In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk underachieving parents, hype aversion, and the impassability of God. Also, Dave reconsiders Iron Maiden while Sarah has a run-in at the farmer's market.

Click here for more information about this week's Mockingbird Conference in New York City (4/23-25).

Click here for more information about our Fall Conference in Minneapolis (10/2-3).

Click here to read "Parents, Consider Underachieving" by Rachel Feintzeig in The NY Times.

Click here to read about The People Who Shun Super Popular Pop Culture by Anna Holmes in The Atlantic.

Click here to watch Nick Cave's interview with Unherd.

Click here to read "Lessons from the Hidden Vault of Thomas Kinkade" by Michael Wright on Mbird.

Click here to read Richard Beck's substack on The Good News of God's Impassability.

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk starting a band, the tyranny of metrics, meaning fatigue, and the second most honest day of the (church) year. Also, Dave uncovers an animated conspiracy while Sarah bumps into an alternate timeline.

• Click here for more information about the upcoming Mbird Conference in NYC (4/23-25), including RJ's pre-conference church renewal seminar. For inquiries about scholarships, email [email protected].
• Click here to read "Start a Band, Even If You're Terrible" by Hugo Lindgren.
• Click here to read (or listen to) Derek Thompson's interview with C. Thi Nguyen about How Metrics Make Us Miserable.
• Click here to read Ryan Burge's substack about The Big Questions.
• Click here to read "Every Day Is Holy Saturday" by M Elizabeth Lewis Hall, Kelly Kapic and Jason McMartin on Mbird.

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk affective forecasting, fantasy literature, workplace mattering, and collapsed demands. Also, a punk rocker gets a miracle bus ticket, and the ice monster comes for our kids.

• Click here to register for the Spring Mbird Conference in NYC (4/23-25)
• Click here to listen to Sarah's sermon "I Like Your Dancing", delivered at RJ's church.
• Click here to read "Most of Us Are Bad at Predicting What Will Make Us Happy" by Ruston Dodd on The Athletic.
• Click here to read Francis Spufford's defense of fantasy in The Guardian.
• Click here to read The Up and Up's interview with Jennifer Breheny Wallace about Gen Z and Mattering.
• Click here to read about "The Three Quarter Life Crisis" by Rob Myallis on Mbird.
• Click here to read "What Remains When Nothing Can Be Done" by Kyle Wells on Mbird.

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk face functions, last breaths, cringe churches, and Monkey Jesus. Also, Sarah runs into a teenage witch while RJ survives an iguanapocalypse. This episode is dedicated to the memory of Derek Sweatman.

• Click here to register for the upcoming NYC Mockingbird conference (4/23-25).
• Click here to read "Is the Backlash to Facial Conformity Finally Upon Us?" by Valerie Monroe in Allure.
• Click here to read "Ash Wednesday Asks Nothing" by Jacob Lupfer in Commonweal.
• Click here to read "A Church of Cringe" by Todd Brewer on Mbird.
• Click here to read the obituary for Cecilia Giménez in The Economist.

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk Lieutenant Dan season, holy inconvenience, millennial oversocialization, and playful faith. Also, Sarah buys a rebellious sweatshirt while RJ comes to terms with his inner delivery boy.

Last episode of the year, in which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk Knives Out, self-checkout lines, optional futures, and how not to hate Christmas. Also, Sarah gets a Zippo while heaven and earth meet at an unlikely funeral.

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk advent calendars, perfectionist musicians, interrupting mothers, and the Batman effect. The gang also takes a field trip to an acute mental health ward across the pond.

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk picky eaters, shameless monsters, wartime tragedies, and the uselessness of God. Also, RJ wets the bed (and never looks back).

In which RJ, Sarah and Dave talk intentional everything, morbid curiosity, Methodist exorcists, and Hollywood epiphanies. Also, Sarah praises her favorite horror film, while the boys gush about Task.

In which RJ, Sarah, and Dave talk painless tattoos, workaholic scripts, sloppy social media, and Japanese lifesavers. Also, Sarah gets down with a theater full of fifth graders before singing with church full of Norwegians. Closing music courtesy of Voice of Joy.