Frequently asked (and carefully answered) questions:
A prefatory note from Ken Myers:
I have suggested to friends who are suspicious of all technologies (while agreeing with them that we should be wary of the “technological paradigm”) that if we really want to avoid being the slaves of our devices, we need to know how to be their masters. I hope this page and its children offer some encouragement and practical advice toward that end as you navigate our website and (it is hoped) benefit from the words and voices mediated thereby.
• How are the various memberships distinct from one another? (See “membership descriptions” below.)
Membership descriptions• How does a “membership” differ from a traditional subscription?
• I let my subscription lapse some time back. How do I re-join?
• I am not a paying member. Why does my account show a “lifetime” Legacy membership?
• I don’t have (or want) a smart phone. Can I still listen to your audio?
• Can I purchase gift memberships?
• How do I change my address (street and/or e-mail) or phone number in your records?
• How do I stay informed about new releases?
Further help topics are itemized below.
If this page doesn’t help, send us your question:
What’s NEW at Mars Hill Audio?
Oh, so many things . . .
In 2018 when we launched our first app, we began producing our Friday Features published (almost) every week. Producing these weekly Features encouraged us to think about ways in which we might improve access to the unique audio content we’ve been producing since the early 1990s. So, we’ve redesigned our website and are releasing a new app to expand the amount of audio made available to listeners and to organize our treasury more helpfully.
The video below (produced while the website while still in construction) gives details about these new capabilities by demonstrating some of the elements of our new website. Below the video, find out more about all of the new offerings we have for you.
Glimpses of new horizons
Membership model
Related reading and listening
Bonus Features & Archive Features
Access to all Friday Features
Favorites list
Our Partners (and free Partner-linked Affiliate memberships)
Meet our Guests
Listen for free
Account page
Explaining why we do what we do
Membership model
One of the most exciting benefits of our new website and app is our new membership model. In the past, our Subscription model gave subscribers access to a certain number of Journal Volumes per year. Other MHA products, such as Conversations, Audio Reprints, Anthologies, and Reports, were available for purchase à la carte. Starting in 2018, we added free Friday Features on our new app, but only the 10 most recent Friday Features were available at a time, and they were not available on our website.
However, a new Mars Hill Audio membership allows members access via the MHA app or website to almost everything MHA has produced in its over 30 years of operation, including all the Friday Features! We are also pleased to be able to offer the ability to purchase memberships as gifts for friends, colleagues, or family members. To see a description of membership types, click the link below. When you are ready to purchase a membership, click here or click on the “Sign up” tab at the top menu bar of any page.
Membership descriptionsRelated reading and listening
One of the most helpful aspects of our new system is our Related reading and listening section. Based on the tags assigned to every interview, the webpage for each audio feature will display a list of related reading and listening. These related features might be excerpts from books — published as Sound Thinking posts — or other audio products we have produced that relate to the particular topic.
Bonus Features and Archive Features
Some of the audio we distribute has been provided by partnering organizations. These Bonus Features include lectures and “audio reprints” — readings from magazines, journals, and blog posts.
Some of the most popular segments from our Journal are now available as self-contained Archive Features. Some of these interviews have long been available only on aging audio cassettes, so we’re happy to retrieve them for new listeners.
Access to ALL Friday Features
While only the most recent Friday Feature is on the home page, the entire collection — hundreds of hours of audio — is available to members for browsing on our Friday Feature pages, accessible from the Catalog menu at the top of every page. On these Catalog pages there is a short summary about the contents of each feature; and if you click on the graphic or the title, you’re taken to a page with a longer summary and an audio player. If you have to pause your listening in the middle of a Friday Feature, the player will remember where you left off last time you were on this page.
Favorites list
Another helpful new feature is the Favorites list that each member can create. Right above each audio feature, there is a button that allows members to add that particular feature to a Favorites list. Each individual member’s Favorites list will be synced between the app and the website. You can find your personalized Favorites list under the Account tab in the top menu bar.
Our Partners (and free Partner-linked Affiliate memberships)
Since 1993, a mission statement has guided our work: “To produce creative audio resources that encourage Christians to grow in obedient wisdom concerning the cultural consequences of our duty to love God and neighbor.” In launching our Partnership program in 2024, we amend produce with the verb provide. We have expanded how we pursue our mission by serving a curatorial and custodial role beyond the scope of the recordings that originate in our studio. The Partners listed on the Partners page have shared recordings of lectures or texts read as “audio reprints.” Click on the link below to read about free Partner Affiliate memberships.
Affiliate membershipsMeet our Guests (and search our Topic and Author Indexes)
We are excited to offer Guest pages for many of our past MHA conversation partners. A number of our Guests have provided information about the books they have written and the posts they have held and are now occupying. See “Meet our Guests” under the About tab in the top menu. If you are a past Guest on MHA and would like to be included on our Guest pages, please contact us.
Our new site also provides Indexes to audio and text content available (see the top menu bar). A complete listing of all MHA Guests — along with links to pages detailing their contribution to our work — is available here. The Authors index displays the names of authors of books or articles featured in Sound Thinking posts. And there is a Topics index, with a long list of subjects that our guests have discussed, or that are discussed in Sound Thinking posts.
Listen for free
Our Listen for free page (under the About tab in the top menu bar) includes over 15 hours of free audio features you can enjoy and share with friends who might be interested in the work of Mars Hill Audio.
Account page
When you are logged in as a member, you can access your Favorites list, see and edit your Membership account and payment details, and view a record of your Donation history. You will see the Account tab in the top menu bar of each website page when you are logged in. Click here to explore more about what you fill find under the Account tab.
Explaining why we do what we do
Have you ever felt a bit tongue-tied when someone asks you, “What is Mars Hill Audio?” Well, we’ve made it easier for you to explain who we are and what we do. Our Why MHA? page (located under the About tab in the menu bar) offers a brief statement about MHA’s purpose and products, followed by a lengthier description of the context of our work and our editorial concerns. We hope this will better equip you to share about the uniqueness of our work.