult males into theaters. Turns out boys play video games a bit and watch YouTube and p*rnography a lot (devastating). The rest of the podcast discusses how to defeat the algorithms by creating dopamine with your family instead of your phones. This is the first step to freeing a generation of young people enslaved to the doomscroll.

What should your decision process be when you are thinking about moving your family across the country to a new place? Well, the answer is rooted in story. Are you moving to a place where you can be a better character, where your kids can be more active, where your family can grow -- or are you relocating yourself merely to consume the products that are brought to you by this new community? Don't be a hummingbird, be an ant. Jump on the moving walkway and start running. This discussion of communities, moving, and what makes Moscow, Idaho different from other parts of the US is equal parts practical and (probably) offensive. Enjoy!

Many of us remember a time when Pixar reigned supreme over the many competing Animation Studios. But now, 15ish years later, that distinction has become blurry. Can we bet on any one Animation Studio for quality? Join Nate, Amira, and Lucia as they talk about childhood movie memories and the problem with animation today.

This week the guys discuss some frustrating creative decisions behind the new Season of Severance. #severance #benstiller #adamscott

A project Nate worked on is arriving this February: It's House of David, a serious retelling of the life of David. But Nate only worked on early drafts, and it's now a Prime Video project. The guys watch the preview; Brian criticizes vestiges of what feels like Rings of Power; Nate talks about the vision for the project, and (even if he were to have quibbles about the final result) talks about what success for this series would do: Reignite some interest in telling faithful Bible stories. He talks about the importance of Christians telling real stories, and Brian makes a surprising pivot into the movie Magnolia (1999, directed by PTA, definitely NOT a Christian movie, don't show your family and then send us angry messages). Brian argues that Magnolia's director Paul Thomas Anderson is trying to take a divine perspective on the rise and fall of ten characters in Los Angeles. Nate gives his thoughts on a movie that is more honest about grace and judgment than any "Christian" film he has seen recently.  As Magnolia's Christian Officer Kurring (John C. Reilly) puts it: "Sometimes people need to be forgiven. And sometimes they need to go to jail. And that's a very tricky thing on my part." This leads to a challenge: Christian directors should be more ambitious than Paul Thomas Anderson in their efforts to make Christian films great again.

Yes, animals are real food -- but they're also soul food. You might think animal documentaries aren't that important, but imagine this: What if the only commentaries on the Bible were written by atheists? That's the modern-day situation we have with nature documentaries. Remember, God has revealed himself in two huge ways -- through the book of Scripture AND the book of nature. But for the past hundred years, it's only the atheists who tell stories about animals...and of course they hate the Author of that story and get the big stuff completely wrong: No, humans aren't a blight on the planet. No, the universe isn't uncaring. No, animals aren't just thumbless people. No, the funny animals didn't blindly evolve; Somebody designed them. The guys invite Riot & the Dance director James Engerbretson on to discuss the brand new season of Riot (four episodes now streaming on Canon+!). They talk about almost getting gored by a rhino and swimming with sharks and teaching your kids to appreciate the Grand Artist's work in their own backyards first (and maybe someday, on Komodo Island).

As a conservative artist who's been working in the mainstream since 2007, Nate has an artistic opinion that's going to get conservative folks angry: Capitalism doesn't produce great art. Lest you join this commenter who said "this take is so dumb it got me to engage, brilliant", if you care about this topic, you need to listen to the whole episode. Nate's argument is that the incentives of capitalism reward the MOST entertainment, for the MOST people, for the MOST money. But actual greatness of art? That's not a problem that capitalism is solving for. Capitalism is a Delta stewardess serving cheese cubes to the Delta Sky Club Diamond members. It'll get you the most cheese cubes at the lowest price, but it's not not gonna get a steak. Instead, Nate argues for a return of patronage. Cathedrals, requiems, masses, paintings, statuary -- it's all been the result of patronage. Brian objects. Nate qualifies. The truth is that when streaming is king, an uncompromising demand for excellence and improvement only eats into your profit, because a creator's profit is capped by the streaming service. How do you resist the allure of cold hard cash if you're a creator? Better make sure you have principles you can hold on to beyond the desire for money.

This episode is a justification for the Stories Are Soul Food manifesto. First, Brian makes Nate react to the worst SASF episode from last year; then, Brian makes Nate react to the 2025 Golden Globes winners (The Brutalist, Emilia Perez, The Substance, Flow, etc.); and lastly Brian makes Nate justify the importance of story in a time when everybody else seems to be crazy. Kinda seems like we should be focusing on more important stuff than narrative, right? Nate describes 2025 as the year of living next to the insane asylum -- what can we do with our own lives when your neighbors are coloring on all their walls? Nate says story is not only part of the answer, it's the solution for how you, your spouse, and your kids are going to get through these "interesting times."

Longtime listeners will get that particular feeling in the pit of their stomach when they hear Nate start talking about life in a particularly bleak way -- you know, the "make that heartbeat count because we're all going to die" kind of way. Brian has named this manifestation of his podcast co-host "Black Pill Nate." For today's episode, Black Pill Nate goes on a rampage against those who desperately hope for excellence of output while inputting mediocrity. There are a million ways to drive off the road, and only one way to stay on it -- and this applies to film, art, creativity, work, and everything in between. Mediocrity of input, Nate says, may be the reason we have "Wicked" dominating the box office, and why Severance season 2 may fail, and (contrarily) why Silo season 2 is currently succeeding (with filters, people!). The flip side of this is that there is also a very exclusive fraternity of excellence. If that doesn't make sense to you yet, keep repeating "mediocrity of input doesn't deserve excellence of output" every night until you fall asleep.

Nate and Brian discuss flattering your kids versus telling them the truth, what would happen if we stopped giving gifts on Christmas (it would be really really really horrible), and touch on some Christmas movie classics.