The Intentional Household: A LifeCraft Podcast
Take a deep dive into radical renewal of homelife, from crafting the personal relationships at its heart, to everything from planting time to porch time to prayer time.
Join John Cuddeback, and his friends, colleagues, and other guests in seeking timeless wisdom for life in our time.
Episodes
71 episodes
Episode 65 - When a Man Enters a Room
How do boys learn to be men? To consider one of the great life questions, we need a clear vision of what a man is, and how he should act. John and Sofia start this discussion with a simple but revealing question: what does a real man do when he...
Episode 64 - How Wendell Berry Changed our Household
Since Berry’s death many are taking stock of his unique voice warning of the tragic demise of community and household, culture and agriculture in twentieth century America. But his prodigious appeal and influence are most evident in his pointin...
SPECIAL RELEASE - LifeCraft Day 2026 Lecture- Dying, Death, and Life in the Home
Home is the natural place to die. How the elderly need us, and we need them, should give form and direction to every household—even if the elderly do not live with us right now. This lecture explores the amazing and surprising gift of God’s pla...
SPECIAL RELEASE - LifeCraft Day 2026 Lecture: Making Home a Place to Begin Life
Seeing home as where new life begins gives key insight into making our homes all they should be—even if we are not now welcoming babies. This is the first of two lectures from our LifeCraft Day offering principles and actions steps based on hom...
Episode 63 - Dealing with Mental and Emotional Exhaustion
“What do you do when you’re tired, just really tired?” John and Sofia unpack this pressing question and address this very common experience, offering a realistic and encouraging analysis and approach.
Episode 62 - Reading Together for Relationship
Reading together might be one of the most underrated and under-practiced activities for spouses, friends, and other close relationships. John and Sofia share their own experience and reflect on just how powerful reading together can be in deepe...
Episode 61 - Woman's Superpower and What it Demands of Her
The feminine genius is complex. Perhaps its central feature is in making the home a place of unique life-giving power. But it cannot be taken for granted. It must be chosen and cultivated; and it comes with a price. John draws out Sofia regardi...
Episode 60 - Leisure: The 5 Action Steps
Since leisure is the cornerstone of home life, these five concrete steps are golden keys for crafting the good life in our homes. John and Sofia go in depth about this list from chapter four of John’s new book The Intentional Household...
Episode 59 - Leisure: The Center of Home Life?
Reclaiming our households demands a clear understanding of the main aspects of homelife. True leisure—which we can neither understand nor practice apart from good work—is the most crucial and difficult piece in the puzzle. John and Sofia discus...
Episode 57 - Goodbyes and Good Homes
Human life demands good goodbyes. But too often we bumble through them—as if taken by surprise—or simply avoid them. John and Sofia discuss how our goodbyes should be expression of our deepest convictions, and how every day in our home we can c...
Episode 55 - The Intentional Household: The Book
The book is finally here. It expounds the root principles behind all our podcasts. It clearly and winningly presents a radical approach to forging the kind of household for which we naturally yearn. Sofia draws out John on the key insights of h...
Episode 54: Spring Invites us to Bodily Work
Each season not only reminds us of key truths about what it is to be human but also offers unique opportunities to enact those truths. And home is the most obvious and natural place to experience this powerful reality. John and Sofia consider a...
Episode 53: Pleasures of the Body For Training in Chastity
Bodily pleasures are more important and chastity is more profound than we realize. Plato sagely noted that most people are inexperienced in pleasure, including pleasures of the body. John and Sofia open a new window onto the beauty of daily bod...
Episode 52: Parenting Adult Children: Does the Work Ever End?
We most associate parenting with raising the young; but there is more to it. Parents have a key role for as long as they live, and the long view provides needed perspective for parents of all ages. John and Sofia discuss a practical approach to...
Episode 51: Should Spouses Share the Spiritual Life?
Spouses seek to share their lives in the deepest way possible. But the spiritual life—which should be at the very center of each person’s life—presents unique challenges in sharing. John and Sofia consider this crucial but under-considered feat...
Episode 50 - Winter: Slowing Down the Pace of Life
We are animals, so seasons are a key feature of human life. But we often miss this. Winter is a clarion call to slow down and look inside—our homes and our hearts. John and Sofia discuss how to make this winter a time of coming home and discove...
Episode 49: New Year's Goals: A Philosophical Approach
As temporal creatures, it is fitting for us to mark certain times for new beginnings. January is an excellent time for such intentionality. John and Sofia take a principled and practical approach to making the new year an occasion for examining...
Episode 47: Turning Christmas Blues to Gold
The most wonderful time of the year is often also remarkably difficult for several reasons. John and Sofia discuss how we can face these challenges, making them part of the gift of this unique holy season.
Episode 46 - Joseph and the Hidden Life in our Homes
What both men and women do in the home is often very hidden. This can be strikingly beautiful and at times quite painful. John and Sofia reflect—with the help of a spiritual masterpiece—on what we can learn about this regular feature of homelif...
Episode 45: Rethinking Christmas Gifts
Giving gifts is integral to how most of us celebrate Christmas, but discerning how to do it is challenging. John and Sofia discuss how a principled approach can help us avoid common pitfalls and make our gift-giving a truly life-giving part of ...