Mars Hill Audio Journal

"MARS HILL AUDIO is committed to assisting Christians who desire to move from thoughtless consumption of contemporary culture to a vantage point of thoughtful engagement. We believe that fulfilling the commands to love God and neighbor requires that we pay careful attention to the neighborhood: that is, every sphere of human life where God is either glorified or despised, where neighbors are either edified or undermined. Therefore, living as disciples of Christ pertains not just to prayer, evangelism, and Bible study, but also our enjoyment of literature and music, our use of tools and machines, our eating and drinking, our views on government and economics, and so on. We endeavor to encourage sensibilities and habits of thoughtful cultural engagement through creative audio resources, produced at our studio in rural central Virginia. Our primary resource is a bimonthly series of audio programs called the MARS HILL AUDIO Journal. Each program is ninety minutes long, consisting of ten- to fifteen-minute interviews with a variety of guests on a broad array of topics. The MARS HILL AUDIO Journal is currently available in MP3 format for $30 per year, on cassette tape for $42 per year, and on CD for $48 per year."

Ken Myers, the delightful and brilliant mind behind Mars Hill Audio Journal, had a massive heart attack on Saturday. He is recovering (you can read of that at Mere Orthodoxy) and I am so grateful.

We have known and loved the Mars Hill Audio Journal since 1993.  At the time we were the parents of three children under the age of four, and that November we found ourselves on a rare long weekend get-away in Charlottesville, Virginia.  It turns out our hosts were helping Ken Myers in his new venture, and we were the happy recipients of a souvenir tape. Little did I know how much those tapes (then CDs then MP3s) would make a difference.  At the most basic, I credit Ken Myers for keeping me in polysyllabic words during those early years of mothering.  We lived in the boonies, we had no money, and life was very, very busy.  I loved listening to Myers interview all sorts of people I had never heard of, talking about ideas way beyond my sphere, and seeing how it changed the way I thought and what I read.  As I look through the archives on their website, I remember that our first cassette was Volume 6 where we were introduced to Alan Jacobs.  That introduction was worth the price of admission.

As one who has interviewed all sorts of interesting people for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine (like this one, and this one, and this one and this one), I have had a dream of someday interviewing my favorite interviewer, Ken Myers.  Call me silly, but I will keep dreaming.

I highly recommend Mars Hill Audio to you.  As a get well wish to Ken Myers, I encourage you to subscribe; if you are already part of the team, what about a gift subscription?  If there is a mother of many littles on your list, perhaps she would appreciate a little perspective, a little intellectual stimulation.  If there is a commuting friend or family member, what better way to pass the time than to learn about culture, books, ideas, people.