Stories Are Soul Food

Say you met a highschool kid who was confused about the biblical view of gender: would you give them a book or a movie? The answer to this question is probably not what you expect, and it highlights the way that conservatives get the gender and sexuality conversation wrong. The guys begin this discussion with a related question: in a hot Thanksgiving dinner, is it the nutritional content that contains the value -- or is the goodness in something else? The discussion which follows discusses the relative merits of painting with a broad brush, and the (almost complete) worthlessness of an idea when it has been reduced to nutritional goo. Yes, they also talk a lot about Children of Men and Enemy of the State. #SASF #StoriesAreSoulFood #NDWilson #BrianKohl #ChildrenOfMen #EnemyOfTheState #NutritionalGoo

Parenting isn't easy, and Rachel Jankovic's "Sir Badalot and the Cranky Danky Dragon" gives parents the tools to talk with their fat-faced toddlers about emotional self-control. Most parents do that by resorting to the poor parenting tactics of 1) emotional distraction, and 2) emotional reaction. Turns out, your child's response to a "fussy dragon" should include actually pretending to kill it! But the self-control vitamins are not why Sir Badalot is a good book -- that's just an added benefit. The SASF guys host Rachel Jankovic to talk through this parenting advice and how her fun new book, illustrated by Hello Ninja's own Forrest Dickision, is really just a fresh chocolate cookie for a hungry child. (Oh, and you'll also get a nice long stretch of Nate's dark take on relying on real-life vs fictional friends.) #SirBadalot #CanonballBooks #SASF #StoriesAreSoulFood #RachelJankovic #ForrestDickision #HelloNinja #FussyDragon

This episode juxtaposes abortion and hospitality. We live in a post-Roe v. Wade world -- can we apply those lessons to storytelling now? How do evangelicals do with that cultural fight? Does fiction have a place in it? (Not the way you probably mean it.) The guys dig deeper into the themes of Episode 90, exploring the meaning of "proof" and poor ways of obligating belief. Familiar SASF themes emerge in this episode -- specifically, the importance of a good meal outweighing the value of "good" propaganda. Comparisons between October Baby and Juno are made. And you'll get to hear about grandmothers and the random acts of kindness that inspire the next generation more than all the political sloganeering in the world. #StoriesAreSoulFood #SASF #RoevWade #hospitality #Juno #OctoberBaby #Stories

Nate, a pastor's kid, discusses the sliding scale of bad words and the nature of evil. Words are neither intrinsically bad nor good, their usage in a story or alignment with God's will determines their morality. The discussion also challenges Augustine's view on evil and highlights the importance of intent and authenticity in language. Overall, the podcast delves into the complex nature of language and cultural influences on profanity.

Here's an interesting truth that Nate once tried out on his roommate: pure, syllogistic reasoning is not persuasive. In fact, unvarnished truth does not "prove" anything -- by that we mean that it does not obligate belief as well as, say, story might. And you'll notice that people seldom believe the things they do for logical reasons: they come to their beliefs by narrative paths, and construct the logic to defend as needed. So, what does it mean to "obligate belief"? When is truth not persuasive? Why are Christians the one who often need to hear this most? These and other rhetorical intricacies occupy this episode of SASF. #StoriesAreSoulFood #Rhetoric #EthosPathosLogos #Proof #Logic #character

Is a book with a good witch a bad book? The guys use the Wizard of Oz as a jumping off point for this lengthy discussion of magic, which listeners know is a favorite SASF hobbyhorse. Nate claims that moderns have lost an appreciation for the miraculous in an attempt to describe the natural. In reality, everything is magic. But Brian objects: if everything is magical, then nothing is. Nate responds with MOSES AND THE WIZARD DUEL. Of course Tolkien and Lewis -- and Gandalf and Jadis -- also feature in this discussion that will get you thinking about your favorite stories... and how our scientists have crossed the line into witchcraft long ago.#SASF #StoriesAreSoulFood #magic #science #Tolkien #CSLewis

Episode ocho-ocho is about narrative architecture, but that sounds boring so we made the headline more interesting, having been inspired by one of SASF's favorite novels, Evangellyfish. In point of fact, though, this week's episode is fantastic: The guys get into a discussion of favorite (living) novelists, with disagreements aplenty. If you've been looking for novel recommendations for adults, this is the episode for you. And when the guys move into film, and how to structure new stories based on old ones that work, you'll just have to listen to get Nate's take on Terrence Malik... Nipples on the Batsuit and jumping the shark are also discussed. Oh, and Nate loops back around to tie a bow on his disappointment with the end of Cobra Kai. #SASF #StoriesAreSoulFood #NDWilson #Evangellyfish #JessWalter #LeifEnger #TerrenceMalik #MarilynneRobinson

The guys discuss feedback from the Rings of Power sort-of-watchalong. Then, in a shocking turn of events, one of the guys is accused of being too critical of a film--and the critical one is Brian. Nate defends the honor of Top Gun 2, and even a bit of Cobra Kai (always with filters, people). They get into a discussion of character and when you can allow bad things to happen to main characters. They venture far afield in this SASF medley -- perhaps they were just relieved to not be watching Rings of Power. #SASF #NDWilson #StoriesAreSoulFood #TopGunMaverick #CobraKai

It's the moment you've all been waiting for: You get to listen as Brian surprises Nate with a laptop and The Rings of Power Episode 1: A Shadow of the Past. This is the first ever SASF Watch-Along, so you'll have to listen to see how far they got... Of course, this episode also includes a useful discussion on how the project could have suceeded, what its goals were, whether Nate was unfairly prejudiced, whether critics of the show are racists, and other such Stories Are Soul Food topics. Enjoy! And as always, you can watch the video of the SASF show at mycanonplus.com. #Tolkien #RingsOfPower #Galadriel #StoriesAreSoulFood #SASF #WatchAlong

In this episode, Nate explains why some Christian readers are the worst: they love to demand that he sell chicken sandwiches with a side of Gideon Bible in the french-fry box. But Nate's trying to sell the best chicken sandwich & fries he can... he gives away Bibles elsewhere, including in this podcast. This episode is about when / why you might choose to have your characters in fiction pray -- and when you might not. You'll also get some key insights into rhetoric: who are you, who are you writing for, and where do you want to get them. And also some really interesting thoughts comparing Nate's characters to those in the Christian movie "The War Room" (about prayer). #SASF #StoriesAreSoulFood #NDWilson #BrianKohl #AmWriting #ChristianFiction #WarRoom