We're not going to lie: this whole social distancing thing is taking its toll on us here at (mal)Contents HQ. Dave's wearing Tina Turner's outfit from Thunderdome, I'm preparing to put spikes on my car, and Scarlet is… raising chickens and going to the urgent care clinic.

It's a dark time, as you can imagine. But still, you might be surprised at how fun this one is, especially when we discuss:

• Back alley book shopping (I'm not even joking)
• The new—and very real—project I'm working on
• If McKay’s is still open during this season
• Our plans for living in a dystopian nightmare
• Why we need sucker punch 2020

All this and Dave references Good to Great.

• Leave a five-star rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to the show.
• Give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram at @MalContentsPod
• Be sure to use the Amazon affiliate links above to help us pay for the costs of producing and hosting the show.

We step back in time to the week to the beginning of the month when we last sat in a room together to record a podcast! This time around, we had some fun that’s 

• We riff on different title ideas for this episode (that I don’t think we ended up using)
• Advice for past Scarlet, studying publishing
• Being dependent on Jesus as a writer
• What’s really frustrating about titling
• The kind of writers no publisher really want to work with
• If you can listen to a book you want to read while simultaneously reading a book you have to read
• If libraries bad for bookstores

• Leave a five-star rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to the show.
• Give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram at @MalContentsPod
• Be sure to use the Amazon affiliate links above to help us pay for the costs of producing and hosting the show.

Since we're all being encouraged to practice social distancing these days, Dave, Scarlet and I decided to plug in our mics and record our first-ever episode where we weren't in the room together (something that hasn't been done on this show since the old Reading Writers days).

Listen in as we discuss from the safety of our own homes (and Dave's office):

• We officially introduce our new co-host!
• Whether or not it's a good idea to read post-apocalyptic novels when we're kinda maybe sorta at risk of living in one
• What it's like to be at home all-the-time
• What I (Aaron) had to do to get on Amazon's "special handling" list
• Read-aloud time at home and online bookclubs
• What Dave thinks of Paul Coelho's The Alchemist

• Leave a five-star rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to the show.
• Give us a follow on Twitter at @MalContentsPod

Coming to you from an undisclosed location in Franklin Tennessee, Dave and I are back together, and we’ve got a friend with us! Scarlet Hiltibidal, longtime friend of the podcast, is joining us on the show. 

For how long? The short answer is, as long as she wants. 

Listen in as we discuss:

• Dave’s first week at the new job
• The books Scarlet pitched that someone needs to pick up
• What other pop culture phenomenon should Twilight be compared to
• The things that might surprise you about publishing celebrity memoirs
• What books about Nicholas Cage exist on Amazon
• Scarlet's beef with Barnabas

All while landscaping work is happening outside the conference room window.

• Leave a five-star rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to the show.
• Give us a follow on Twitter at @MalContentsPod

Dave and I are back recording in Nashville after our adventures in Minneapolis, and I've been a bit concerned about something of late: have we become too sincere? Listen in as we also discuss:

• Why comedy directors do a great job directing dramatic films
• What are a few leadership books we’ve found actually helpful
• Why Dave is cleaning out his office

• Leave a five-star rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to the show.
• Give us a follow on Twitter at @MalContentsPod

Shortly before heading out to Minneapolis, Dave and I were starting to get into a couple of books by William Kent Krueger. Well, it turns out that he lives in the area, so while we were in town, he graciously agreed to let us swing by and set up shop in his dining room to talk the mechanics of mystery writing, how he got his start, and, of course, what he's reading. Listen in as we discuss:

• What makes a good mystery story
• Why he frequently include 13-year-olds as primary characters in his books
• A shared favorite book of Aaron & Kent’s
• Why we might want to revisit The Catcher in the Rye

This episode is sponsored by Gospel-Centered Discipleship. On April 13th, GCD will host their 2020 Writer's Intensive in Louisville KY (right before T4G) featuring Ronnie Martin, Jonathan Dodson and Jared C. Wilson. Learn more and register at gcdiscipleship.com/writers-intensive.

• Leave a five-star rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to the show.
• Give us a follow on Twitter at @MalContentsPod

Continuing our adventures in balmy Minneapolis, Dave and I had the chance to chat with our friend Jeremy Writebol. Jeremy is the director of Gospel-Centered Discipleship (our sponsor for the last few episodes), as well as an author and a pastor. During our chat in a relatively quiet executive lounge, we discussed:

This episode is sponsored by Gospel-Centered Discipleship. On April 13th, GCD will host their 2020 Writer's Intensive in Louisville KY (right before T4G) featuring Ronnie Martin, Jonathan Dodson and Jared C. Wilson. Learn more and register at gcdiscipleship.com/writers-intensive.

While in exotic Minneapolis, sitting in a fancy executive lounge at our hotel, Dave and I had a chance to talk with Canadian blogger and author Tim Challies—and as soon as the mics were on, things got heated. Listen in as we discuss:

• If Aaron is still a Canadian
• The fluidity of the English language
• Trends that Tim’s seen in publishing over the last 15 years
• The benefit of visual theology
• Tim’s advice for aspiring authors
• What’s unique about American Christianity from an outsider’s perspective?

This episode is sponsored by Gospel-Centered Discipleship. On April 13th, GCD will host their 2020 Writer's Intensive in Louisville KY (right before T4G) featuring Ronnie Martin, Jonathan Dodson and Jared C. Wilson. Learn more and register at gcdiscipleship.com/writers-intensive.

• Leave a five-star rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to the show.
• Give us a follow on Twitter at @MalContentsPod

Work travel is often challenging, but one benefit of it is going to conferences is that I have the opportunity to chat with writers who don't often come to Nashville. During the Super Bowl last week, Dave and I sat down to chat with Jen Wilkin, who is one of the best theologically-minded writers I know and a whole lot of fun to hang out with. Listen in as we discuss:

• What Jen really thinks about Super Bowl Sunday
• Jen's sci-fi street cred
• What recommending a book can mean
• What happened when I (Aaron) watched Les Miserables

All as we listen to smooth jazz and shouts of excitement about whatever's going on in the Super Bowl from the Hilton in downtown Minneapolis.

This episode is sponsored by Gospel-Centered Discipleship. On April 13th, GCD will host their 2020 Writer's Intensive in Louisville KY (right before T4G) featuring Ronnie Martin, Jonathan Dodson and Jared C. Wilson. Learn more and register at gcdiscipleship.com.

• Leave a five-star rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to the show.
• Give us a follow on Twitter at @MalContentsPod

One of my favorite people to interview is Andrew Peterson. He's been on the show once before (in its previous incarnation), and he's a great guy to talk books, music, and theology with. Well, today I have some good news: Andrew joined Dave and me in the studio to talk creativity, music, books, and his beef with J.J. Abrams. Listen in to hear:

• Where to get the best burrito in Nashville
• The difference between writing a song, a fantasy/adventure story, and a memoir
• The best advice to people who want to write but think they don't have the time
• Andrew’s love of Victorian era ghost stories
• What happened when Andrew and his wife thought they saw a UFO
• Two theologians who are fans of murder mysteries
• What’s happening with The Wingfeather Saga in 2020

• Leave a five-star rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to the show.
• Give us a follow on Twitter at @MalContentsPod