The Russell Moore Show

Malcolm Guite and Russell meet in Andrew Peterson’s Chapter House–Guite’s pipe smoke billowing–on the occasion of Guite’s new book, Galahad and the Grail, the first volume in the Merlin's Isle trilogy from Rabbit Room Press.  Guite argues that myths and old stories aren’t just relics of a pre-modern imagination, they’re carriers of truth we’ve forgotten how to see with modern eyes. From King Arthur to the Holy Grail, these stories don’t distract us from the real world, they reveal it. Guite suggests that our cultural moment—fragmented, distracted, and flattened by endless scrolling—has left us dismembered. We no longer see our lives as part of a coherent narrative. And without story, we lose not just meaning but identity. At the center of it all is a claim both strange and familiar: that the greatest story ever told is not one among many, but the one that gives meaning to all the others.  Along the way, Russell and Malcolm talk about how Guite has found a new audience on his wildly popular YouTube channel hosted out of his home library, the definition and origins of chivalry, and even the role Guite played in Martin Shaw’s conversion (find Russell’s interview with Shaw, here). King Arthur, the Grail, Merlin…these aren’t just literary devices. They and other mythical tales echo something real about sin, redemption, and the hope that what is broken in us and in the world can be made whole again. Resources mentioned in this episode: Galahad and the Grail by Malcolm Guite Malcolm’s YouTube Channel Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell answers a listener question about whether church policies should include reporting abuse to local law enforcement. (Spoiler alert: yes, you should.)  Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying.Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if the justice we rely on to bring closure is actually keeping us from it? Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. *At 23 minutes, a question is asked about the physical realities of the death penalty. That section is over by 26 minutes.* Malcolm Gladwell joins Russell to discuss his recent 8-part podcast series, The Alabama Murders (from the Revisionist History podcast), which tells the story of a church leader who hires two men to kill his wife. In the search for closure, their judgment–penalty by death–is stretched out over decades. Gladwell believes forgiveness would have been the better option.  What becomes clear in this conversation is that justice, as we often imagine it, doesn’t resolve things nearly as cleanly as we think. And in that waiting, we’re forced to confront something deeper: whether we really believe in the possibility of redemption, or whether we’ve quietly decided that some people are simply beyond it. This conversation may invite you to think more carefully, to see more clearly, and to wrestle honestly with what it means to seek both justice and mercy in a broken world. Russell also asks Malcolm about his favorite Revisionist History episode King of Tears, which tells the back story of the famous George Jones song “He Stopped Loving Her Today”. Resources mentioned in this episode: The Alabama Murders from Revisionist History Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell answers a listener question about trusting God when your anxiety won’t go away. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this special Easter edition of the Russell Moore Show, Russell draws from past episodes to explore how the resurrection of Jesus reframes everything: from scientific belief and intellectual doubt to embodied life, unexpected joy, and suffering. Featuring clips from episodes with Francis Collins, Michael Wear, David Taylor, Christian Wiman, Kate Bowler, and Tim Keller, this episode draws out our Christian hope: if Christ is raised, then reality itself is different.  Across stories of cancer diagnoses, intellectual conversions, poetic insight, and quiet moments of joy, the episode insists on a central truth: the resurrection is not metaphor. And if it happened, then even in grief, uncertainty, and death—everything is going to be okay. Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell answers a listener question about whether commercialization has ruined country music. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The American experiment has never been about achieving perfection, but facing a task always unfinished. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. At a moment when many Americans feel fearful, exhausted, or tempted to despair, Russell Moore welcomes Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Jon Meacham for a conversation about the moral and spiritual meaning of democracy. Drawing from Meacham’s new anthology, American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union, Meacham argues that the American experiment has never been about achieving perfection, but about the difficult and unfinished task of seeking a more perfect union. Throughout the conversation, Moore and Meacham discuss the 1619 Project, the myth of an idyllic Christian nation, the Scopes Trial, the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s, and the recurring temptation to treat political opponents not as rivals but as enemies. Meacham makes the case that democracy depends on humility, compromise, and a willingness to resist the politics of destruction. Together, he and Meacham consider whether reconciliation is still possible in a culture shaped by vengeance, fear, and performative power. Even so, the conversation does not give way to fatalism. Their exchange is a sober but hopeful reminder that history is not destiny, that political renewal remains possible, and that the future of the republic depends on ordinary people choosing courage over cynicism. Resources mentioned in this episode: American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union — Jon Meacham Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The civil rights leader treated love of God and love for others as inseparable. Watch this episode on YouTube On occasion, we like to record audio versions of the latest from Russell’s weekly newsletter. Sign up for the newsletter, Moore to the Point, where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show (and include a voice memo!) at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Every Moment Holy author Douglas McKelvey on writing prayers for the moments both sacred and mundane. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. There are moments in life when something significant is happening, but we don’t quite know how to mark it. Not a wedding, not a funeral—just one of those in-between spaces when we feel that words ought to be said but don’t know how to say them. In this episode, Russell Moore talks with writer and liturgist Douglas McKelvey about the Every Moment Holy series of prayers and the newest volume focused on marking the unique experiences of young adulthood in the new book of prayers, Rites of Passage. Their conversation explores why people often need help finding words for prayer in the most human experiences: grief over a beloved pet, awkward encounters with a former relationship, the anxiety of measuring oneself against impossible standards, or the transitions of young adulthood. McKelvey reflects on the long process of writing these prayers and the sobering responsibility of crafting words that others might speak to God in their most vulnerable moments. They also talk about the unique pressures facing emerging adults today and why the church must learn again how to shepherd people through these seasons. Drawing from the Psalms and the rhythms of historic Christian prayer, McKelvey argues that liturgy doesn’t remove pain or uncertainty. Instead, it helps people remember a deeper truth: that God is present in every moment, even when we don’t yet see how the story will resolve. Resources mentioned in this episode: Every Moment Holy: Rites of Passage The Every Moment Holy project Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell answers a listener question about what algorithms miss about heartbreak. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Links mentioned: Previous episode about Martina McBride’s song “Independence Day” Song, Dean Summerwind’s “Parked Out By the Lake” Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History episode “The King of Tears”  Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former Harper’s Magazine editor Christopher Beha on his journey from skeptical Atheism to skeptical Christianity. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. For many people, faith and skepticism are opposites, but novelist and former Harper’s Magazine editor Christopher Beha argues that the two may be more intertwined than we assume. In this conversation about his new book, Why I’m Not an Atheist, Beha reflects on his journey from a devout Catholic upbringing to atheism and eventually back to Christian faith. Beha describes how an early mystical experience and later personal tragedy pushed him into deep questions about suffering, prayer, and the nature of belief. In college, those questions led him to identify as a skeptic, valuing reason and intellectual independence. Yet over time he came to see that skepticism itself has limits. The turning point came not through philosophical argument but through life itself, like falling in love and becoming part of a family. Those experiences prompted Beha to return to church, where he began hearing familiar Christian teachings in a new way: not primarily as moral demands or metaphysical propositions, but as a story centered on love and relationship–without setting aside his questions. Together, Russell and Chris reflect on what it means to believe while still wrestling with doubt, how parents might talk with children who are questioning faith, and why the path toward belief often begins not with certainty but with simply showing up. If you’ve wrestled with the Christian life being sold as putting aside all questions and doubt to choose unwavering certainty, you may appreciate hearing from Chris.  Resources mentioned in this episode: Why I Am Not an Atheist by Christopher Beha Essays by Michel  de Montaigne Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the war with Iran. On occasion, we like to record audio versions of the latest from Russell’s weekly newsletter. Read this article here. Sign up for the newsletter, Moore to the Point, where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show (and include a voice memo!) at [email protected]  Watch this episode on YouTubeSubscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A bonus episode with bestselling author and friend, Jennie Allen, on the occasion of her new book, The Lie You Don’t Know You Believe. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Many people live with a persistent sense that something is not quite right—a low-grade hum of anxiety, insecurity, or striving that never seems to go away. In this bonus episode, Russell Moore talks with author and Bible teacher Jennie Allen about the hidden lies that can quietly shape our lives for years. Drawing from her brand-new book, The Lie You Don’t Know You Believe, Allen argues that many of our struggles—whether feelings of worthlessness, being unlovable, or helplessness—can often be traced back to stories we began believing long ago. Russell and Jennie discuss how those beliefs form, often in childhood moments that seemed small at the time but quietly shaped a person’s identity. Along the way, they consider how faith, self-reflection, and grace can help people see their stories more clearly without turning the process into an exercise in blame. The discussion also moves outward—from personal struggles to cultural ones—touching on why people crave recognition, why fear so often drives public life, and how Christians can respond without being ruled by anxiety. Ultimately, Allen points toward a simple but demanding path: recognizing the lies that bind us and fixing our eyes on Christ. Resources mentioned in this episode: The Lie You Don’t Know You Believe by Jennie Allen Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The author of Theo of Golden sits down with Russell in Andrew Peterson’s Chapter House for a conversation on the breakout novel. NO SPOILERS! Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Russell is joined by Allen Levi, the author of the breakout novel Theo of Golden, to ask why so many readers are hungry for a story about kindness—and whether such a person could exist outside the pages of fiction.  Russell and Allen sit together in Nashville for a conversation based on questions RDM collected from listeners and friends. Without any spoilers, Levi describes Theo of Golden as a book not only about kindness, but about the reason for kindness—an ordinary holiness rooted in the reality of Heaven. Levi’s clear-eyed theology of “glory and grime” found in Golden insists that darkness is real, but it doesn’t get the last word.  To close, Russell offers for Allen to share a rare on-air prayer for listeners who are exhausted by suspicion and artificiality. If you’re struggling to see how kindness is worth the cost, or if you’re weary from cynicism, this episode is for you. Resources mentioned in this episode: Theo of Golden by Allen Levi “The Confession” by Leo Tolstoy “Think Little” by Wendell Berry  How to Know a Person by David Brooks Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A thought experiment on the realness of aliens, and what that would mean. ⁠Watch this episode on YouTube On occasion, we like to record audio versions of the latest from Russell’s weekly newsletter. Read this article here. Sign up for the newsletter, Moore to the Point, where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show (and include a voice memo!) at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What happens to a society when its boys grow up without a script for becoming men? Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. In this conversation, Richard Reeves—author of Of Boys and Men (selected as a 2024 Summer read by President Obama), and founding president of the American Institute for Boys and Men—walks through the data and the deeper cultural currents beneath the struggle of the journey of boys becoming men. From rising male suicide rates to widening education gaps, and from sports betting addiction to body-image pressures once thought to belong mainly to girls, Reeves argues that boys and men are not so much acting out as checking out. Reeves suggests that we tore up the old scripts of masculinity—and for good reason—but never replaced them with a compelling vision of what it means to be a man today. In that vacuum, some young men retreat to screens, pornography, and gaming; others gravitate toward louder, angrier answers. But Reeves sees something else underneath the check-out: a hunger for formation, for purpose, for being told not just what not to be, but what to become. The conversation turns to the church’s unique opportunity at this moment. Russell and Richard reflect on Joseph as a model of quiet strength, the importance of rites of passage, the power of male friendship, and the simple but often neglected message young men need to hear: we need you.  In a time when many men feel optional, this episode is an invitation to recover a vision of manhood rooted not in dominance or drift, but in responsibility, community, and hope. Resources mentioned in this episode: Of Boys and Men by Richard Reeves Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Russell answers a listener question about how we should perceive seemingly harmful political beliefs in our church congregations. Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if the church’s biggest discipleship problem isn’t disbelief—but disinterest in learning? Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. In a recent subscriber-only livestream, Russell Moore welcomes Bible teacher and author Jen Wilkin to examine what her recent Christianity Today essay calls “the great omission”: the quiet disappearance of learning from the center of Christian discipleship. Wilkin contends that the church has often replaced structured, outcome-oriented learning with looser models built around community or immediate application. The result, she argues, is not deeper connection but a generation of well-meaning Christians who struggle to articulate even foundational doctrines. Through conversation and livestream chat questions, Moore and Wilkin explore how this shift happened—through the offloading of Sunday school structures, the fear of asking too much of busy people, and a reluctance to let learners sit in confusion long enough for understanding to take root.  Throughout, they underscore a central conviction: the church does not need gimmicks so much as it needs courage to teach again, trusting that truth learned deeply can actually be handed on. Get access to future subscriber-only livestreams! Subscribe to Christianity Today–Click here for 25% off a subscription. Resources mentioned in this episode: The Great Omission – Jen’s article Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected] Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell answers a listener question about whether a church’s differences over Calvinism and Arminianism mean it’s time to leave his church. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What can we do when we love our country, but feel exhausted by politics and unable to understand how the government actually works? Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. In this episode, Russell–who this guest would lovingly call a “governerd”–welcomes Sharon McMahon, who has been called “America’s government teacher,” known online as Sharon Says So and through her Substack The Preamble. They talk about why so many Americans feel either helpless or furious in the public square, and what it would look like to rebuild sanity without sliding into cynicism.  McMahon explains how she stays out of partisan leanings by anchoring herself to the Constitution and to moral commitments that can critique both sides—without dehumanizing the people who vote differently. The conversation ranges from digital burnout and practical tools to build better habits to what genuine civic hope looks like, and McMahon makes a case for a “small and mighty” faithfulness: history is shaped by ordinary people who keep doing the next needed thing. Ultimately, the conversation ends with a heed: spend less energy proving you’re right and more energy living in a way that makes love believable. If the churn of back-and-forth political rhetoric has you feeling whiplash, anchor yourself in this conversation, which reminds that democracy isn’t sustained by viral takes or ideological purity, but by normal people doing the next faithful thing. Sharon says so. Resources mentioned in this episode: The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon We Are Mighty by Sharon McMahon (releasing May 2026). Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell gets a listener question about country music as he explores how a Martina McBride song helps us better love our neighbors. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does it mean to follow Jesus when the state is demanding your loyalty—and the church is tempted to comply? Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. On the 120th anniversary of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s birth (February 4th), Russell sits down with Charles Marsh—author of Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer—to ask why Bonhoeffer still captivates Christians and what his witness demands from us now. Together, they explore how Bonhoeffer recognized the moral collapse of the German church earlier than most, and why he insisted that confessing Christ’s lordship must sometimes give way to concrete, costly action in history. The conversation widens to the pastoral dilemma Bonhoeffer never escaped: when is it enough to proclaim the gospel faithfully, and when must a preacher speak directly to the crisis at hand? Marsh reflects on the tension between shaping consciences slowly and naming injustice plainly, and how Bonhoeffer struck a balance. Marsh ultimately tells the story of his own father, a Mississippi pastor who preached “Amazing Grace for Every Race” at real personal cost, and of figures like Will D. Campbell and Fannie Lou Hamer, whose Christian witness fused tenderness with moral clarity. Their lives, Marsh suggests, reveal that faithfulness may not be loud, but it is never neutral. Resources mentioned in this episode: Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Charles Marsh Brother to a Dragonfly by Will D. Campbell Fannie Lou Hamer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You cannot hide a hardened heart behind the fact that you weren’t the one pulling the trigger. On occasion, we like to record audio versions of the latest from Russell’s weekly newsletter. Read this article here. Sign up for the newsletter, Moore to the Point, where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show (and include a voice memo!) at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription Watch this episode on YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why walk with God when answers don’t come quickly—and sometimes don’t come at all? Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Russell and Beth join forces again to embark on the Bible’s darkest terrain: Ecclesiastes and Job. Drawing from Beth’s current teaching on Job, her newly released Bible study, and Russell’s work through Hebrews 11, they explore why Scripture so often leaves suffering unresolved. Along the way, they reflect on faith as endurance rather than fragility, and the long, quiet formation that happens through daily obedience rather than spiritual breakthroughs. Beth shares wisdom shaped by decades of teaching, parenting, journaling, and marriage—including what she’s learned about letting God hold people we love and how stubborn grace can sustain a life and a marriage over time.  The conversation turns finally to Job, Gethsemane, and the cries of Jesus, who not only models lament, but gathers it up and answers it entirely with his death and resurrection. If you’re living through uncertainty, carrying grief you can’t yet resolve, or learning how to trust God without clarity—and you’re comforted by a conversation that refuses clichés while still insisting on hope—this episode is for you. Resources mentioned in this episode: Walking with God: A Five-Week Journey in Step with the Savior by Beth Moore First and Second Samuel by Eugene Peterson Thoughts in Solitude by Thomas Merton Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell takes a listener question about how we can speak about our faith, and how we are influenced by it, in conversation about the everyday experience of being a human. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does American football reveal about who we are and who we’re becoming? Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Russell Moore talks with cultural critic and essayist Chuck Klosterman about his new book Football and what the sport tells us about masculinity, community, memory, violence, and belief. From Roman gladiator games to Super Bowl halftime shows, and from church attendance to television economics, Klosterman argues that football is more than entertainment: it’s one of the last truly shared experiences in American life—and one that may not survive the century. Even for listeners who don’t care about football at all, this conversation is about the deeper question beneath the spectacle: what happens when a culture’s rituals outlast its imagination? Moore and Klosterman discuss football as a made-for-television phenomenon, the way fandom shapes identity and irrationality, and how football functions as an unofficial secular holiday—one that churches once resisted, then accommodated, and eventually surrendered to. Along the way, they examine agency, violence, masculinity, and why moral critiques of football provoke more outrage than theological disagreements ever could. The conversation widens to include politics, class, religion, and even Billy Joel—ending with the question: when future generations judge our era by one piece of football culture, what will they see? Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter⁠ where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at ⁠[email protected]⁠  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: ⁠Click here⁠ for 25% off a subscription —  “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producer: Clarissa Moll Host: Russell Moore Producer: Leslie Thompson Associate Producer: McKenzie Hill Senior Producer: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Kevin Morris Video producer: Sam Cedar Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Believers often use Romans 13 to wave away state violence, but that’s the opposite of what Paul intended. ⁠Watch the episode on YouTube. On occasion, we like to record audio versions of the latest from Russell’s weekly newsletter. Read this article here. Sign up for the newsletter, Moore to the Point, where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show (and include a voice memo!) at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What do myth, wilderness, and ancient story have to teach a culture drowning in information but starving for meaning? Watch a video version of this episode, here. Russell Moore sits down with mythologist, storyteller, and author Martin Shaw–called our “greatest living storyteller”–in a conversation centered on Shaw’s upcoming book, Liturgies of the Wild (releasing February 3). Drawing on folklore, wilderness tradition, and Christian theology, Shaw argues that Christianity is not merely a belief system but an initiatory path—one that modern culture has domesticated into something safer, quieter, and far less demanding. Shaw reflects on his own journey from Baptist church pews to decades spent studying myth, living in a tent, and eventually returning—reluctantly—to Christianity through Eastern Orthodoxy. Their conversation touches on his 4-day-retreat-turned-conversion, myth versus fact, the resurrection as “disturbingly strange,” the dangers of cynicism and sarcasm, the rise of psychedelic spirituality, and how practices as simple as memorizing a poem or sitting by a fire can begin to re-form the soul. If you’re beginning the year considering longing, risk, and what it means to become fully human in a world that prefers comfort to transformation–and you’re wanting to hear poetry recited in a British accent–this conversation is for you. Resources mentioned in this episode: Liturgies of the Wild — Martin Shaw The Moviegoer — Walker Percy The Pilgrim’s Regress — C.S. Lewis Against the Machine — Paul Kingsnorth (Listen here for Paul’s interview with Russell) The Hero with a Thousand Faces — Joseph Campbell Keep up with Russell: ⁠Sign up for the weekly newsletter⁠ ⁠⁠where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at ⁠[email protected]⁠  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: ⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠ for 25% off a subscription⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Believers can disagree on migration policies—but the Word of God should shape how we minister to vulnerable people. On occasion, we like to record audio versions of the latest from Russell’s weekly newsletter. Read this article here. Sign up for the newsletter, Moore to the Point, where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show (and include a voice memo!) at [email protected]  Watch the episode on YouTubeSubscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We begin 2026 with a question: What if the most decisive battles in our time aren’t fought with ballots or bombs—but with the imagination?Watch the full conversation on YouTube Russell Moore talks with historian and author Joseph Loconte about The War for Middle-earth, his book on how World War I and World War II forged the friendship, faith, and fiction of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Together they explore why The Lord of the Rings and Narnia weren’t escapist detours from reality, but a deliberate counter-assault on cynicism, propaganda, and the will to power—written by men who had seen the trenches up close and knew exactly what modern darkness looks like. Loconte and Moore talk about why World War I has slipped from our cultural memory, what protected Tolkien from the disillusionment that swallowed so many of his peers, and why both writers keep insisting that deeds done in the dark are “not wholly in vain.” They also discuss Lewis’s warning about the “cataract of nonsense” in modern media, and why genuine friendship is almost never built by chasing “community”—but by pursuing a shared mission so compelling you find yourself fighting alongside someone. Loconte shares the origin story of the Lewis–Tolkien friendship, why grace—not grit—is the hinge point in both Middle-earth and Narnia, and where to start if you’ve never read either author: The Screwtape Letters for Lewis, and Tolkien’s short, haunting “Leaf by Niggle.” Resources mentioned in this episode: By J.R.R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings The Hobbit Leaf by Niggle The Fall of Gondolin “Beren and Lúthien” (legendarium story) By C.S. Lewis The Screwtape Letters The Chronicles of NarniaOut of the Silent Planet That Hideous Strength The Space Trilogy The Four Loves Spirits in Bondage (early poetry collection) “Learning in Wartime” (sermon/essay) By Joseph Loconte The War for Middle-earth A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War Other Literary & Historical Works Referenced All Quiet on the Western Front — Erich Maria Remarque Paradise Lost — John Milton The Odyssey — Homer The Aeneid — Virgil The Divine Comedy — Dante Plato’s Cave (from The Republic) — Plato Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell shares his favorite reads of the year, an annual tradition on the Russell Moore Show. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. You can read a version of this list from the newsletter here.  Russell’s top ten books (in alphabetical order by author): Leslie Baynes, Between Interpretation and Imagination: C. S. Lewis and the Bible (Eerdmans) Wendell Berry, Marce Catlett: The Force of a Story (Counterpoint) Nicholas Carr, Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart (Norton) Catherine Conybeare, Augustine the African (Norton) Stephen King and Maurice Sendak, Hansel and Gretel (HarperCollins) Ian McEwan, What We Can Know: A Novel (Knopf) Daniel Nayeri, The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story (Levine Querido) Adam Plunkett, Love and Need: The Life of Robert Frost’s Poetry (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Jonathan Rauch, Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy (Yale University Press) Graham Tomlin, Blaise Pascal: The Man Who Made the Modern World (Hodder & Stoughton) Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected] Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Voices across Christianity Today join together to read the Christmas story found in Luke 2.  Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected] Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does the phrase “6 white boomers” have to do with Christmas? Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Join us for a special Christmas episode as Russell joins the Being Human Podcast’s Steve Cuss and The Bulletin podcast’s Clarissa Moll to talk about what Christmas looks like in their own worlds. They discuss when they officially start listening to Christmas music, their favorite Christmas memories, nativity story characters that are meaningful to them, and what “Wombat Divine” means for Australians at Christmas (it may not be what you think). Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell Moore talks with pastor and author David Platt (McLean Bible Church, Radical) about his new book All You Want for Christmas, which is built around one verse: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” Together they explore why this claim stands apart from every other religion’s story of humans climbing their way up to God—and why the Christian story begins with God coming down the mountain to us. Platt and Moore talk about what it means to believe in a personal God in a culture that prays to “the universe,” how to face grief and doubt in the “happiest season of all,” and why the wonder of Christmas is both more comforting and more unsettling than we realize. They also discuss the difference between divine service and the prosperity gospel, the surprising role of dreams and magi in God’s self-revelation, and what it means to repent and trust when belief doesn’t come easily. Platt shares stories from a Southeast Asian temple, a Muslim Uber driver’s midnight conversion, and his own family’s Christmas traditions—complete with “giving jars” and a goat that wasn’t for the kid who thought it was. Resources mentioned in this episode: All You Want for Christmas by David Platt Radical by David Platt   Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell and Leslie meander through the 2025 podcast episodes and share some of their favorite moments. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. See all podcast episodes for 2025 here. Episodes referenced: David Brooks on Moral Courage for a Soulless Age Joni Eareckson Tada on When God Shows Up in the Breaking Molly Worthen on Being Spellbinding Michael Luo on Strangers in the Land Paul Kingsnorth on the Dark Powers Behind AI Christine Emba on the Fantasy of Porn’s Harmlessness Jonathan Haidt’s Newest Thoughts on Technology, Anxiety, and the War for Our Attention A Poet and a Preacher: A Conversation with David Whyte Beth Moore on All Manner of Good Things Beth Moore on Falling in Love with Ecclesiastes Sho Baraka on Matters of the Soul Post-2020 Recovering Christian Vocabulary: A Conversation with Stanley Hauerwas Tim Keller on Hope in Times in Fear (Re-air) Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gather round ye listeners come…Andrew Peterson is back. Watch the full conversation on YouTube. Songwriter/author Andrew Peterson has been singing about the birth of Jesus every Christmas for over 26 years in the form of a Christmas concept album and tour called Behold the Lamb of God (LINK: catch the tour or livestream—available to watch until 1/31). In this special episode, Russell joins Andrew in the Chapter House–Andrew’s writing cabin–to talk about a tour that’s spent twenty-six years creating a Christmas tradition for thousands across the world. Together, they swap stories about the origins of the album, the strange power of minor-key Advent songs, and the backstage chaos you never see—covert clementines, nightly TED talks, and the annual fear of forgetting a song that might contain more names than any other song ever written. They also talk honestly about exhaustion, longing, and why the story of the incarnation keeps surprising them after all these years. Plus: Wingfeather cosplay, Randy Travis covering “Labor of Love,” British carol-singing that’ll blow your hair back, and why both of them have very strong opinions about the First Noel. If you’ve ever wondered what makes this Christmas tour feel more like liturgy than concert—or why the gospel still sneaks up on people who think they’ve heard it all—this conversation is a warm, funny, deeply human place to land. Resources mentioned in this episode: Get 10% off the Behold the Lamb of God Livestream on December 12th from the Ryman Auditorium (watchable until January 31) with code RUSSELL10. Get tickets for the tour and livestream here. Andrew Peterson’s The Wingfeather Saga Randy Travis’ version of Labor of Love Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell takes a listener question about whether some songs are better than others for worshipping in a congregational setting. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

N.T. Wright joins Russell and Leslie to field a listener's question about the parable of the talents told in Luke 19, and why it’s not all that it seems. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Professor N. T. Wright joins us to walk through Ephesians as a panoramic room with a view—sunrise to moonset—where heaven and earth meet, and spiritual warfare is real but not partisan. Drawing from his new book The Vision of Ephesians: The Task of the Church and the Glory of God, Wright argues that Paul’s language about “predestination” is vocational before it’s destinational: the church is chosen to live for the praise of God’s glory in the present. RDM and Wright explore why Ephesians might have changed church history had the Reformers centered it as much as Romans and Galatians, how “principalities and powers” makes surprising sense in an algorithm-shaped age, and why unity and holiness aren’t rival goods but twin commands. They also wade into the passages that spark the most questions—marriage in Ephesians 5, mutual submission, and the armor of God—insisting on careful reading, cultural context, and a refusal to demonize flesh-and-blood neighbors. Whether you’re Christian-curious or deep in the commentaries, Wright offers a way to read Ephesians both fast (to catch the sweep) and slow (to trace the seams), with the church embodying a many-colored wisdom that refuses tribal sorting. Resources mentioned in this episode:   Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell takes a listener's question about how a non-believer can meaningfully engage in a book group with Christians. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What happens when a 17-year-old's dive into the Chesapeake Bay changes everything—and the healing never comes? ⁠Watch the full conversation on YouTube⁠. Fifty-seven years later, Joni Eareckson Tada sits across from me with an answer that might undo everything you think you know about strength, suffering, and the strange mercy of God. In this conversation marking the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we go where few dare: into the raw, daily reality of quadriplegia, chronic pain that would break most of us by breakfast, and a two-time battle with breast cancer. But this isn't inspiration porn. This is Joni—unflinching, funny, and fiercely honest about what it means when "I can do all things through Christ" meets 4 a.m. despair. We talk about the crushing loneliness of being the only wheelchair in a room full of chairs. The rage when well-meaning Christians promise healing that doesn't come. The particular exhaustion of advocating for your own existence. And why she tells God some mornings, "I have no strength for today. Can I borrow yours?" But we also discover something unexpected: how limitation becomes liberation. Why the disabled community might be the most honest place in America. And what happens when churches stop trying to "fix" people and start making room for them. Fair warning: Joni doesn't do platitudes. She'll tell you exactly what not to say to someone in chronic pain (spoiler: "everything happens for a reason" isn't it). She'll explain why she's terrified of a world that's editing out Down syndrome. And she'll make you rethink whether your church's "all are welcome" sign means anything if there's no ramp to the door. This is for anyone who's ever wondered where God is when the miracle doesn't come. For those caring for someone who's suffering and don't know what to say. For all of us who suspect our obsession with optimization and control might be making us miss the point entirely. Come for the practical wisdom. Stay for the kind of hope that only comes from someone who's been asking "How long, O Lord?" for nearly six decades—and still believes the answer matters. Keep up with Joni’s work through Joni and Friends, here. Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell takes a listener's question about whether God can still use prayers, and the conversation broadens to mind-breaking theology about God’s transcendence of time itself. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ken Burns says the American Revolution is "the most important event in world history since the birth of Christ." That's a bold claim—especially in a moment when the word "patriot" has become a weapon and the experiment that revolution launched feels more fragile than ever. In this conversation, Russell Moore sits down with the legendary documentarian to explore what eight years of wrestling with the founders can teach us about our fractured present. How do you love a country—or a church—while being honest about its deep hypocrisies? Can you hold together progress and permanence, hope and clear-eyed realism? And what does faithfulness look like when certainty has replaced faith? Burns's new series, The American Revolution (premiering November 16 on PBS), attempts something audacious: telling a visual story from an era with no photographs, bringing to life the contradiction-filled men who proclaimed "all men are created equal" while many of them held other human beings in bondage. Using voices including Tom Hanks, Liev Schreiber, and Claire Danes, Burns creates a narrative that refuses both myth-making and cynicism. Burns discusses with RDM why labels such as “Heritage American” and “Christian America” fail and what the founders actually believed about divine providence (hint: it wasn't what you think). Along the way: Schoolhouse Rock nostalgia, baseball metaphors, and what it means to be a patriot when the word itself has been hijacked. Watch the full conversation on YouTube.Resources mentioned in this episode: Watch Burns’ “The American Revolution” on PBS for free starting November 16th. Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell takes a listener's question about whether the work of fallen songwriters and authors should be used for worship. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if the biggest changes in your life aren’t sudden at all—but have been building quietly for years? Watch the full conversation on YouTube In this episode, Russell Moore sits down with pastor and author Mark Batterson (National Community Church, Washington, D.C.; The Circle Maker, Gradually, Then Suddenly) to talk about how transformation, calling, and even faith itself often arrive–as Hemingway once put it–gradually, then suddenly. From hard decisions and hidden preparation to the slow work of God that looks instant only in hindsight, they explore why patience may be the most underrated spiritual discipline of all. Batterson and RDM talk about the writings of Eugene Peterson on the “long obedience” of a faith journey, the difference between patience and stagnation, how to know when you’re called to something and when you’re released from it, and why celebrity culture in the church short-circuits character formation. They get practical on habits (why 30 days feels like the hardest part), preaching long obedience in a city addicted to immediacy, learning grit without “snowplow” spirituality, and aiming at legacy that’s measured by who others become because of you.  If you’re looking for wisdom without hurry, conviction without hype, and hope that can take a punch and keep walking, this is the episode for you. Resources mentioned in this episode: Mark Batterson, Gradually, Then Suddenly  Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction  Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected] Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell takes a listener's question about the Church body convicting each other in love without unnecessary division. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David French checks in on a potpourri of important subjects.  Watch the full conversation on YouTube For longtime friends Russell Moore and David French, talking about what’s happening and where things are going is virtually an everyday occurrence. This time, though, they decided to let us listen in. RDM refused to write notes to plan out this conversation and said, “Let’s just go on the air–unfiltered.” This is that conversation. French, New York Times columnist and author, and RDM discuss everything from whether revival is happening among Gen Z to why we’ve seen such a backlash against women in evangelical circles to whether the gender identity disputes are not over to whether we are headed toward a dark place on questions of religious freedom. Then they get personal—talking about why, after all they’ve each seen, they are still Christians, and what advice they would give to those who wonder if they still can be. If you’re looking for honesty without despair and candor without cynicism, this is the episode for you.  Resources mentioned in this episode: Richard Hanania article, ”The Based Ritual” David’s article about his incurable disease in the New York Times, ”I Believe in Miracles. Just Not All of Them.” Sign up for David’s newsletter   Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell takes a listener's question about church membership and the Communion table. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if the real radicals right now are the ones who refuse to join the outrage mobs? Watch the full conversation on YouTube Russell Moore talks with pastor and author J.D. Greear about his new book Everyday Revolutionary and the surprising power of grace in an age addicted to “courage” and “clarity.” Starting with the story of how J.D. befriended the man who tried to dox him, the two dig into why Christian conviction without compassion turns hollow—and how ordinary believers can live with the kind of quiet strength that actually changes things. They explore what witness looks like when the internet never blinks, what evangelism means in a world both secular and spiritual, why pastors burn out, and what might replace the megachurch in twenty years. Plus: Hear about the one and only time Russell Moore has ever passed out.  Resources mentioned in this episode: Everyday Revolutionary by J.D. Greear Molly Worthen’s episode on our show   Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell answers a listener’s question about making time to be a better writer Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you’ve ever wondered what a conversation about Ecclesiastes between Tigger and Eeyore sounds like, it’s your lucky day. Watch the full conversation on YouTube In a recent episode, Sho Baraka became the first guest to choose the book of Ecclesiastes for his Desert Island, “5 Books of the Bible” challenge we sometimes end our show with. So it seems fitting that a few weeks later we welcome Beth Moore to talk about the relevance and timeliness of these passages that weep for the seeming futility of the human experience.  Together, Russell and Beth begin by exploring the relevance of the book for Christians and non-Christians alike. Then, they go on a free-wheeling exploration of the book including topics like surgeries and abandoned vineyards, Christmas Wig Exchanges, Stephen King, and, amazingly, Creed Bratton (if you know, you know).  If you’ve ever had the thought, "I hate life,” and assumed the Bible was ignorant to the human experience of suffering, listen to hear how God has not only acknowledged the turmoil of our existential strivings, but has actually given us words for it. Resources mentioned in this episode: Chasing Vines by Beth Moore The Lost Art of Dying by Dr. Lydia Dugdale Living Life Backward: How Ecclesiastes Teaches Us to Live in Light of the End by David Gibson Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell takes a listener's question about what we should call religious participants in the MAGA movement. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Retired NFL player Benjamin Watson has been on this show several times over the years, and he’s recently released his own podcast, The Just Life. Russell was a guest on the show, and together they talked about Russell’s background along with matters of justice, gospel-centered living, and faithful action. Check out Ben’s show here. Resources mentioned in this episode: Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity by Paul Kingsnorth Savage Gods by Paul Kingsnorth Buccmaster Trilogy by Paul Kingsnorth Paul’s Essay, “The Cross and the Machine”  Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell answers a listener’s question regarding why Christians are not stepping in to help with the humanitarian aid crisis, and what needs to change. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube here. Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lecrae joins Russell Moore to talk about reconstructing faith after crises of disillusionment.  Watch the full conversation on YouTube Originally aired live on September 24th, Russell hosted a conversation for Christianity Today subscribers with Lecrae regarding his recent Christianity Today article, “An Exhortation to the Exhausted Black Christian.” They talk about Lecrae’s public life as a Christian hip hop artist and author, and his near deconstruction. Then, the floor was opened to questions from subscribers.  Listen to the recent episode with Paul Kingsnorth   Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if the world’s brightest engineers aren’t just building smarter tools—but opening a door to something older, darker, and more sinister? In this episode of The Russell Moore Show, RDM sits down with Paul Kingsnorth—novelist, essayist, and former pagan turned Orthodox Christian—to talk about his searing new book Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity. Kingsnorth argues that the technologies we treat as neutral conveniences may, in fact, be spiritual weapons. The internet as a giant Ouija board. AI not as invention, but as invocation. It sounds insane—until you realize the people creating these systems admit they don’t fully understand them either. In this conversation, Kingsnorth tells the unlikely story of his journey from Wiccan witchcraft to baptism in the Orthodox Church, why he believes our cultural obsession with screens, sex, and selfhood is a trap, and why Christians in particular must stop treating technology as just another tool. What if it’s more than that? What if, in chasing progress, we’ve been summoning something we cannot control? This isn’t your average hand-wringing about iPhones or social media. It’s a bracing, unsettling, and oddly hopeful dialogue about how to remain human in an age increasingly hostile to humanity itself. Listen in if you’ve ever wondered: Why AI feels less like a tool and more like a presence How paganism and environmentalism can point toward, but never satisfy, the longing for God What the “four pillars of the machine” are—and how they’re shaping us without our consent Whether resistance to the machine is possible, and how communities of faith might embody it Resources mentioned in this episode: Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity by Paul Kingsnorth Savage Gods by Paul Kingsnorth Buccmaster Trilogy by Paul Kingsnorth Paul’s Essay, “The Cross and the Machine” Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A conversation with Tim Keller from 2021, in honor of his birthday. Watch the full conversation on YouTube. Tim Keller would have turned 75 years old this week (September 23rd). To mark this, we are bringing back an episode from early in 2021 (back when the show was called Signposts). At the time of the conversation, Keller was a few months removed from learning of the cancer that eventually took his life and had just released a new book, Hope in Times of Fear: The Resurrection and the Meaning of Easter. They also talk about the recent article Tim wrote for The Atlantic, wrestling with mortality, how to order our loves in this life, and finding hope in the midst of suffering. Ultimately, this is a conversation upholding the comfort of the resurrection, and reminds us that through it, nothing truly good is ever lost.  Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell shares 30 things he’s learned in his 30 years of ordained ministry.  Watch the full episode on YouTube This was originally shared in the Moore to the Point newsletter (sign up here), but Russell received so much feedback that it deserved its own episode. Have feedback? Email [email protected]. We’ll look forward to hearing from you. Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Another quarterly conversation on books with Christianity Today’s Editorial Director, Ashley Hales, on the subject of resisting the digital era. Watch the full conversation on YouTube What’s the role of reading in a screen-saturated, distracted, AI world? Russell is joined once again by Ashley Hales, print editor at Christianity Today, to explore how literature can help us resist the attention-fractured nature of our technological era by offering unique ways to process real life itself, giving us tools to see grace where we least expect it. Russell reflects on Wendell Berry’s latest (and perhaps final) Port William novel, Marce Catlett, and what it means to say goodbye to a lifelong literary companion. Ashley shares insights on Jan Karon’s return to Mitford, and the two discuss how stories shape our capacity for empathy, memory, and hope. They also highlight nonfiction works like Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation (check out our recent episode with Jon) and David Zahl’s The Big Relief, considering how books can guide us through exhaustion, anxiety, and the pressures of modern life. Then, the two share the stack of books they’re reading just for fun, and upcoming releases they’re looking forward to.You can find all the titles mentioned in the episode below. Plus–Hear ye one and all!–Russell shares about an AI tool that he likes!  If you’ve ever wondered how exactly reading still matters in a world of constant noise, this episode makes the case that it does—perhaps now more than ever. Resources mentioned in this episode: Bookshelf App Marce Catlett by Wendell Berry My Beloved by Jan Karon The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jon Haidt The Big Relief by David Zahl Feminism Against Progress by Mary Harrington Ashley’s CT article based on this book Ct article about MAID in Canada Pan by Michael Clune Blaise Pascal: The Man Who Made the Modern World by Graham Tomlin Mark Twain by Ron Chernow Thomas More by Joanne Paul On His Own Terms by Richard Norton Smith (audiobook link) Food For Thought by Alton Brown Making Room by Christine D. Pohl Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara  The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe The Trinity Forum’s Revelation of Divine Love, which includes an introduction by Jessica Hooten Wilson Joseph and his Brothers by Thomas MannThe Vanishing Church by Ryan Burge Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell is joined by Jon Haidt to answer a listener's question: “Is screentime with grandparents dangerous for my children?” Listen to the full interview with John HERE, and (ironically) watch the video of this conversation on YouTube here. Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s odd that one of our listeners’ favorite frequent guests is an atheist: Jonathan Haidt. And yet, it’s not really that unusual because Haidt, though not a believer, is perhaps the world’s foremost thinker on issues Christians face every day: the digital war on our attention spans, how technology is making us anxious, how removing obstacles and pain-points from our children hurts them, and why we all seem to hate each other so much. This week, Dr. Moore welcomes back social psychologist Jonathan Haidt to ask him how things have changed in recent months in the rapidly evolving landscape of technology and its impact on faith communities. Haidt—author of The Anxious Generation, The Coddling of the American Mind, and The Righteous Mind—shares his latest observations and updated insights since we last spoke. This is a fresh new conversation, building off of the previous ones. As the digital world shifts at breakneck speed, Haidt offers new analysis on what he's witnessing on the front lines: how smartphones and social media are reshaping our capacity for prayer and Bible reading, the escalating influence of TikTok and short-form video, and emerging concerns about AI in church settings. From practical questions about phone-free churches to broader concerns about protecting children in digital environments, this conversation bridges scientific insight with pastoral care. You'll hear Haidt's surprising predictions about AI's future, discover which social media platform he considers most harmful, and learn his single most important piece of advice for church leaders seeking to preserve human connection in our high-tech age. This is an essential dialogue for anyone concerned about reclaiming our ability to pay attention,  think deeply, pray meaningfully, and build authentic community in an era of endless digital distraction. See more from Jon Haidt: Anxious Generation website: AnxiousGeneration.com Jon’s Substack: AfterBabel.com New book: The Amazing Generation, (pre-order now, releasing December 30th)  Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion The Coddling of the American Mind (with Greg Lukianoff) Politico Article: There’s Only One True Bipartisan Issue Left Derek Thompson’s Atlantic article: The Anti-Social Century Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell answers a listener's question: How can I be friends with atheists?  Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You may know Philip Yancey as the bestselling author of What’s So Amazing About Grace?, Where Is God When It Hurts?, and The Jesus I Never Knew. We’ve even had him on the show a few times to talk about these books and more. For decades, his writing has guided Christians who are wrestling with disappointment, doubt, and suffering. But in recent years, his own life has required deeper study into such things. In this episode, Philip Yancey joins Russell Moore for an honest conversation about suffering, lament, and the God who meets us in our pain. Yancey opens up about his own story, from the trauma of losing his father to living with cancer and Parkinson’s. He reflects on how those experiences have shaped his faith and why simplistic religious answers so often do more harm than good. Together, they talk about what the Book of Job does—and doesn’t—say about suffering, and why Jesus didn’t “solve” pain during his earthly ministry. Yancey explains why lament is not only permitted but essential, and what it means for the church to be a place of comfort rather than clichés.Plus: what surprising things led him to see the graciousness of God before writing the book(s) on it. If you’ve been sitting in the silence of God, or are grappling with the problem of pain in your own life, you may find comfort in this conversation. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Where Is God When It Hurts? by Philip Yancey What’s So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A reading of the latest from Russell’s weekly newsletter. Sign up for the newsletter, Moore to the Point, where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show (and include a voice memo!) at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today we put the “Sho” in the Russell Moore Show with Sho Baraka, Christianity Today’s director of the Big Tent Initiative. Five years after the murder of George Floyd, many wondered if the United States—and the church—was headed toward lasting change. Talk of a “racial reckoning” filled headlines, pulpits, and boardrooms. But where do things stand now, in 2025? Sho joins Russell to reflect on the promises and disappointments of the past half-decade. The child of a Black Panther, Sho shares thoughts about race and reconciliation but also the deeper struggles of spiritual disillusionment, even in his own life. Sho speaks candidly about his own journey through spiritual dryness over the last 5-7 years as he navigated attitudes of cynicism which gave way to a time of terrible decisions that left his life in freefall. He and Russell explore what repentance and renewal can look like—not only for individuals, but for communities and institutions that have lost their way. Together, they discuss why conversations about racial justice often stall, how and why multi-ethnic churches struggle, and how Moses is an example of endurance in radically changing a broken institution. Plus: hear which book of the Bible Sho would take with him to a desert island that no other guest has chosen before. This is a thoughtful, vulnerable conversation about failure, repentance, and the possibility of restoration—for leaders, for churches, and for the witness of the gospel. — Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell answers a listener's question: Should church leaders be transparent about finances? Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does it mean to have character in a world that doesn’t care? Or even worse: platforms and incentivizes a LACK of character?  If anyone should know, it’s a retired four-star General whose career ended in resignation. In this episode, Russell talks with General Stanley McChrystal, former commander of U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan and author of On Character: Choices That Define a Life. They discuss the Rolling Stone article that ended McChrystal’s military career, why his wife’s single-word reaction changed the trajectory of his life, and how character is shaped over decades by family, mentors, mistakes, and moral decisions under pressure.  Along the way, McChrystal shares his thoughts on why the U.S. needs a mandatory service year as a way to heal divisions, how leadership choices prevented a hostile environment toward Islam in the United States, and his process for making difficult decisions of national importance. Plus, hear a retired four-star general give his take on the tensions in the Middle East and what should be done to ease them. You don’t need to be weighing options of national security to appreciate this conversation — If you’re weary of living in an era that excuses a lack of integrity and honor in its leadership, this conversation may give you hope that it’s possible to bring those back. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: On Character: Choices That Define a Life by Stanley McChrystal Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Carl Sandburg’s six-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln Listener question: Where are all the mature single Christian men? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell answers a listener's question: Where Are All the mature, single christian men? Listen to the recent episode with Christine Emba about porn’s contribution to relational intimacy. Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Even where nobody talks about it, porn is everywhere--so much so that many, even those who think it's immoral, have concluded that it's an inextricable part of 21st century digital culture. But what if that attitude is leading us to levels of brokenness we never even imagined? In this episode, Christine Emba joins Russell to talk about what she calls a “quiet catastrophe”: the normalization of pornography in an era marked by loneliness and disconnection. Drawing from her widely read New York Times essay, “The Delusion of Porn’s Harmlessness,” Emba offers a pointed and profound look at what pornography is doing not just to our minds, but to our relationships, our desires, and our sense of self. Emba and Moore explore why the idea of intimacy feels threatening, and how a generation raised on digital pleasure might struggle to imagine and practice real relational connection. They also talk about how porn shapes our expectations of each other, why Christians often mishandle this issue, and what it might look like to recover a deeper, more beautiful ethic of intimate relationships. Emba even shares ways she sees society combatting our perceived defeat and possible despair when it comes to AI’s influence on porn–and the good news is, she has a positive outlook. This is not a frantic conversation about culture war panic. It’s a thoughtful and sobering conversation about what kind of restoration is possible when desire is distorted, but not beyond healing. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: C.S. Lewis letters, Yours, Jack: Spiritual Direction from C.S. Lewis “The Delusion of Porn’s Harmlessness” by Christine Emba (The New York Times) Rethinking Sex: A Provocation by Christine Emba Kate Julian’s “The Sex Recession” (The Atlantic) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell answers a listener's question: Am I Being Disciplined—or Just Legalistic? Submit your own question for the show! Email [email protected] — and remember: attach a voice memo! Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Maybe you know Tony Hale as the bumbling Buster Bluth on Arrested Development. Or maybe you know him as the bag-toting assistant to Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Selina Meyer on Veep. You might even know him as the googly-eyed Forky in Toy Story 4 or Riley’s Fear on Inside Out.  No matter how you’ve come across him before, perhaps you haven’t heard him like this. In this episode, Tony Hale joins Russell Moore for a candid conversation about anxiety, art, faith—and why he’s drawn to characters who never quite have it all together. Hale opens up about his personal journey through grief and doubt, and how these experiences shaped both his faith and his creativity. He reflects on the healing power of storytelling, the importance of making space for emotions we often suppress, and what it means to parent children through grief and suffering. Together, Moore and Hale explore the themes of Hale’s new family film Sketch, a story about a girl who processes loss by drawing monsters. But this isn’t just a kids’ movie—it’s an honest look at pain, beauty, and what it means to sit with discomfort. Hale shares why he wanted to make a film that respects the emotional complexity of children and adults alike. They also talk about the influence of Tim Keller, Tony’s early years as an actor, the inner development of his iconic roles (be aware, there could be some spoilers!), and how to choose roles and shape a career as a Christian in Hollywood. And be sure to listen until the end, when Tony shares insights on how to be the one Christian among nonbelievers and how to show the love of Christ with authenticity.  This is a warm, thoughtful conversation about surrender, sacred imagination, and how telling the truth might be one of the most redemptive acts we can offer the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell answers a listener's question: Should I go to a church that practices infant baptism? Listen to the episode with Ligon Duncan: Ligon Duncan Tells Me Where I’m Wrong on Infant Baptism Listen to the recent episode with Jefferson Fisher: Jefferson Fisher on How to Have Difficult Conversations Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show by emailing [email protected] — and attach a voice memo! Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What happens when a movement built on moral seriousness gives way to one powered by cruelty, resentment, and nihilism? In this episode, New York Times columnist David Brooks joins to talk about what he calls one of the greatest ruptures of his lifetime: the implosion of the conservative movement’s moral center. Drawing from his widely discussed essay in The Atlantic “I Should Have Seen This Coming,” Brooks offers a deeply personal—and deeply unsettling—account of how a reactionary fringe rose to power and reshaped American public life. Together, Moore and Brooks trace the descent from Burkean virtue to clickbait outrage, from civic institutions to “own-the-libs” performance art. But this conversation doesn’t stop at diagnosis. The two turn toward questions of cultural repair and spiritual renewal: Is there any real possibility of revival—in literature, in politics, in faith? What might it look like to recover a moral vision strong enough to resist the acid of our age? And what role could Christians play in offering a better way? Along the way, they talk about why the next spiritual awakening might not look like the last one, the legacy of Tim Keller, how we can engage in conversations on issues of the soul, how the Trump White House culture is different from other presidents’ and whether AI is really going to change American life as much as Moore thinks it will. This is a candid, searching conversation about what it means to be human in a disordered world—and what kind of moral courage is needed to hold fast when the center does not. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: How to Know a Person by David Brooks David’s Atlantic article, I Should Have Seen This Coming Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America by Sam Tanenhaus David’s article that talks about Alasdair MacIntyre in The Atlantic, Why Do So Many People Think Trump is Good? Diminish Democracy by Julian J. Rothbaum The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy by Christopher Lasch  David’s New York Times Article: When Novels Mattered  David’s novel suggestions: Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy  Selected Essays by Samuel Johnson  Middlemarch by George Eliot Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell answers a listener's question. Does God want me to have fun? Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show by emailing [email protected]  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Beth is back for mo(o)re.  It’s been a couple years since Beth Moore has been on the show, so it was high time to catch up with her. Russell and Beth (no relation) sit down for a free-wheeling conversation, starting with what’s been happening in her life these days.  Amid the laughter, conversation touches on all manner of important topics: pain, suffering, prayer, study of scripture, and Heaven itself.  Beth shares about her yearly journaling practice, what recent surgeries have taught her about how God draws us to him in our suffering, postures of prayer, and the importance of ritual as a believer and an artist. Listen to find out the two books of the Bible Russell has never taught, the Biblical scene both Beth and Russell would want to time travel to experience firsthand, and what surprise book recommendation Beth brought for listeners. If you find yourself wanting to hear good friends laughing while also acknowledging how hard life can be…this is for you.  Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Tarot card article link  LIfting the Veil, Malcolm Guite  Daily Rituals: How Artists work by Mason Currey — Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at [email protected] Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell reads his recent newsletter article on the public outcry for release of the Epstein files.  Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show by emailing [email protected].  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How do you handle conflict? If you said “not well,” let conversation expert Jefferson Fisher offer you practical tips for navigating difficult conversation. And there’s good news: if you’re afraid of conflict, you don’t have to be.  Jefferson Fisher is an attorney, author, and a bonafide conversation expert. His videos–about conversation and communication–serve an audience of over 6 million on Instagram, and 1 million on TikTok. And for good reason: Fisher’s ease of conversation and human psychology in communication provides opportunities for everyone to learn how to talk to each other better with more honesty and curiosity.  Russell and Jefferson also make the connection that Jesus himself–who asks questions, answers slowly, and speaks with assured calmness–provides excellent examples of engaging in effective conversation in controversy. Get ready to make notes, because this conversation will provide you with heaps of practical takeaways for immediate application. Including how to be a safe person for your children to turn to, what to say in times of marital conflict, and how to effectively set boundaries without shutting down a conversation. If you’ve ever thought that you’re not good at having difficult conversations, you might be emboldened to try it out after you listen to this episode.  Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: The Next Conversation by Jefferson Fisher — Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show. Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Doomscrolling, algorithms, artificial intelligence—these concepts have become so familiar to us and such a part of our everyday monotony that they’ve become jokes. But Nicholas Carr isn’t laughing.  Carr’s work in tech journalism has given him a front-row seat to watch the shift of culture around technology over the last decade. His recent book, Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart, explores his observations—and the news isn’t great. Online platforms and algorithms seem to know us better than our churches, families, or friends do—especially when the products we glanced at for a fleeting moment now fill our timelines and social media feeds. But we already knew that, right?  And still we face obstacles to capture our own conscious minds. Carr’s work is a call for a cultural revolution to reclaim the human experience from the clutches of technology. Especially when what’s at stake is the understanding of community, which finds its roots in the ability to focus to form empathy for others. This conversation shines a light on the profound need for deeper connections and the importance of attention in fostering meaningful relationships. Moore and Carr also talk about the mirage of screens as socialization, an AI priest (whose story doesn’t end well), positive outcomes from machines and technology (gasp! Is it possible?), and the way separating from technology might feel an awful lot like excommunication.  If you need to be emboldened to cut your screen time or make a change in the way you use technology for your sake and the sake of future generations, this conversation may be the thing you need. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart by Nicholas Carr “The Vacation” Wendell Berry poem The Empathy Diaries by Sherry Turkle Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For Independence Day, we are running an episode of particular relevance from our archives. Could the Constitution provide the antidote to polarization? Yuval Levin thinks so. The director of social, cultural, and constitutional studies at the American Enterprise Institute, Levin is the author of a new book titled American Covenant. In it, and during this episode, Levin identifies the reasons people feel as though America is at a breaking point, as well as meaningful opportunities for reuniting. He and Moore consider why fragmentation is happening, the naiveté of cynicism, and ways the party system has—and hasn’t—worked well for the United States. They discuss partisanship, the potential upsides of ranked-choice voting in primaries, and the importance of seeing one another not primarily as political beings but as human beings. Yuval Levin’s work: American Covenant, How the Constitution Unified Our Nation—and Could Again by Yuval Levin American Enterprise Institute National Affairs The New Atlantis National Review The New York Times Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J. D. Vance “My Unsettling Interview with Steve Bannon” by David Brooks The West Wing: “Night Five” The Sword and the Trowel by Charles Spurgeon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gary Haugen has seen the darkest things imaginable. He’s spent decades fighting human traffickers, corrupt governments, and mobs that enslave men, women, and children to sell them for sex and profit. But he’s not one bit cynical. As president of International Justice Mission, Haugen has worked to abolish modern-day slavery and to put the bad guys in jail while building the kind of institutions that ensure people are never treated that way again.   In this episode, Russell and Haugen discuss the objection that “justice issues” distract from the gospel. They also talk about how people can know whether God is calling them to some area of justice and mercy and about how those who are doing this kind of work can keep from burnout or despair. Haugen quoted from C. S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters: “Despair is a greater sin than any of the sins which provoke it.” He talks about how he learned from the writings of Dallas Willard and others the kinds of spiritual disciplines he needs to stay grounded and hopeful. The two also talk about going to church 13 times a week, the complex psychology of an oppressor, the power of art and music to move us to action, practical steps toward seeking justice, and of course, Wendell Berry. Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription to CT magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are we in the last days? Yes. Everything from the empty tomb onward are the last days. Could Jesus return at any moment? Absolutely. But can we track that coming based on the bombing schedules of Israel or Iran? No. Russell reads a piece from his newsletter every Monday on the podcast but there’s more to be found in the weekly email! Sign up ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What do Andy Warhol, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Flannery O’Connor, and Bono all have in common? According to writer and cultural historian Paul Elie, they’re “cryptoreligious.” Their art isn’t about affirming doctrine—it’s about invoking mystery, longing, and spiritual disquiet. In a culture where religious belief is often either rigidly defined or entirely dismissed, these artists dwell in the in between. They don’t preach—but they provoke. Their work invites us into important questions, questions to which the artists themselves often don’t have answers.   This week, Russell Moore talks with Paul Elie, author of The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage—Russell’s favorite biography—and the new book The Last Supper: Art, Faith, Sex, and Controversy in the 1980s. Together they explore how religion haunts the work of artists like Dylan (especially his “Christian era”), Cohen (“Hallelujah”), singer Sinéad O’Connor (her unforgettable Saturday Night Live moment), and even Andy Warhol’s more-than-15 minutes of fame.   If you’ve ever felt as if a song lyric or a painting was almost a prayer—or wondered why some of our greatest artists can’t seem to stop brushing up against the divine—this conversation is for you. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: The Last Supper: Art, Faith, Sex, and Controversy in the 1980s by Paul Elie The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage by Paul Elie Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription to CT magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former governor John Kasich has been a lot of things: US presidential candidate, governor, political commentator, congressman. And throughout his career, he witnessed faith communities of all religions come together and support not only each other but also their communities at-large. His new book, Heaven Help Us, reflects his observation of this dynamic and the ways faith communities are uniquely positioned to effect change in a broken society. The former governor also shares his takes on health care reform, how losing his parents in a car accident brought him to faith, how he fared after losing the presidential candidacy, and how to quench the fear of impending political chaos.  If you find yourself looking around your community or your country or the world and you think, What can one person, church, or community do to change something so overwhelming?, this conversation is for you. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Heaven Help Us: How Faith Communities Inspire Hope, Strengthen Neighborhoods, and Build the Future by John Kasich Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription to CT magazine. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producer: Clarissa Moll Host: Russell Moore Producer: Leslie Thompson Associate Producers: McKenzie Hill Senior Producer: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Kevin Morris Video producer: Sam Cedar Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

American evangelical Christians ought to care about the dismantling of PEPFAR. Russell reads a piece from his newsletter every Monday on the podcast but there’s more to be found in the weekly email! Sign up ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does a Shire full of hobbits in Middle-Earth, a county full of farmers in Kentucky, and a wardrobe full of a lion have in common? For Russell Moore and singer/songwriter/author Andrew Peterson, they were all a way to find home.    In this episode—recorded inside Peterson’s book-lined Chapter House in Nashville, right down the road from Moore—the two talk about the authors who, by God’s grace, helped hold their faith together when it could have come apart. From the wisdom of Wendell Berry to the imagination of C.S. Lewis to the honesty of Frederick Buechner, these authors gave a clarity that helped these two keep the faith.    This isn’t just a literary conversation. It’s about how God uses stories, sentences, and sometimes even sword-wielding mice to reach people in moments of doubt, disillusionment, or despair. Along the way, they talk about what it means to read widely, to hold onto wonder, and to be the kind of Christian who can still be surprised by joy.   They also somehow end up talking about Moby Dick, Dungeons & Dragons, and how ChatGPT was wrong and right about what books each of them would take to a desert island.    Books and authors mentioned in this episode include: Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry A Room Called Remember and Telling Secrets by Frederick Buechner The Chronicles of Narnia, Till We Have Faces, Mere Christianity, and more by C.S. Lewis Godric by Frederick Buechner David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson Moby Dick by Herman Melville Reading Genesis by Marilynne Robinson The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs And selections from Andrew’s own works: Adorning the Dark, The God of the Garden, and The Wingfeather Saga Whether you’re deep in faith, on the brink of losing it, or just looking for something beautiful to read, this conversation will remind you why the right book at the right moment can do more than explain—it can point to new life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What do Albert Einstein, the Jesus People,  and Donald Trump all have in common? According to historian and journalist Molly Worthen, they’re all part of a surprising American story about the strange, magnetic force we call charisma. In this episode, Russell Moore sits down with Worthen to explore the themes of her new book, Spellbound: How Charisma Shaped American History, and why understanding charisma may be the key to understanding American religion, politics, and even ourselves.   From revival tents to campaign rallies to cable news sets, Worthen tracks five distinct types of charisma that have shaped our country’s imagination—from JFK to your local megachurch pastor. Why do some people command a room without saying a word, while others say everything and still lose the crowd?   Moore and Worthen dig into the seduction and danger of charisma, its role in religious experience, and how it can drive both conversion and cults of personality. They also reflect on Worthen’s own journey from atheism to faith, and why figures such as Tim Keller and J.D. Greear played unexpected roles in that story. Plus: the only time Russell Moore has ever found himself in a room full of unconscious people, all but him on the floor—and what that has to do with spiritual longing.   If you’ve ever wondered why we’re drawn to certain voices, movements, or personalities—and how those forces shape the American soul—this conversation will leave you thinking, and maybe even unsettled. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Spellbound by Molly Worthen Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription to CT magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The greatest threat to the church is not what we think it is. Russell reads a piece from his newsletter every Monday on the podcast but there’s more to be found in the weekly email! Sign up ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Biblical literacy is over, right? The world is too secular to care about the Bible, and even if people were interested, our attention spans—shaped by smartphones and streaming—couldn’t keep up anyway. So why are Bible sales on the rise? And how is it that a podcast helping people read the Bible in ten-minute segments is outpacing names like Joe Rogan on the charts? Millions of listeners tune in daily to The Bible Recap with Tara-Leigh Cobble, a podcast designed to walk people through the entire Bible one day at a time. In this episode, Russell talks with Tara-Leigh about what’s behind this surprising hunger for Scripture—and what it reveals about our spiritual moment. Tara-Leigh shares how she never set out to be a Bible teacher. In fact, she realized as an adult that she didn’t actually know the Bible. What’s more, when she began reading it, she found herself troubled by the God she encountered in its pages. That experience set her on a journey to understand both the Bible and the character of God more deeply—a journey that has since helped millions of others do the same. Whether the Bible feels like unfamiliar territory to you or you know it right down the maps in the back, this conversation will spark your imagination about what’s happening in this cultural moment—and how the Bible continues to surprise us. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Tara-Leigh Cobble Spellbound by Molly Worthen The Bible Recap The Bible Recap Podcast Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription to CT magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When you feel anxious or afraid, read something calming and reassuring—like the Book of Revelation. Russell reads a piece from his newsletter every Monday on the podcast but there’s more to be found in the weekly email! Sign up ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is God’s will for your life more of a dot or a circle? That’s one of the questions addressed by Grammy Award–winning producer and artist Charlie Peacock, whose new memoir Roots & Rhythm explores what it means to find one’s calling in life, how to heal from the past, and how to give up the quest for holding on to power. This conversation reveals at least one middle-school-era debate over what counts as “Christian music” (spoiler: there was almost a fistfight over Amy Grant), and they explore deeper questions about fame, ambition, and why some artists burn out while others grow deeper with time.   Peacock shares stories behind producing music for Amy Grant, Switchfoot, and The Civil Wars—and what he’s learned from the visible economies of success and the hidden “Great Economy” about which Wendell Berry wrote.   You’ll hear thoughtful conversation on everything from Zen Buddhism and Jack Kerouac to AI and the future of music. Along the way, Peacock reflects on a note found after his mother’s death, a formative encounter with Kierkegaard, and what it means to live with grace as “an antidote to karma.” Peacock and Moore also talk about Frederick Buechner and Merle Haggard, as well as fatherhood, how to find a “circle of affirmation,” and why failing is as important as succeeding. If you’re curious about how art and faith intersect in an age of algorithms and ambition, this conversation offers a human and hopeful perspective. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Roots & Rhythm: A Life in Music by Charlie Peacock On the Road: The Original Scroll by Jack Kerouac  Distant Neighbors: The Selected Letters of Wendell Berry and Gary Snyder Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription to CT magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An end-times novel predicted the insanity of 2025 and it just might point the way out. Russell reads a piece from his newsletter every Monday on the podcast but there’s more to be found in the weekly email! Sign up ⁠here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What happens when everything you’ve built crumbles beneath your feet?  In this personal and open conversation, pastor Ray Ortlund talks about what he’s learned from unexpected losses, crushed hopes, and discarded dreams. Moore and Ortlund discuss how to get through those moments when faith is tested beyond what seems bearable—and they talk about the surprising joy that emerges on the other side. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Good News at Rock Bottom By Ray Ortlund Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription to CT magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The demonization of empathy will lead to a church that coddles sin. Russell reads a piece from his newsletter every Monday on the podcast but there's more to be found in the weekly email! Sign up here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What can the lives and trials of our Asian American neighbors teach the rest of us? Michael Luo, executive editor of The New Yorker and author of the new book Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America, joins Mooreto talk about our country’s treatment of its Chinese residents, which drew Luo to trace his own family’s path to the United States. Moore and Luo discuss not only American sentiments toward the Chinese populations but also the ways our country deals with perceived strangers, the unique challenges of Asian American churches grappling with whether to become multiethnic, Luo’s experience of being a Christian in secular media spaces, and the ways his friendship with Tim Keller informed his view of Keller’s unique gifts and legacy.   Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Strangers in the Land by Michael Luo Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription to CT magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An American evangelical considers the life of Pope Francis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does it mean to sing about Jesus when the name has been co-opted by politics, performance, and power?  In this episode Dr. Moore welcomes singer-songwriter Jon Guerra to discuss Guerra's new album simply titled "Jesus." Guerra shares how his music serves as devotional art—less Sunday morning worship and more Monday morning prayer—and explains his journey back to the words of Christ after experiences that created distance. Moore and Guerra explore themes of nationalism, church collapse, and finding authentic faith in a politically charged culture. Guerra reflects on his time as a worship leader during the painful public downfall of James MacDonald's ministry, offering honest insights about power, performance, and platform in Christian leadership. The conversation moves through Guerra's creative process, including his work on Terrence Malick's films, and unpacks the countercultural message of songs like "Citizens"—which confronts the marriage of faith and political power. As the child of Cuban immigrants, Guerra also opens up about his fear of scarcity and how it shapes his understanding of Jesus's teachings about treasure and provision. At a time when Jesus's name is often wielded as a tribal symbol, Guerra's music invites listeners to encounter Christ not as a political mascot, but as the One who welcomes immigrants as citizens and calls us to a narrower, and better, way. Join Jon on tour this spring, and listen to Jesus here. Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription to CT magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What’s a Christian, anyway? In our 2025 political environment, terms like evangelical begin to lose the meaning they once held, or they require further refinement and definition. Glenn Packiam’s new book brings a fresh perspective to this conversation. It turns out the answer lies in the Nicene Creed. This year, the Nicene Creed turns 1,700 years old. This ancient work, built from Scripture and the public life of the ancient church, is often considered part of a “dead” spirituality, especially in traditions which put an emphasis on individual experiences with God. However, Russell and Glenn unpack the depth of personal and congregational meaning within the creed and discuss its power to redefine what Christian means in an environment where the term is constantly changing.  Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: What’s a Christian, Anyway? By Glenn Packiam Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We convince ourselves that we can be cruel and nihilistic and Christian all at once. Listen to his most recent newsletter every Monday! Subscribe to Russell’s weekly newsletter here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s time for another books episode. Russell Moore is joined again by Ashley Hales, the former producer of the show and now CT’s editorial director for print, in a discussion about what they’re reading now and about how reading as a practice is necessary and helpful in a windblown world.  What books are you loving? And which books would you be sure to pack if you were planning to be marooned on a desert island? Email us: [email protected].  Books/essays mentioned in this episode: Learning in War-Time by C. S. Lewis War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Superbloom by Nicholas Carr Digital Future in the Rearview Mirror by Andrey Mir Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Silas Marner by George Eliot  Spellbound by Molly Worthen The Theological Imagination by Judith Wolfe Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription to CT magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The death of Hooters holds a message for the church. Listen to his most recent newsletter every Monday! Subscribe to Russell’s weekly newsletter here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What has play got to do with suffering?  Annie F. Downs has built her career on having fun. Her New York Times bestseller titles include That Sounds Fun, Remember God, and 100 Days to Brave. Her new book for kids seems very different from the fun-loving Downs.  Downs explains how the death of her nephew TJ led her to write a children's book to help kids (and grownups) understand suffering and loss at the same time as the love of God.  In this episode, Downs tells us what surprised her about how kids respond to this kind of suffering and what that taught her about getting rid of fake platitudes, about what to do when someone you love is hurting, and about how to genuinely grieve while still recognizing a world of joy, hope, and even fun. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Where Did TJ Go? By Annie F. Downs Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself by Judy Blume Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription to CT magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

American Christians ought to care about how Venezuelan gang members are deported. Listen to his most recent newsletter every Monday! Subscribe to Russell's weekly newsletter here! Do you have questions for Russell Moore? Send them to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“ It may not be until the new heavens and the new earth, but we’re eventually going to know that God had goodness that was behind the dark clouds of our lives.” So says Mark Vroegop, newly appointed president of The Gospel Coalition (TGC) and author of Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy, during his conversation with Russell Moore. Moore and Vroegop talk about the ways TGC has evolved since its founding through leaders such as Tim Keller and Don Carson. They talk about the nature of belief, how trust in Jesus alters our understanding of who we are, and navigating seasons of doubt. Their conversation covers ministry partnerships, vocational decision making, and the importance of deep friendships.  Moore and Vroegop consider what the Psalms have to say about seasons of doubt and grief, the relationship between character and gifting, and trust in the goodness of God. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament by Mark Vroegop Waiting Isn’t a Waste: The Surprising Comfort of Trusting God in the Uncertainties of Life by Mark Vroegop The Gospel Coalition Made for Friendship: The Relationship That Halves Our Sorrows and Doubles Our Joys by Drew Hunter The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription to CT magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell shares how a piece of art showed him he wasn’t thinking big enough about the church. Listen to his most recent newsletter every Monday! Subscribe to Russell's weekly newsletter here! Do you have questions for Russell Moore? Send them to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Time magazine named Stanley Hauerwas “America’s Best Theologian” in 2001, Hauerwas replied, “‘Best’ is not a theological category.” This response encapsulates the work and conversational style of Hauerwas, who joined Moore to discuss his new collection of essays, Jesus Changes Everything: A New World Made Possible. With his signature approach that prompts the audience to wonder if there’s another way to think about a topic, Hauerwas talks about the books that shaped him, how he came to be a theologian, and why he believes that being a Christian is the most interesting thing that could happen to a person. Moore and Hauerwas consider the importance of Christian friendship, the person of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and the life-changing power of the truth. The two offer poignant, practical insights for reclaiming Christian vocabulary and better understanding our lives as narrated by Christ. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Jesus Changes Everything: A New World Made Possible by Stanley Hauerwas Stanley Hauerwas “America’s Best Theologian: Christian Contrarian” The Sun and the Umbrella by Nels F. S. Ferre Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Comedy, Tragedy, and Fairy Tale by Frederick Buechner Discipleship in a World Full of Nazis: Recovering the True Legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Mark Nation Theological Existence To-Day!: (A Plea for Theological Freedom) by Karl Barth Bruderhof Communities “David Brooks on How to Know a Person” War and the American Difference: Theological Reflections on Violence and National Identity by Stanley Hauerwas Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription to CT Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From care for aging parents to concerns about money, life for modern-day Christians can feel, in a word, overwhelming. Russell Moore and Ashley Hales, CT’s editorial director for print, offer words of wisdom and a sense of solidarity with listener questions about all kinds of challenges. They provide practical advice, spiritual comfort, and reasons for hope in family life, social relationships, and society at large. Questions addressed during this episode include: How might Christians think about forgiveness as it relates to encountering people in heaven who harmed us on earth? What are some practical ways to think about living in the tension of being misunderstood, or even gravely sinned against or abused, and not yet having resolution? How should believers respond to seasons of life when demands on their time and energy, such as aging parents, loss of a spouse, and grandchildren, leave them feeling overwhelmed and depleted? How can a husband and wife determine together whether or not they should stay in a certain congregation?  How should Christians think about desiring financial success? How can parents determine and apply technology filters to keep their children safe?  What might the next right step be for a believer who is dating an unbeliever and has crossed intimacy lines that are producing shame?  Could a particular judgment from God come against the American church?  What Scripture passages does Russell return to for encouragement in light of the dechurching phenomenon, increase of misinformation, and rising nationalism around the world?  Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send an email to [email protected]. Resources:  A Fruitful Life: Discovering Jesus’ Invitation in the Sermon on the Mount by Bryce and Ashley Hales “Civility, Calvinism, and the Coming Judgment Day” with Richard Mouw “At My Mother’s Deathbed, I Discovered the Symmetry of a Long Life” by Jen Wilkin “Detoxing, Mapquesting, and Holy Kisses” with Carlos Whittaker Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America by Russell Moore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Morally, the surrender of Ukraine will cost us. The Russell Moore Show is bringing Russell's weekly newsletter to all streaming platforms. Listen to his most recent newsletter every Monday! Subscribe to Russell's weekly newsletter here! Do you have questions for Russell Moore? Send them to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, theologian Russell Moore sits down with acclaimed poet and philosopher David Whyte to explore the terrain where faith meets poetry. Beginning with Whyte’s new book Consolations II, their conversation traverses the landscapes of language, spirituality, and what it means to be fully present in a fractured world. Whyte, whose work bridges the philosophical traditions of the East and West with the everyday struggles of being human, offers profound insights on why poetry serves as more than mere decoration—it becomes essential language for our deepest experiences. Moore—bringing his biblical, theological perspective—and Whyte dialogue about the “conversational nature of reality” that Whyte proposes and discuss how it resonates with and challenges Christian understandings of communion with God. Their discussion moves through territories both intimate and universal: The ways poetry gives language to experiences that resist explanation The nature of courage as vulnerability rather than bravado Navigating anxiety in a world that demands constant performance Approaching death, as a companion or an enemy The surprising spiritual journey that led Whyte from marine zoology to becoming one of our most vital poetic voices Whether the modern world is “disenchanted” and what difference that makes While coming from different spiritual traditions, Moore and Whyte explore together how human experience requires language that opens rather than closes, invites rather than insists. Their conversation models what genuine dialogue across philosophical differences can look like—curious, generous, and alive to mystery. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: David Whyte on On Being with Krista Tippett Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words by David Whyte “The Journey” by David Whyte Pilgrim by David Whyte Consolations II: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words by David Whyte Selected Poems by Thom Gunn and Ted Hughes by Thom Gunn and Ted Hughes The House of Belonging by David Whyte Cosmic Connections: Poetry in the Age of Disenchantment by Charles Taylor “The Opening of Eyes” by David Whyte The Book of Hours by Rainer Marie Rilke Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell shares counsel to a Christian who is discouraged almost to the point of giving up. The Russell Moore Show is bringing Russell's weekly newsletter to all streaming platforms. Listen to his most recent newsletter every Monday! Subscribe to Russell's weekly newsletter here! Do you have questions for Russell Moore? Send them to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In times of profound crisis, where do we turn? How do spiritual practices and Christian wisdom help us navigate life’s most challenging seasons? In this episode, Russell Moore sits down with Westmont College president Gayle Beebe to explore themes from his book The Crucibles That Shape Us. Together, they unpack how moments of intense pressure and uncertainty—whether personal, professional, or spiritual—can become transformative experiences that deepen our faith and character. Drawing from decades of pastoral and educational leadership, Beebe shares insights about facing crossroads with wisdom, courage, and resilience. Moore and Beebe discuss practical ways to maintain spiritual equilibrium during upheaval, the role of community in crisis, and ways to discern God’s presence in our darkest hours. This conversation offers hope and guidance for listeners wrestling with their own crucible moments, and it also explores how Christian formation happens not despite our trials but often through them. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: The Crucibles That Shape Us: Navigating the Defining Challenges of Leadership by Gayle Beebe  Traces of God by Diogenes Allen Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix by Edwin H. Friedman “Four Quartets 1: Burnt Norton” by T. S. Eliot East of Eden by John Steinbeck Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People become who they pretend to be (and why that only works in one direction). The Russell Moore Show is bringing Russell's weekly newsletter to all streaming platforms. Listen to his most recent newsletter every Monday! Subscribe to Russell's weekly newsletter here! Do you have questions for Russell Moore? Send them to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Beyond Bowling Alone. “ Precisely what brings you into communion with the church is not sitting—no matter how good the sermon is—it’s not sitting in an auditorium with 3,000 people,” says Robert Putnam. “It’s connecting with other cobelievers in a small group.”  Robert Putnam, political scientist and author of the cultural phenomenon Bowling Alone, joins Russell Moore to talk about social shifts in how we gather with—and separate from—one another. Putnam and Moore talk about religion, partisanship, and social shifts such as delayed marriage. Their conversation covers loneliness, the increasing number of people who do not identify with any religion, and politicization.  Moore and Putnam consider the importance of coming together, explore the history of communities in America, and encourage listeners with practical steps for cultivating fellowship.  Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy by Robert D. Putnam Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert D. Putnam  Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis by Robert D. Putnam Join or Die “If You Want to Destroy My Sweater, Hold This Thread as I Walk Away”   Christian Smith The Four Loves by C. S. Lewis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One may not expect Russell Moore and Jonathan Rauch, an openly gay atheist, to become friends—much less to be positive influences on one another’s lives and work. But as this conversation shows, this surprising fact is true. The two discuss their perspectives on politics, Christianity, and culture. They talk about their regular gathering on Thursday nights with fellow thinkers and the ways they see fear taking precedence in American churches. Their discussion covers race, gender, and sexuality, as well as Christian nationalism, parallels between the political left and right, and the reasons why Rauch considers forbearance to be a key aspect of liberal democracy. Moore and Rauch consider the “four Ms”—mortality, morality, murder, and miracles—and talk about why Rauch dedicated his new book, Cross Purposes, to two Christian friends who have passed—Tim Keller and Mark McIntosh. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Jonathan Rauch Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy by Jonathan Rauch Brookings Institution The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention Peter Wehner David French Mark A. McIntosh “Let It Be” “U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time” No Compromise Tim Keller Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Walter Strickland didn’t read a book from cover to cover until he was 18 years old. Books—from that first read, The Screwtape Letters, to Strickland’s latest work, Swing Low—have shaped his life. So, too, has the Black church.  Strickland, an author, educator, and pastor, joins Moore to talk about the titles that have formed their experiences as Christians and academics. They consider how slaveholders used biblical texts to defend their actions and weaponized faith against enslaved people. Strickland and Moore observe the ways that God remains faithful to his Word amid oppression and explore the phenomenon of Black worshipers leaving predominantly white churches. They discuss African American theologians, the witness of the Black church, and the five anchors that Black Christianity has contributed to the body of Christ. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Walter Strickland Swing Low, Volume 1: A History of Black Christianity in the United States by Walter Strickland Swing Low, Volume 2: An Anthology of Black Christianity in the United States by Walter Strickland The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis The Decline of African American Theology: From Biblical Faith to Cultural Captivity by Thabiti M. Anyabwile “The Black Church Has Five Theological Anchors” “A Quiet Exodus: Why Black Worshipers Are Leaving White Evangelical Churches” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

 Jesus’ refugee status ought to inform his followers about how to treat imperiled refugees right now. The Russell Moore Show is bringing Russell's weekly newsletter to all streaming platforms. Listen to his most recent newsletter every Monday! Subscribe to Russell's weekly newsletter here! Do you have questions for Russell Moore? Send them to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In December of 2023, journalist and author Tim Alberta joined Russell Moore to discuss the ways that politics have invaded the white evangelical church in recent years. He returns to talk about the election and inauguration of President Donald Trump that have happened since—and to consider what those events mean about the state of American culture. Alberta and Moore talk about numbness, hopelessness, and the lack of persuadability in many Americans. They discuss the effect of social media on righteous indignation and judgmentalism as well as the political exhaustion among wide swaths of Americans. They talk about President Trump’s executive orders, cabinet members, and the possibility of mass deportations. Moore and Alberta describe their reasons for hope and consider what it may look like to build godly community in a time of division. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Tim Alberta “Tim Alberta on the White Evangelical Crisis” The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta “The Most Revealing Moment of a Trump Rally” “Why Democrats Are Losing Hispanic Voters” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cynicism makes sense right now -- and it could cost us our souls. The Russell Moore Show is bringing Russell's weekly newsletter to all streaming platforms. Listen to his most recent newsletter every Monday! Subscribe to Russell's weekly newsletter here! Do you have questions for Russell Moore? Send them to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why has everyone gone insane? It’s a question that makes Russell Moore and Ian Morgan Cron—bestselling author, psychotherapist, Enneagram teacher, and Episcopal priest—laugh, and also one that they approach with wisdom and insight. Moore and Cron talk about the confluence of pressures and stressors in the modern world, the relationship of control to certainty, and varying perspectives on anxiety and depression. They discuss practical actions to take when feeling overwhelmed and dive into the Twelve Steps, which Cron’s new book illuminates as helpful not just for alcoholics but for everyone. Cron and Moore talk about what it means to be addicted, the human desire for relief from pain, and the power of community in the recovery process. Cron sheds light on amends conversations, which book of the Bible each Enneagram type should take to a desert island, and his profound love for God, Scripture, and humankind. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Ian Morgan Cron The Fix: How the Twelve Steps Offer a Surprising Path of Transformation for the Well-Adjusted, the Down-and-Out, and Everyone in Between by Ian Morgan Cron The Enneagram Andrew Peterson “Barth Challenges Bonhoeffer to Return to Germany” Serenity Prayer  “In the Blood” The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis Karl Rahner Addiction & Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions by Gerald G. May Curt Thompson Bill Wilson Alcoholics Anonymous David’s Crown: Sounding the Psalms by Malcolm Guite Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"The secret of all this is that it’s not really a book club; the books are the excuse we give ourselves to make sure we’re all there." Russell says as he shares about the weekly rhythm that changed his life. The Russell Moore Show is bringing Russell's weekly newsletter to all streaming platforms. Listen to his most recent newsletter every Monday! Subscribe to Russell's weekly newsletter here! Do you have questions for Russell Moore? Send them to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former vice president Mike Pence has long said that he is a Christian first and conservative second. As he and Russell Moore discuss politics, presidencies, and partisanship, they dig deep into what that prioritization has meant for Pence throughout his career.  Moore and Pence discuss former president Carter’s funeral, Pence’s relationship with Donald Trump, and how the 48th vice president came to faith in Christ. They talk about Pence’s experiences during the riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and the attacks on September 11, 2001. They consider the upcoming return of President Trump to the Oval Office. Pence shares his perspective on major political issues such as abortion, religious liberty, and international relations. They talk about Pence’s organization, Advancing American Freedom; his hopes for the Republican party; and how Christians can pray for their government leaders.  Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: So Help Me God by Mike Pence Advancing American Freedom “The State Funeral of Former President Jimmy Carter | Special Report” Basic Christianity by John Stott C. S. Lewis Samaritan’s Purse The Reagan Doctrine Never Alone by Amy Grant Click here for a trial subscription at Christianity Today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why former president Jimmy Carter’s eternal state ought to be a warning to the American church (but not in the way some think)  The Russell Moore Show is bringing Russell's weekly newsletter to all streaming platforms. Listen to his most recent newsletter every Monday! Subscribe to Russell's weekly newsletter here! Do you have questions for Russell Moore? Send them to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Content warning: This episode discusses sexual, spiritual, and domestic abuse. Should discussions of the church harming people be kept in-house so the world doesn’t hear about it? No, says Diane Langberg, and there’s a simple reason why: “That would be quite unlike Jesus Christ.” Listen in as Langberg, an international speaker, psychologist, and author on trauma care, joins Moore to discuss her new book, When the Church Harms God’s People. Their conversation covers abuse in institutions and considers why it is different when those institutions are churches. They talk about the importance of churches and homes as havens from harm and how it affects people when they become places of hurt.  Moore and Langberg consider power dynamics, the importance of language that properly names the abuses people have suffered, and a Christian view of women. They provide reason for hope and opportunities for church leaders to love and care for the hurting. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Diane Langberg When the Church Harms God’s People: Becoming Faith Communities That Resist Abuse, Pursue Truth, and Care for the Wounded by Diane Langberg Abuse of Faith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Being able to be here and to tell this story—to weep about it occasionally—that is uplifting because what the story says is: ‘I'm still here. I have survived it. I have joy in my life because I have known such depths of despair.’ That is uplifting.” So says Natasha Trethewey, a Pulitzer Prize winner who has authored several books and served two terms as the Poet Laureate of the United States. Trethewey and Moore discuss their respective familial connections to the state of Mississippi, Hurricane Katrina, and the Gulf Coast. They talk about Trethewey’s lifelong desire to write, her experience as a mixed-race person, and her thoughts on belonging, grief, and faith.  Their conversation welcomes all who long for community, creativity, and clarity. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Natasha Trethewey Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir by Natasha Trethewey Beyond Katrina: A Meditation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast by Natasha Trethewey Native Guard: Poems by Natasha Trethewey Providence by Natasha Trethewey “Pulitzer Prize Winner Trethewey Discusses Poetry Collection” Elizabeth Sewell Often I Am Permitted to Return to a Meadow by Robert Duncan “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” by Julia Ward Howe The House of Being (Why I Write) by Natasha Trethewey A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis Michiko Dead by Jack Gilbert Theories of Time and Space by Natasha Trethewey Cosmic Connections: Poetry in the Age of Disenchantment by Charles Taylor Seamus Heaney Toni Morrison The Sea by John Banville Click here for a trial subscription at Christianity Today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How might Christians respond to family members who don’t believe mental illness is real? Does standing with Israel mean endorsing all of its government’s actions? Is the Enneagram a slippery slope toward engaging with the dark spiritual forces? Listen in as Russell and CT’s editorial director for print, Ashley Hales, respond to these listener questions and more. Their conversation considers the role of Christians in religiously diverse nations and explores what it looks like to live faithfully in a complex world.  Questions addressed during this episode include: How should Christians respond to family members who believe a relative’s mental illness is instead demon possession? What can believers do to model care and connection amid political polarization? Is the Enneagram dangerous? What do we know about heaven—and what is just cultural opinion?  If Christians are free from bondage to sin, why do we still struggle so greatly with temptation? What does it really mean to stand with Israel? How should the Capitol Hill testimonies affirming the existence of extraterrestrial life impact the Christian worldview? Do Christians have the right or responsibility to impose Christian values through laws or governmental power? Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: The Enneagram “Decoding the Enneagram”  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien  Harry Potter Wishful Thinking: A Seeker’s ABC by Frederick Buechner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why your anxiety needs an apocalypse this Christmas. The Russell Moore Show is bringing Russell's weekly newsletter to all streaming platforms. Listen to his most recent newsletter every Monday! Subscribe to Russell's weekly newsletter here! Do you have questions for Russell Moore? Send them to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As a pastor, author, and speaker, Rich Villodas has spent a lot of time studying the Scriptures. Over the years, he’s realized what he treasures about them:  “ I love that the Bible is not this collection of sanitized, holy people,” he said. “It’s a collection of broken, frail people who are made righteous by a goodness outside of themselves.” Villodas and Moore discuss that righteousness and goodness through the lens of the Sermon on the Mount. They talk about the type of life Jesus calls his people to live and consider what it looks like to engage with the emotions of our loved ones. The two converse about the prescriptive power of the Psalms, consider the role of forgiveness, and explore the nature of resentment as they cover Jesus’ statements about anger and lust. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Rich Villodas The Narrow Path: How the Subversive Way of Jesus Satisfies Our Souls by Rich Villodas Good and Beautiful and Kind: Becoming Whole in a Fractured World by Rich Villodas The Deeply Formed Life: Five Transformative Values to Root Us in the Way of Jesus by Rich Villodas “Christianity Today’s 2021 Book Awards” Matthew: A Commentary. Volume 1: The Christbook, Matthew 1–12 by Frederick Dale Bruner “Bitter-sweet” by George Herbert Don’t Forgive Too Soon: Extending the Two Hands That Heal by Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabricant Linn, and Matthew Linn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Russell Moore Show is bringing Russell's weekly newsletter to all streaming platforms. Listen to his most recent newsletter every Monday! Subscribe to Russell's weekly newsletter here! Do you have questions for Russell Moore? Send them to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the annual best-of-books episode of The Russell Moore Show! Former show producer and current editorial director of print Ashley Hales joins Moore to talk about his favorite reads of the year. Hales identifies three themes in Moore’s book list—the importance of outsiders in communities, ways forward in our historical moment, and the pursuit of the beautiful as a humanizing mechanism.  **Special Event: Join Russell Moore, Ashley Hales, Bonnie Kristian, and Matt Reynolds on YouTube for the CT Book Awards Live Event on December 12, 2024, at 8:00 p.m. EST. Book of the Year winner Gavin Ortlund and Award of Merit winner Brad East will share the inspiration behind their books and the big ideas that animate them as they answer questions from CT staff and subscribers.** Russell’s top ten books (in alphabetical order by author): Another Day: Sabbath Poems, 2013–2023 by Wendell Berry I Cheerfully Refuse: A Novel by Leif Enger  Willie, Waylon, and the Boys: How Nashville Outsiders Changed Country Music Forever by Brian Fairbanks Ghosted: An American Story by Nancy French The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt The Crisis of Narration by Byung-Chul Han, translated by Daniel Steuer  The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C. S. Lewis & J. R. R. Tolkien by John Hendrix Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart: What Art Teaches Us About the Wonder and Struggle of Being Alive by Russ Ramsey Cosmic Connections: Poetry in the Age of Disenchantment by Charles Taylor Mere Christian Hermeneutics: Transfiguring What It Means to Read the Bible Theologically by Kevin J. Vanhoozer  Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: CT Book Awards Live Event “The Beautiful Orthodoxy Book of the Year” “Christianity Today’s 2019 Book of the Year” The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt Moby-Dick by Herman Melville Owen Barfield A Secular Age by Charles Taylor Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ by Fleming Rutledge Poiéma by Michael Card Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose by Flannery O’Connor The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler by John Hendrix Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander by Thomas Merton James by Percival Everett Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“You have to read in order to develop your mind and develop your ability to think,” Peggy Noonan said. “It’s no good to say, ‘Oh, I can’t help that I was born in 1990 and everybody has a phone.’ Too bad. Put it down.” For decades, Noonan has been a Wall Street Journal columnist and author, known for her Pulitzer Prize–winning commentary on politics and culture. She and Moore reflect on Noonan’s career both in journalism and as a speech writer in the Reagan Administration. They talk about Noonan’s faith, her love for Christian history, and her long-standing relationship to Roman Catholicism. The two discuss sexual scandals in both church and government, the power of the written word, and the way artists see the world. They consider the concerning potential of artificial intelligence, the value of reading in a world overrun by technology, and the importance of critical thinking in our modern political culture. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Peggy Noonan A Certain Idea of America: Selected Writings by Peggy Noonan Walker Percy The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton We Don’t Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland by Fintan O’Toole Pascal’s Pensées “How to Find Grace After Disgrace” Abbey of Gethsemani Friends Divided: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson by Gordon S. Wood The Shadow War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy “The godfather of AI: why I left Google”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“ Two of the devil's biggest lies are ‘You’re the only one who struggles with this kind of stuff’ and ‘You can’t tell anyone.’ Sin thrives in that kind of dark secrecy.” So says author and apologist Sam Allberry during this conversation with Russell Moore. The two discuss Allberry’s new book, One with My Lord, and consider various ways people interpret the Bible’s perspective on sexuality. They talk about gender identity, marriage, and what it means when God says it is not good for humans to be alone. Allberry and Moore consider the importance of friendship, the value of community, and the impact of social media on mental health.  They also discuss Allberry’s experience with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM), the Billy Graham rule, and fostering organizational cultures of transparency. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Is God Anti-Gay? And Other Questions About Jesus, the Bible, and Same-Sex Sexuality by Sam Allberry What God Has to Say about Our Bodies: How the Gospel Is Good News for Our Physical Selves by Sam Allberry Why Does God Care Who I Sleep With? by Sam Allberry 7 Myths about Singleness by Sam Allberry One with My Lord: The Life-Changing Reality of Being in Christ by Sam Allberry The Moral Vision of the New Testament: A Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics by Richard B. Hays The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ by Fleming Rutledge “Interview with Sam Allberry || What Can We Learn from the Ravi Zacharias Scandals?” “Dallas pastor removed indefinitely due to 'inappropriate relationship' with woman, church says” “Sex Scandals and the Evangelical Mind” The Whole Christ: Legalism, Antinomianism, & Gospel Assurance―Why the Marrow Controversy Still Matters by Sinclair B. Ferguson “Me and Bobby McGee” by Kris Kristofferson The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How gallows humor is what we need right now to overcome cynicism. The Russell Moore Show is bringing Russell's weekly newsletter to all streaming platforms. Listen to his most recent newsletter every Monday! Subscribe to Russell's weekly newsletter here! Do you have questions for Russell Moore? Send them to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nancy Guthrie has taught the Scriptures, written about them, and searched them for answers when tragedy struck her family. “ The Bible is the one thing in the world that the closer scrutiny you give to it,” she said, “the more it holds up.” Guthrie and Moore discuss Guthrie’s new book, Saved: Experiencing the Promise of the Book of Acts; maintaining attention while studying Scripture; and interacting with the biblical text. They talk about praying with the Bible in hand, avoiding the stereotypes often projected onto female authors, and engaging with difficult passages. They consider what it looks like for modern Christians to follow God’s command not to call common what God has called clean and what it means that suffering is not the end of our stories—glory is.  Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Saved: Experiencing the Promise of the Book of Acts by Nancy Guthrie The One Year Book of Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament by Nancy Guthrie “It All Turns on Affection” Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament with Nancy Guthrie Nancy Guthrie “Preaching Christ in a Postmodern World” “Help Me Teach the Bible” The Gospel Coalition Women’s Conference Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Note: This episode was recorded before the presidential election. “We don’t live in a world of ideals right now.” So says Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic. He and Moore, who recorded this episode on the anniversary of the October 7th Hamas attacks on Israel, discuss the fraught state of both domestic and global politics. They consider cultural climates on college campuses and social media, civil disobedience, and leadership. They also talk about military service in light of Goldberg’s new book, On Heroism, and talk about perspectives on masculinity in light of American culture and politics.  Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Jeffrey Goldberg The Atlantic Washington Week with The Atlantic Prisoners: A Story of Friendship and Terror by Jeffrey Goldberg On Heroism: McCain, Milley, Mattis, and the Cowardice of Donald Trump by Jeffrey Goldberg “The Unreality of Columbia’s ‘Liberated Zone’”  “Stoicism in the South”   Seven Days in May The Overton Window Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Civility is not the whole story in life,” Richard Mouw said. “But we often take incivility much too far.”  Online, in face-to-face relationships, and even at church, this statement has proven true time and again in recent years. Mouw—author, theologian, and former president of Fuller Seminary—says that in a world of ridicule, Christians can still be people who honor the humanity of others. Mouw and Moore discuss political division, patriotism in worship services, and the powerful draw of specific candidates to certain demographics. They talk about the rise in female leadership, the sense of lostness many men feel amid cultural shifts, and the idea that bitterness and anger are often forms of grief. Mouw and Moore talk about what Calvinism can bring to the church today, whether they believe they’ll be surprised by the faces they see in eternity, and how to live in light of the kingdom. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Richard J. Mouw Uncommon Decency: Christian Civility in an Uncivilized World by Richard J. Mouw Divine Generosity: The Scope of Salvation in Reformed Theology by Richard J. Mouw Wendell Berry on the providence of God Nicholas Wolterstorff “Sphere Sovereignty” by Abraham Kuyper James E. Bradley “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When will all the craziness be over?  It’s the question that seems to be on every American’s mind, and one that many have asked both Russell Moore and George Packer, author and staff writer at The Atlantic. Moore and Packer discuss the exhaustion and rage that have become common in our politics. They discuss partisanship, profitability, and pessimism. They talk about the historical events that have led to our current realities, the effects of secularization on culture, and what it might take for Packer to believe there is a God—and why Packer still, despite all of the chaos, can’t forgo his hope for humanity. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: George Packer "What Will Become of American Civilization? Conspiracism and Hyper-Partisanship in the Nation’s Fastest-Growing City” by George Packer at The Atlantic The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer The Assassins’ Gate: America in Iraq by George Packer Blood of the Liberals by George Packer Facing Unpleasant Facts: Narrative Essays by George Orwell, compiled and with an introduction by George Packer Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century by George Packer David French Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt Montaigne’s Tower Click here for a trial subscription at Christianity Today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Carlos Whittaker is an author, podcaster, and global speaker who is backed by, as he puts it, “the power of a massive Instafamilia.” Perhaps it’s no wonder, then, that when he decided to spend 23 hours a day in silence at a Benedictine monastery, he experienced physical detoxification symptoms—including heart palpitations.  Whittaker and Moore talk about their experiences of spending time screen-free and how it has changed them. They discuss the relational focus made possible by time apart from devices and the transformative effects of communal living. They consider how Christians engage with time, why it’s important to savor experiences, and how believers might reclaim the practice of solitude.  Ultimately, they speak to the potential for a healthy relationship to technology and discuss what it may look like to pursue it. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Carlos Whittaker Pascal’s Penseés  Reconnected: How 7 Screen-Free Weeks with Monks and Amish Farmers Helped Me Recover the Lost Art of Being Human by Carlos Whittaker Saint Andrew’s Abbey Henri Nouwen “London Taxi Drivers and Bus Drivers: A Structural MRI and Neuropsychological Analysis” Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial subscription at Christianity Today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

​​“There’s something special about music. There’s something uniquely powerful about the way music connects with our brains and our memories.” So says singer-songwriter and creative force behind Slugs & Bugs, Randall Goodgame, on this episode of The Russell Moore Show. Moore and Goodgame talk about the importance of music for all ages, the joy of creativity, and Goodgame’s new project, Scripture Hymnal. They discuss the remarkable value of memorizing the Bible through songs and how calling verses to mind can give us hope, wisdom, and peace in challenging moments. Their conversation covers reading the Bible with children, cultivating artistic gifts, and finding joy in the body of Christ. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Slugs & Bugs Slugs & Bugs & Lullabies Andrew Peterson Scripture Hymnal Ellie Holcomb Taylor Leonhardt Ben Shive The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin John-Mark McGaha The Practice: Shipping Creative Work by Seth Godin Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the quarterly books episode of The Russell Moore Show! Tune in for a discussion of what Russell Moore and Ashley Hales, the former producer of the show and now CT’s editorial director for print, have been reading lately. The two discuss the themes that emerge in their reads, from power to technology to deconstruction. Their conversation covers nonfiction, fiction, and poetry—with shout-outs to some television and music as well.   Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Ashley Hales Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World by Anne Applebaum Enlightenment: A Novel by Sarah Perry The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg Another Day: Sabbath Poems 2013–2023 by Wendell Berry Break, Blow, Burn, & Make: A Writer's Thoughts on Creation by E. Lily Yu The Slow Road North: How I Found Peace in an Improbable Country by Rosie Schaap “Rainn Wilson Tells Me Where I’m Wrong on Spirituality” Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss Willie, Waylon, and the Boys: How Nashville Outsiders Changed Country Music Forever by Brian Fairbanks Confessions by Saint Augustine The Sparrow: A Novel by Mary Doria Russell Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu Aegypt by John Crowley The Midnight Library by Matt Haig Piranesi by Susanna Clarke The Life Impossible: A Novel by Matt Haig The Grey Wolf: A Novel by Louise Penny Charles Taylor J. R. R. Tolkien Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why do we struggle to rest in the love of God? Perhaps, says Steve Cuss, it’s because we’ve never “wrestled to the ground our own preconceived notions.” On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Moore and Cuss dig into some of those preconceived notions about God and Christianity. They talk about fear and anxiety, persistent sin, and addiction. Their conversation covers the differences between a preventative and a redemptive gospel, the power of community as an antidote to despair, and how to determine when a failure is an inevitable part of life or when it is a sign that something is wrong. Moore and Cuss discuss the five false needs in every human, what it looks like to give our anxiety to God, and the great hope of the thief on the cross. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Abbey of Gethsemani  The Silence of God The Expectation Gap: The Tiny, Vast Space between Our Beliefs & Experience of God by Steve Cuss Being Human Holy the Firm by Annie Dillard Herbert McCabe Managing Leadership Anxiety episode “Dr. Andrew Newberg” Frederick Buechner “‘I Wish You Bad Luck.’ Read Supreme Court Justice John Roberts’ Unconventional Speech to His Son’s Graduating Class” “The Man on the Middle Cross Said I Can Come” Philip Yancey Click here for a trial subscription at Christianity Today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Does the world seem crazy because we’re in an unusually tense time? Or is this just … life? Maybe it’s a little bit of both.  On this episode, Bible teacher and author Jen Wilkin talks about the modern era in light of Revelation. She and Russell Moore talk about how the apocalyptic book has been misinterpreted and misused, how Christians can recognize when they have lost their first love, and the role of persecution in the life of the church. Their conversation covers the blessings of generations caring for one another, the hope of the new creation, and how the references to prior books of the Bible seen in Revelation might feel a bit like watching Shrek.  Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Jen Wilkin Revelation: Eternal King, Everlasting Kingdom by Jen Wilkin Shrek  Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Content warning: This episode discusses mental affliction, self-harm, and suicide.  The United States surgeon general says there should be a tobacco-style warning for social media. Why? Because the mental health crisis among young people is reaching seriously harmful levels. On this episode, associate professor, author, and cofounder and editor in chief of Christ and Pop Culture Alan Noble joins Russell Moore to discuss what such a warning may look like and the modern state of affairs in the public square. Noble and Moore talk about Noble’s latest book, On Getting Out of Bed, and the differences between mental affliction and mental illness. The conversation covers the importance of friendship, embracing life as an act of worship, and how men can embody healthy masculinity.  Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: “U.S. surgeon general calls for tobacco-style warning labels for social media” Alan’s #NobleWords Memes Christ and Pop Culture And Campaign Disruptive Witness: Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age by Alan Noble You Are Not Your Own: Belonging to God in an Inhuman World by Alan Noble On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden and Gift of Living by Alan Noble Mariner: A Voyage with Samuel Taylor Coleridge by Malcolm Guite Resonance: A Sociology of Our Relationship to the World by Hartmut Rosa Click here for a trial subscription at Christianity Today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Science should be a quest to discover truth. Christian faith means following the one who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. This pair of facts defines the life and work of this episode’s guest, former director of the National Institutes of Health, Francis Collins. He and Moore discuss COVID-19, conspiracies, and the creator God. Their conversation draws upon Collins’ new book, The Road to Wisdom, and highlights Christian hope for perspective amidst polarization. Collins and Moore also talk about Artificial Intelligence, the power of the Sermon on the Mount, and their common friend, the late Tim Keller. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest(s) include: BioLogos Human Genome Project The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust by Francis Collins The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI by Ray Kurzweil Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis  Democracy and Solidarity: On the Cultural Roots of America's Political Crisis by James Davison Hunter The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate by John H. Walton The Advancement of Learning by Francis Bacon The Resurrection of the Son of God by N.T. Wright Promised Land Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How can Christians act with integrity, fortitude, and gospel hope in a volatile political season? That’s the question that David French, Curtis Chang, Ashley Hales, and Russell Moore consider on this special episode. Recorded live at a spring The After Party event in Washington, DC, the first half of the episode features a live panel discussion. In the second half, Moore, Chang, and French consider audience questions on practical engagement for Christians. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest(s) include: The After Party David French Curtis Chang Ashley Hales “Firm Centers and Soft Edges” The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Do we believe in redemption?  That’s the question Latasha Morrison, author and founder of Be the Bridge, encourages listeners to consider. On this episode, Morrison and Moore discuss the issues of race, culture, and history’s impact on the present. They talk about what it’s like to listen, lament, and act on behalf of the oppressed—surrendering our work to the Lord as we walk the path of justice, righteousness, and reconciliation. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Brown Faces, White Spaces: Confronting Systemic Racism to Bring Healing and Restoration by Latasha Morrison Be the Bridge: Pursuing God's Heart for Racial Reconciliation by Latasha Morrison Be the Bridge Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible by E. Randolph Richards and Richard James Misreading Scripture with Individualist Eyes: Patronage, Honor, and Shame in the Biblical World by E. Randolph Richards and Richard James Jemar Tisby “Meet 115 Changemakers Working With Facebook To Bring The World Together” Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story by Ruby Bridges Ta-Nehisi Coates  Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Could the Constitution provide the antidote to polarization? Yuval Levin thinks so. The director of social, cultural, and constitutional studies at the American Enterprise Institute, Levin is the author of a new book titled American Covenant. In it, and during this episode, Levin identifies the reasons people feel as though America is at a breaking point and meaningful opportunities for reuniting. He and Moore consider why fragmentation is happening, the naiveté of cynicism, and ways the party system has—and hasn’t—worked well for the United States. They discuss partisanship, the potential upsides of ranked-choice voting in primaries, and the importance of seeing one another not primarily as political beings but as human beings. Yuval Levin’s work: American Covenant, How the Constitution Unified Our Nation—and Could Again by Yuval Levin American Enterprise Institute National Affairs The New Atlantis National Review The New York Times Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J. D. Vance “My Unsettling Interview with Steve Bannon” by David Brooks The West Wing: “Night Five” The Sword and the Trowel by Charles Spurgeon Click here for a trial subscription at Christianity Today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

American politics have hit a fever pitch.  In the wake of events such as the assassination attempt on former president Trump, President Biden’s choice not to run for reelection, and the announcement of the Harris-Walz ticket, we’re revisiting a fan-favorite episode on political polarization. This conversation with Elizabeth Neumann, the former assistant secretary for counterterrorism and threat prevention at the Department of Homeland Security, covers radicalization, online discourse, and where to find hope.  Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Ben Sasse, Them Alan Noble, You Are Not Your Own Life After Hate Parents for Peace Moonshot's Monthly Bulletin SCREEN Hate: National findings report Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism Center for Strategic and International Studies Report: Pushed to Extremes: Domestic Terrorism amid Polarization and Protest Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Was Richard Nixon a Christian? As America approaches the 50th anniversary of Watergate, Russell Moore welcomes Daniel Silliman, Christianity Today news editor and the author of One Lost Soul: Richard Nixon’s Search for Salvation to the podcast. Silliman and Moore discuss the dissonance between Nixon’s Quaker heritage and legacy as the president who executed the Vietnam War. They also examine the former president’s relationship with CT founder, Billy Graham, and how it influenced his understanding of God and his political rhetoric. Tune in for an episode that reflects on history while speaking pointedly to the present. Resources mentioned in this episode include: One Lost Soul: Richard Nixon’s Search for Salvation by Daniel Silliman Okie from Muskogee by Merle Haggard “Checkers Speech” by Richard Nixon Years of Upheaval by Henry Kissinger Frost/Nixon Click here for a trial subscription at Christianity Today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s a frenzy out there. As America draws closer to the presidential election, the cultural sense of division and disquiet only grows. On this episode, Russell Moore and producer Ashley Hales respond to listener questions, exploring how Christians can stay grounded in tumultuous times. Questions addressed in this episode include: What practices or rules ground Russell personally and communally? How can Christians compassionately engage with people who hold a conspiratorial worldview? How might church leaders guard themselves against lust for power? What has Russell reflected upon since his episode with Ryan Burge about the future of the American church?What does it look like to teach people—especially children—to think well? What can the church do to provide young men with a meaningful place and voice? How might a Christian respond to unethical behavior in the workplace? How can Christians be more confident that heaven is real? Resources mentioned in this episode include: Inside Out 2 Daniel Patterson “Predictions About the Future of the Christian Church” How to Think: A Survival Guide for a World at Odds by Alan Jacobs Frederick Buechner“ A Christian Response to Gen Z’s Mental Health Crisis” The Weight of Glory by C. S. Lewis Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

**Special Note: Christianity Today will unveil our new redesign on August 12th! Don’t miss out—click here for a trial subscription.** "We need to do a better job as Christians of talking about the body in ways that valorize creation—not just criticizing people who want to do things we think are morally wrong, but helping them understand what God made right.” So says professor, author, and theologian Michael Horton on this episode of The Russell Moore Show. He and Moore discuss Horton’s new book, Shaman and Sage: The Roots of “Spiritual but Not Religious” in Antiquity. Their conversation explores the growing cultural attraction to Wicca, why people long for a connection to the mystical, and the goodness of our created flesh. They talk about technological advances that attempt to transcend the body, how we arrived in a cultural moment where people are spiritual but not religious, and what it looks like to engage with people who don’t believe there are any answers to the universe. Tune in for an episode that encourages Christians to understand how the goodness of the gospel transforms our entire beings—body and soul alike. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Michael Horton Sola Media White Horse Inn Shaman and Sage: The Roots of Spiritual but Not Religious in Antiquity by Michael Horton The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey with Carole C. Carlson The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology by Ray Kurzweil The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI by Ray Kurzweil Transcendent ManYuval Noah Harari Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode was recorded before the attempted assassination of former President Trump. What is it that binds Americans together as a nation?  That’s the question that Russell Moore and his guest, sociologist and professor James Davison Hunter, address on this episode of The Russell Moore Show. With political violence on the rise in America and around the world, Hunter helps us understand the roots of the crisis. They discuss the differences between consensus and solidarity while pondering how humans tend to come alive in times of disaster yet the COVID-19 pandemic produced opposite effects. Their conversation spans history, politics, and religion as Moore and Hunter observe the current state of affairs within Evangelicalism.  Hunter and Moore talk about the lineage of culture wars and shifts in Christian presence in higher education. Hunter explains why he talks about culture in terms of weather and climate as the two consider hotly contested social issues such as homosexuality, marijuana, and abortion.  Tune in for an episode that asks deep questions, navigates complex answers, and finds reason to hope. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Democracy and Solidarity: On the Cultural Roots of America’s Political Crisis by James Davison Hunter Culture Wars: The Struggle To Control The Family, Art, Education, Law, And Politics In America by James Davison Hunter  To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World by James Davison Hunter Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture “Trump’s Would-Be Assassin and the Twisted Quest for Human Glory” Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Probably doomed and perplexingly merry.” That’s how Leif Enger describes one of the characters in his new novel, I Cheerfully Refuse. While the story brings words like dystopian and apocalyptic to mind, it bears witness to a deep sense of hope and even optimism. How and why? That’s the topic of this episode of The Russell Moore Show featuring Enger.  Moore and Enger talk about what inspired I Cheerfully Refuse, including classic tales like The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. They talk about how Enger explores despair in fiction and the real world, the nuances of suicidal behavior, and how to combat the unbearable overwhelm caused by a 24-hour news cycle. They discuss Enger’s writing process, how religion emerges in his life and books, and where the two differ in their understanding of evangelism. Tune in for a gracious, rich episode that turns our eyes toward the light that the darkness will not overcome. Resources mentioned in this episode include: I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger Leif Enger The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis “A Weird, Wonderful Conversation with Kim Stanley Robinson” “The Story of Orpheus and Eurydice” Walker Percy Garrison Keillor David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Zero at the Bone: Fifty Entries Against Despair by Christian Wiman “Clergy on the Rocks” The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There's an unintentional thread that runs through this quarterly books episode: apocalyptic themes. "That probably tells you what my headspace is right now,” says Russell Moore. Later, he adds, “There is a reckoning in these books.”  On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Moore and producer Ashley Hales talk about books, authors, and storytelling. They discuss what draws readers to fateful accounts and trace such tales from the Psalms up to new releases. Their reads span from poetry to prose and sermons to songs. Tune in for an episode that is as honest about the darkness as it is certain of the light. Books and resources mentioned in this episode include: I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger The Faithful Spy, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and the Plot to Kill Hitler by John Hendricks The Crisis of Narration by Byung-Chul Han The Doors of the Sea: Where Was God in the Tsunami? by David Bentley Hart The Message in the Bottle: How Queer Man Is, How Queer Language Is, and What One Has to Do with the Other by Walker Percy Wrestling with God: The Meditations of Richard Marius edited by Nancy Grisham Anderson Praying with the Psalms: A Year of Daily Prayers and Reflections on the Words of David by Eugene Peterson The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky “The Working of the Spirit”  “God Is Always Doing 10,000 Things in Your Life”  Martin Luther: The Christian between God and Death by Richard Marius Richard Mouw “Dr. Russell Moore on the Power of Prayer” “Eugene Peterson – Answering God” The Songs of Jesus: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Psalms by Timothy Keller Mariner: A Voyage with Samuel Taylor Coleridge by Malcolm Guite The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Other Poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Aegypt by John Crowley Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“There is so much grace.”  That’s what Melissa B. Kruger, Bible teacher, author of several books including Parenting with Hope, and vice president of discipleship programming at The Gospel Coalition wants families with teens to know. Not only that, it's what she hopes all who care about the next generation will bear in mind. On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Kruger shares insights gained from her years of raising three now-adult children. She talks about the importance of emphasizing relationships with Jesus and one another over a formulaic approach to faith or parenting. Moore and Kruger discuss practical issues in teen life, including mental health concerns, smartphone usage, and how families may be unintentionally raising young people to be “curated…rather than dearly beloved.”  Kruger and Moore offer hope for families that are struggling and encourage parents to think about preparing their children to encounter risks in the real world with wisdom and hope. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Melissa B. Kruger The Gospel Coalition Parenting with Hope: Raising Teens for Christ in a Secular Age by Melissa B. Kruger “Jonathan Haidt’s Way Forward for an Anxious Generation”  "An Update to The Anxious Generation with Jonathan Haidt" Reformed Theological Seminary The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids by Madeline Levine, Ph.D.  The Gift of Good Land: Further Essays Cultural and Agricultural by Wendell Berry  Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“That is one nutty hospital.” So says Bill Murray’s character, Jeff Slater, in the 1982 film Tootsie—and, effectively, so say many listeners of The Russell Moore Show when they reach out with questions or comments about the state of society and politics today. America is trying to recover from the physical, emotional, and economic effects of COVID-19 while simultaneously barreling toward an election season that is particularly rife with discord.  On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, we’re bringing together clips from four past episodes that provide, as Moore puts it, “some counsel of sanity in really crazy times.” Listeners hear from Jen Wilkin on unfair pay for women in churches and Beth Moore on how abuse has affected her view of God as a father. Yuval Levin speaks to what we can do as the institutions around us crumble and the late Tim Keller reminds us that we can both claim the power of forgiveness and seek justice. Tune in for an episode that offers focus, encouragement, and hope for weathering the days to come. This episode features clips from the following episodes of The Russell Moore Show: “Beth Moore Speaks Out” “Jen Wilkin on Women in the Church” “Yuval Levin on What Christians Can Learn from Religious Minorities” “Tim Keller Says Forgiveness Is Key to Christian Witness” Resources mentioned in this episode include:  Tootsie “Honor Thy Church Mother—with Wages” The Westminster Confession of Faith All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir by Beth Moore American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation―and Could Again by Yuval Levin Exclusion and Embrace, Revised and Updated: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation by Miroslav Volf A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems, 1979-1997 by Wendell Berry The Diary of a Country Priest: A Novel by Georges Bernanos Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today  Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper  Host: Russell Moore  Producer: Ashley Hales  Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps  Video producer: Abby Egan  Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“In this season of my life, I’m not concerned with ego. I’m just trying to figure out how to serve and how to do the right things.” So says four-time Grammy-award-winning rapper Lecrae on this episode of The Russell Moore Show. This lack of concern with ego hasn’t always been easy. Lecrae, whose two most recent Grammy wins occurred this year, shares that he had to spend a lot of time learning that God is the one who determines who he is. He and Moore discuss imposter syndrome, performance, and comparison. Their conversation covers anxiety, depression, and how God enters into our dark moments. Lecrae and Moore talk about what deconstructing really means. They also consider how Western exceptionalism arises in Christian spaces, including a reckoning with lauded historical theologians who were slaveholders. They also talk about how Lecrae views the music industry, the importance of close friends when fame is part of your life, and what it looks like to live as though death has no power over us. Resources mentioned in this episode include:  Lecrae Church Clothes 4 “Your Power” I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger God Gave Rock and Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music by Leah Payne “W.W. Jay-Z?”  “Underneath the Door” Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today  Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper  Host: Russell Moore  Producer: Ashley Hales  Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps  Video producer: Abby Egan  Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Carolyn Weber didn’t have a dependable earthly father, so she had no intention of trusting a heavenly one. As a hardworking, intellectual agnostic, she decided to read the Bible from front to back so she could show her Christian friends how ridiculous their beliefs were. Instead, she found that the Bible made sense to her. Not only that, but it drew her to the person of Jesus.  On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Weber talks about her personal story of conversion and how it led to her memoir, Surprised by Oxford, and the resulting film. She and Moore talk about the influence of C.S. Lewis on both Weber and modern Christianity, the power of literature, and how fiction can help us develop a moral imagination. They discuss poetry, philosophy, and prayer, considering the many beautiful ways God reveals himself to us. Resources mentioned in this episode include:  Carolyn Weber Surprised by Oxford: A Memoir by Carolyn Weber Surprised by Oxford (film) Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien Life Is a Miracle: An Essay Against Modern Superstition by Wendell Berry “Surprised by Joy” by William Wordsworth The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin by Beatrix Potter Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today  Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper  Host: Russell Moore  Producer: Ashley Hales  Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps  Video producer: Abby Egan  Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Every day is full of small decisions, and rarely do we think of them as having great consequences. But if you ask today’s guest, Brian Klaas, they very well might. On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Moore invites Klass—a political scientist, contributing writer at The Atlantic, and associate professor—to tell him where he is wrong on the nature of the universe. Klaas explains why he is a determinist and how that belief system has both similarities and differences to believing in a personal God. The two discuss the high level of pop culture interest in science fiction and the concept of a multiverse. Their conversation covers politics and power, physics and free will, and what reforming broken systems may look like. Resources mentioned in this episode include:  Brian Klaas Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters by Brian Klaas Power Corrupts  Peter Kreeft Dark Matter: A Novel by Blake Crouch Dark Matter Frederick Buechner Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us by Brian Klaas Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today  Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper  Host: Russell Moore  Producer: Ashley Hales  Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps  Video producer: Abby Egan  Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What will the next several decades of American Christianity look like? Are the factors that led to the decline of mainline church attendance the same as those leading to decreased interest in evangelical congregations? Why are Gen Z women leaving religion at higher rates than their male counterparts?  These are the questions that Russell Moore and Ryan Burge—author, professor, and writer of Graphs about Religion Substack—address in this episode. They consider shifts in the Southern Baptist Convention, the relationship of politics to religious participation, and whether or not churches are expected to close by the thousands in the years to come. And they remind listeners of what it looks like not only to speak the gospel but to live it as members of a community that welcomes others, volunteers in meaningful ways, and embodies the beauty of what the church can be. Resources mentioned in this episode include:  The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going by Ryan Burge Graphs about Religion Billy Graham  Dobbs v. Jackson Obergefell “Young Women Are Leaving Church in Unprecedented Numbers” “Religion Has Become a Luxury Good” Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert D. Putnam Asbury University Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today  Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper  Host: Russell Moore  Producer: Ashley Hales  Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps  Video producer: Abby Egan  Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“You have a bunch of callings, and they’re just natural, ordinary things that God uses to accomplish spiritual and natural things. Have fun. Flourish in those. And do good in the world.” So says Grammy-nominated and Dove-winning hip-hop artist Flame on this episode of The Russell Moore Show, which features a conversation about music, theology, and journeying with Jesus. Moore explains that while this isn’t a “tell me where I’m wrong” episode, he hopes it will provide a helpful angle to the “deconstruction” discussion—one that considers whether changing our minds about theological beliefs can be an act of faithfulness. They consider spirituality and stability, connection and community, and tendencies among theological tribes. Flame explains what happens when we reduce Christianity to a “moral improvement program,” highlights the power of forgiveness, and considers the role of confession and absolution in the life of the believer. From thoughts on baptism and Communion to rap albums and biographies, this episode has something for all who want to understand who they are in Christ and what it looks like to worship him. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Flame / Extra Nos Academy Freedom Lessons Forward  Our World Redeemed Extra Nos: Discovering Grace Outside Myself by Flame “Scattered Tulips” Commentary on Romans (Luther Classic Commentaries) by Martin Luther Concordia Seminary Song lyrics used with permission of the artist. Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does it mean that all life matters to God? That’s the question that Russell Moore and his guests—musician and producer Charlie Peacock and writer Andi Ashworth—consider on this episode of The Russell Moore Show. The couple cofounded Art House America together and approach the conversation as artists and makers, exploring what it looks like to lead with empathy and love of neighbor. They talk about what it looks like to create as though the world is watching, how to model the character of Jesus, and the difference between being a jerk and being bold. Their conversation covers Peacock and Ashworth’s new book, Why Everything That Doesn't Matter, Matters So Much, and why hospitality is essential to Christian life. They talk about art, music, and how Jesus draws us to himself. Tune in for an episode that testifies to God’s faithfulness to weave our stories into the greatest story of all. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Why Everything That Doesn't Matter, Matters So Much: The Way of Love in a World of Hurt by Charlie Peacock and Andi Ashworth Francis and Edith Schaeffer John Coltrane Flannery O’Connor Douglas McKelvey Calvin University Steve Taylor Covenant Seminary L’Abri Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Novelist and short story writer Flannery O’Connor once said her life was too boring for a biographer—all she did was write and feed chickens. And yet, nearly 100 years after she was born, O’Connor’s life and faith are explored in Wildcat, a new film from actor, writer, and director Ethan Hawke of Training Day, First Reformed, and Dead Poets Society fame. On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Hawke and Moore discuss what compelled Hawke to cowrite Wildcat with Shelby Gaines. They talk about how O’Connor’s work connected Hawke to his mother and, later, to his daughter Maya, who plays O’Connor in the film. Moore and Hawke explore O’Connor’s forcefulness and faith. They discuss the joys and challenges of working with family, how audiences are engaging with the religious elements in Wildcat, and Hawke's attraction to exploring issues of faith in art. And they talk about the meaning of creative work, institutions, and relationships in a fraught era. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Wildcat Ethan Hawke Maya Hawke Shelby Gaines "‘Wildcat’ Is as Unsettling as Flannery O’Connor Would Have Wanted" The Violent Bear It Away by Flannery O’Connor A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor Pierre Teilhard de Chardin First Reformed The Good Lord Bird Flannery O’Connor’s Why Do the Heathen Rage?: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Work in Progress by Jessica Hooten Wilson “A South Without Myths” by Alice Walker “Why did Flannery O’Connor detest ‘Gone with the Wind’? ”Richard RohrWatership Down: The Graphic Novel by Richard Adams, adapted and illustrated by James Sturm and Joe Sutphin Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected] here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does it mean to be a “practicing Christian”? That’s the question that Russell Moore and his guest, author John Mark Comer, consider on this episode of The Russell Moore Show. The two discuss Comer’s new book, Practicing the Way, which welcomes people into spiritual formation through ancient practices. They talk about discerning God’s will for our lives, how Comer decided to step away from his role as lead pastor of a church he planted, and what it looks like to invite people into discipleship. Comer shares how he met Jesus, what it’s like to talk about God on the West Coast, and why so many people no longer resonate with American church services. They explore how churches can cultivate richer discipleship, the power of deep friendships, and the practice of contemplative prayer. Tune in for an episode that is replenishing, full of guidance, and sheds light on why being an apprentice to Jesus is less like learning chemistry and more like learning jujitsu. Resources mentioned in this episode include: John Mark Comer Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus. Become like him. Do as he did. by John Mark Comer The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World by John Mark Comer Billy Graham Crusades Martin Luther John Calvin Where Heaven and Earth Meet: A Jesus-Centered Spirituality for Today by N. T. Wright The Critical Journey: Stages in the Life of Faith, Second Edition by Janet O. Hagberg and Robert A. Guelich Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (Revised and Updated) by Robert D. Putnam Friends: Understanding the Power of our Most Important Relationships by Robin Dunbar When the Church Was a Family: Recapturing Jesus’ Vision for Authentic Christian Community by Joseph H. Hellerman Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian in Community by Dietrich Bonhoeffer Marjorie Thompson Mark Scandrette Eugene Peterson Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Confusion and anxiety. Narcissistic tendencies. Spiritual abuses. As the host of The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, CT’s director of media Mike Cosper explored how these themes can wreak havoc in a church. Now, he’s sharing his own experiences with harm and healing in church life through his latest book, Land of My Sojourn: The Landscape of a Faith Lost and Found. On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Moore hosts Cosper for a discussion of hurt and hope. They talk about Cosper’s work in church ministry, in his book, and while hosting the podcast The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. Their conversation covers church polity, planting, and pastoring. Moore and Cosper talk about the importance of humility in an era of narcissistic spiritual leaders and discuss the importance of wisdom and suffering in tempering idealism. Cosper and Moore talk about reconciling stories of hospitality and kindness about figures like Mark Driscoll with the damage and trauma they’ve inflicted on others. They respond to the critique that The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill has made pastoring more difficult and encourage listeners to consider the importance of telling the truth even—perhaps especially—when the truth is hard to accept. Tune in for a discussion that is honest about the harm some churches have caused and hopeful about the church as a place of healing. Resources mentioned in this episode include: The Bulletin Land of My Sojourn: The Landscape of a Faith Lost and Found by Mike Cosper The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill William Carey “Jon Hamm on the Evolution of Don Draper on 'Mad Men’” Acts 29 “Land of My Sojourn” by Rich Mullins Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Special offer for listeners:  Russell Moore will join friends David French and Curtis Chang in Washington, DC, for The After Party LIVE! on April 19. As a faithful listener to the podcast, we’d love for you to join us and use this $20 off offer just for listeners! The After Party is a free six-part video curriculum designed for people and pastors alike, and offers “a better way” for Christians to engage in politics. Learn more and buy tickets here—we’ve saved a seat for you! Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"God is never going to betray you—even if the church does.” So says Nancy French, best-selling author and investigative journalist, on this episode of The Russell Moore Show. French, who is known for her groundbreaking reporting on abuse at one of America’s largest Christian camps, joins Moore to discuss her new memoir, Ghosted. French talks about growing up in the Bible Belt, where she was sexually abused as a child by her Vacation Bible School teacher. She and Moore discuss the importance of righteous responses to people who have been harmed, the ways institutions too often cover up abuse, and how all of this shows up in partisan politics. Their conversation highlights the power of love—specifically in the case of Nancy’s marriage to David French—in healing from trauma. Moore and French also talk about French’s experiences ghostwriting for high-profile families such as the Palins and the Romneys. They talk about shifts in political culture, the state of racism in America, and what it’s like to be part of a church family that is primarily made up of people outside of one’s ethnic culture. Their conversation also touches on adoption, online discourse, and the incredible work that God can do through personal relationships. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Nancy French David French Ghosted: An American Story by Nancy French Joan Didion Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J. D. Vance Flannery O’Connor Frederick Buechner “They Aren’t Who You Think They Are” by David French and Nancy French “What it’s like to experience the 2016 election as both a conservative and a sex abuse survivor” by Nancy French Curtis Chang “The Four Horsemen: Contempt” (The Gottman Institute) The After Party Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Special offer for listeners:  Russell Moore will join friends David French and Curtis Chang in Washington, DC, for The After Party LIVE! on April 19. As a faithful listener to the podcast, we’d love for you to join us and use this $20 off offer just for listeners! The After Party is a free six-part video curriculum designed for people and pastors alike, and offers “a better way” for Christians to engage in politics. Learn more and buy tickets here—we’ve saved a seat for you! Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ever since Jonathan Haidt joined us on The Russell Moore Show, listeners have been sending in questions for him. So, on this episode, Russell Moore welcomes Haidt back to the show for a discussion of his new book titled The Anxious Generation, the effects of the digital landscape, and the relationship between mental health and religion.  Haidt describes how religious communities are taking the lead in providing some protection from mental health problems. He and Moore discuss the ways that modern life lends itself to overprotecting our children in the real world and under-protecting them online. They talk about what childhood is, how it’s been rewired, and the subsequent impact on young people. They consider the unique traits of Generation Z, the power of religious communities, and why people of faith are statistically happier. Moore and Haidt explore the common quest for meaning and purpose, how to shepherd children in a virtual world, and how to account for differences in boys and girls without resorting to misogyny.  Their conversation also covers the damage of pornography, distractions in worship settings, and how to encourage friends and families to communally steward digital devices.  Resources mentioned in this episode include: The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Jonathan Haidt The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt “Jonathan Haidt’s Way Forward for an Anxious Generation”  Jean Twenge Greg Lukianoff Zach Rasuch’s Substack Émile Durkheim “Joe Rogan Experience #2121 – Jonathan Haidt” “Table for Two” by Caedmon’s Call Pascal's Pensées by Blaise Pascal The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life by C.S. Lewis  The Digital Fast: 40 Days to Detox Your Mind and Reclaim What Matters Most by Darren Whitehead Andrew Sullivan Richard V. Reeves’ Substack Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Special offer for listeners:  Russell Moore will join friends David French and Curtis Chang in Washington, DC for The After Party LIVE! on April 19. As a faithful listener to the podcast, we'd love for you to join us and use this $20 off offer just for listeners! The After Party is a free six-part video curriculum designed for people & pastors alike, and offers "a better way" for Christians to engage in politics. Learn more and buy tickets here — we've saved a seat for you! Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today  Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper  Host: Russell Moore  Producer: Ashley Hales  Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps  Video producer: Abby Egan  Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s time for the quarterly books episode of The Russell Moore Show! Tune in as Russell and producer Ashley Hales talk about their recent reads ranging from politics to poetry. The two discuss a variety of topics including Augustine’s argument in City of God , how theological convictions become slogans, and the world of Contemporary Christian Music (CCM). Their conversation considers what true joy looks like, why it’s okay not to understand everything we read (even in the Bible), and how books can give us words for our most deeply felt human experiences. Books mentioned in this episode include: God Gave Rock and Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music by Leah Payne City of God by Augustine  God's Rascal: J. Frank Norris and the Beginnings of Southern Fundamentalism (America's Baptists) by Barry Hankins Joy: 100 Poems by Christian Wiman Zero at the Bone by Christian Wiman Four Quartets: A Poem by T.S. Eliot Lutheran Slogans: Use and Abuse by Robert W. Jenson A Shining by Jon Fosse The Inferno by Dante Alighieri The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy The Maytrees: A Novel by Annie Dillard Additional resources mentioned in this episode include: Petra Amy Grant Rich Mullins “Christian Wiman’s Work Against Despair”  George M. Marsden Eugene Peterson Music & Meaning with Charlie Peacock Owen Barfield C.S. Lewis J.R.R. Tolkien Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Special offer for listeners:  Russell Moore will join friends David French and Curtis Chang in Washington, DC for The After Party LIVE! on April 19. As a faithful listener to the podcast, we'd love for you to join us and use this $20 off offer just for listeners! The After Party is a free six-part video curriculum designed for people & pastors alike, and offers "a better way" for Christians to engage in politics. Learn more and buy tickets here — we've saved a seat for you! Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today  Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper  Host: Russell Moore  Producer: Ashley Hales  Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps  Video producer: Abby Egan  Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It was November 1, 1973, and Marvin Olasky—a then self-proclaimed atheist and communist—was reading an essay by Vladimir Lenin. Suddenly, Olasky began to have thoughts he couldn’t shake.  What if this is all wrong? What if there really is a God? Within eight hours, Olasky had decided he was no longer an atheist or a communist. He became a Christian a few years later. Olasky went on to become a leader in Christian higher education and publishing—most notably as the editor in chief of World Magazine.  On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Olasky—author of 29 books, senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, and affiliate scholar at the Acton Institute—joins Moore to discuss religion, politics, and philosophy. They talk about two of Olasky’s latest book releases: Pivot Points and an extensively updated Moral Vision, which includes a new foreword by Moore.  Olasky shares thoughts on his conversion, his relationship with George W. Bush during his presidency, and the evangelical embrace of some politicians and rejection of others. He and Moore consider the state of journalism, Christian symbolism in political movements, and the danger of echo chambers. Their conversation covers abortion and the pro-life movement, the Hamas attacks, and American involvement in world politics.  Olasky encourages listeners to live a life they’ll be glad to look back on, and offers words of wisdom for doing so. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Discovery Institute Acton Institute Zenger House WORLD Magazine Pivot Points: Adventures on the Road to Christian Contentment by Marvin Olasky Moral Vision: Leadership from George Washington to Joe Biden by Marvin Olasky Jonathan Edwards Cotton Mather John Cotton “Marilynne Robinson on Biblical Beauty, Human Evil and the Idea of Israel” on The Ezra Klein Show “Glenn Beck Comes to Town” by Chris Good March for Life Living Life Backward: How Ecclesiastes Teaches Us to Live in Light of the End by David Gibson Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Special offer for listeners:  Russell Moore will join friends David French and Curtis Chang in Washington, DC for The After Party LIVE! on April 19. As a faithful listener to the podcast, we'd love for you to join us and use this $20 off offer just for listeners! The After Party is a free six-part video curriculum designed for people & pastors alike, and offers "a better way" for Christians to engage in politics. Learn more and buy tickets here — we've saved a seat for you! Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today  Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper  Host: Russell Moore  Producer: Ashley Hales  Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps  Video producer: Abby Egan  Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Author Marilynne Robinson has long brought layered characters and powerful plots to the page. It is perhaps no wonder, then, that she is looking to a book of Scripture that abounds with both.  On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Moore welcomes Marilynne for a discussion of her new release, Reading Genesis. They talk about what drew Robinson to Genesis and the Mesopotamian and Babylonian myths that are often compared to it. They consider how various disciplines—from science and physics to philosophy and theology—emerge in the text. They ponder the current cultural interest in multiverse stories, what makes a narrative compelling, and the likability (or lack thereof) of Biblical figures.  Tune in for a rich conversation on justice and mercy, secularization, and how God reveals his character both in Scripture and in our lives today. Books by Marilynne Robinson mentioned in this episode include: Reading Genesis Gilead Home Lila Jack Housekeeping  Resources mentioned in this episode include: Wendell Berry Walker Percy Frederick Buechner Jonathan Haidt Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Special offer for listeners:  Russell Moore will join friends David French and Curtis Chang in Washington, DC for The After Party LIVE! on April 19. As a faithful listener to the podcast, we'd love for you to join us. The After Party is a free six-part video curriculum designed for people & pastors alike, and offers "a better way" for Christians to engage in politics. Learn more and buy tickets here — we've saved a seat for you! Use code RM SHOW for $20 off, just for listeners! Use code RM SHOW for $20 off, just for listeners. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today  Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper  Host: Russell Moore  Producer: Ashley Hales  Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps  Video producer: Abby Egan  Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is the term evangelical worth holding on to anymore? Is it imperative that Christians participate in elections? What is the way forward for families that have been fractured by political disagreements? These are some of the listener questions that Russell and producer Ashley Hales address on this episode of The Russell Moore Show. Tune in for a discussion that digs deep into the political dynamics of modern American life while sharing universal truths for living Christianly in a broken world. Questions addressed during this episode include: Does Russell read every book that shows up in his newsletter? What are some tips for reading more regularly? Is it okay for Christians not to participate in voting for president? How can Christians whose families are divided over politics prioritize God and one another What does the evangelical support of Donald Trump do to the term evangelical and its reputation? How can believers deal with Christian nationalism in their relationships? What is Christian nationalism? How might the upcoming election affect local churches? What hope is there for Christians discouraged by American politics? Resources mentioned in this episode include: Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches by Russell Moore Russell’s newsletter “Should Christians Vote for the Lesser of Two Evils?” by Russell Moore “Incurvatus in Se” “C. S. Lewis on Chronological Snobbery” Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Special offer for listeners: Russell Moore will join friends David French and Curtis Chang in Washington, DC, for The After Party LIVE! on April 19. As a faithful listener to the podcast, we’d love for you to join us and use this 20% off offer just for listeners! The After Party is a free six-part video curriculum designed for people & pastors alike, and offers “a better way” for Christians to engage in politics. Learn more and buy tickets here—we’ve saved a seat for you! Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If Russell Moore’s inbox is any indication, listeners of this podcast want to talk about emotions. If you’re among them, this episode with Bible teacher, bestselling author, and founder of IF: Gathering Jennie Allen is for you.  Moore and Allen discuss what she learned while writing her new book, Untangle Your Emotions: Naming Your Emotions and Knowing What to Do about Them. They talk about healthy and unhealthy ways to view emotions, how the COVID-19 pandemic affected emotional well-being, and how our brains try to protect us in traumatic situations. They talk about how God meets us in grief and suffering, how emotions show up in the body, and how honesty about emotions can lead to deeper relationships and family connections.  Their conversation covers the power of memories, what the Bible has to say about emotions, and what it looks like to honor our emotions without letting them lead our lives. Resources mentioned in this episode include: IF: Gathering Untangle Your Emotions: Naming Your Emotions and Knowing What to Do about Them by Jennie Allen Asbury Revival Auburn baptisms Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today  Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper  Host: Russell Moore  Producer: Ashley Hales  Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps  Video producer: Abby Egan  Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to a special bonus episode of The Russell Moore Show! Peter Wehner returns for a conversation about the television drama The Chosen, which began its fourth season on February 1, 2024. Wehner expounds on his recent article in The Atlantic, sharing how the series pleasantly surprised him as someone who historically avoided on-screen depictions of Jesus. He describes the ways that Jesus (played by Jonathan Roumie) in The Chosen has a fully-formed personality, displays emotion, and shows how intimately Jesus understood human nature—all elements that have led Wehner to love the show.  Moore and Wehner discuss how The Chosen sheds light on Jewish life under Roman occupation and the role of the Pharisees. They talk about another Christian media phenomenon—the He Gets Us campaign—and consider the wide range of responses to it. Their discussion covers political division, the relationship between the intellect and the heart in belief, and what it means for Christians to be called to faithfulness rather than success. Resources mentioned in this episode include: The Chosen “Jesus on the Small Screen” by Peter Wehner Peter Wehner The Trinity Forum Navigating Friendship and Loss with Peter Wehner The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien Jesus of Nazareth  He Gets Us campaign E.Y. Mullins Further Up and Further In Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis The Jesus Way by Eugene H. Peterson Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today  Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper  Host: Russell Moore  Producer: Ashley Hales  Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens  Audio engineering by Dan Phelps  Video producer: Abby Egan  Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After all of the arguments and severed relationships that resulted from the elections of 2016 and 2020, here we are, doing it all over again. For all who are weary of the modern political climate, today’s episode with Michael Wear is for you. Wear is the founder, president, and CEO of the Center for Christianity and Public Life, a nonpartisan, nonprofit institution based in the nation’s capital. A former White House and presidential campaign staffer, Wear has intimate knowledge of the political process and how Christians might engage it with hope. On this episode, Wear and Moore discuss Wear’s new book, The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life. They consider what a positive, spiritually formed vision for political engagement might be. Their conversation includes how to understand why Christians land on opposing sides of political issues. They explore what the Bible has to say about the government and talk about the role of pastors in politics. And they consider how the truth of the gospel can shape political participation in a broken world. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Michael Wear The Center for Christianity and Public Life The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life by Michael Wear Reclaiming Hope: Lessons Learned in the Obama White House About the Future of Faith in America by Michael Wear “College-Educated Voters Are Ruining American Politics” by Eitan Harsh Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers by Christian Smith “Spiritual Formation: What It Is, and How It Is Done” by Dallas Willard The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God by Dallas Willard Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community by Dietrich Bonhoeffer Awaiting the King: Reforming Public Theology by James K. A. Smith Craft and Character:"The Spirit of Politics With Michael Wear" with Steve Carter Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Seth Kaplan has worked in 35 countries around the world, one thing has made itself clear: healthy relationships are the key to community stability. “When I go to any place, whether it’s a neighborhood or country,” says Kaplan on this episode of The Russell Moore Show, “the thing I’m most interested in finding out is how well people are treating each other on so many levels.” In conversation with Moore, Kaplan—author of Fragile Neighborhoods, lecturer, and consultant—explains the reasons Americans feel vulnerable, alienated, and angry. He describes the opportunities people have to do something about those negative feelings and experiences by engaging in local activities that bond them to their neighbors. Moore and Kaplan discuss the necessity of institutions, identify organizations that are strengthening relationships, and consider the importance of marriage. Their conversation covers how children are being socialized, the effects of social media and digital play, and how to build a local ecosystem. Kaplan also describes his family’s practice of Shabbat and encourages his Christian friends to prioritize Sabbath rest. Tune in for an episode that gives concrete, creative advice for cultivating flourishing neighborhoods that resist the division of our times. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Institute for Integrated Transitions Fragile Neighborhoods: Repairing American Society One Zip Code at A Time by Seth D. Kaplan American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us by Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell Communio Jonathan Haidt Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I love the Lord and he loves me. I will not forget, and neither will he. That was the poem that a seven-year-old Christian Wiman handed his pastor—during the altar call, no less. The young Wiman didn’t wait for a response or say a word, he just ran back to his pew. Soon after, the pastor published Wiman’s poem in the Southern Baptist Convention’s newsletter. “I gave him a poem,” Wiman says on this episode of The Russell Moore Show. “That was my gesture of salvation.” In the decades since, Wiman has wrestled with his faith, suffered from cancer, and continued to find meaning in writing poetry. On this episode, he and Moore discuss the poetry in Scripture, how Jesus engaged with suffering, and how poetry can help pastors in their preaching. They talk about why poetry can be intimidating, entry points for engaging it, and how poetry can reveal the joy in our lives. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Zero at the Bone: Fifty Entries Against Despair by Christian Wiman My Bright Abyss: Meditation of a Modern Believer by Christian Wiman Joy: 100 Poems edited by Christian Wiman The Tree of Life Frederick Buechner “The Figure a Poem Makes” by Robert Frost Theology and Joy by Jürgen Moltmann “How the Poet Christian Wiman Keeps His Faith” by Casey Cep for The New Yorker W. A. Criswell Abraham Joshua Heschel The Moviegoer by Walker Percy Sara Grant The Sickness unto Death: A Christian Psychological Exposition of Edification & Awakening by Anti-Climacus by Søren Kierkegaard Miroslav Volf “The Ground of Being” Basil Bunting John Milton William Shakespeare William Wordsworth Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For historian Kate Bowler, grief and suffering are more than just a topic of interest. She’s intimately acquainted with pain herself as someone who was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer, faced a small chance of survival, and lives with chronic pain. As she puts it, “I spent a long time almost dying.”  On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Bowler shares words of wisdom honed from her research and her personal life. She and Moore talk about her new book Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day!: Daily Meditations for the Ups, Downs & In-Betweens and discuss the vulnerability of being human. They explore the anxious tenor of the modern era in a historical context and talk about the ways people discuss (or avoid discussing) hard things. They consider what it looks like to keep the faith in times of trial and how powerful acts of kindness and tenderness can be in seasons of suffering. Their conversation covers theology, Christian history, and the specific ways that the prosperity gospel has shaped evangelicalism.  Tune in for an episode that is as rich and resourceful as it is enjoyable and encouraging. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Kate Bowler Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day!: Daily Meditations for the Ups, Downs & In-Betweens by Kate Bowler No Cure for Being Human (And Other Truths I Need To Hear) by Kate Bowler Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved by Kate Bowler Dorothy Day Reinhold Niebuhr Beth Moore Timothy Keller Richard Hayes The Moviegoer by Walker Percy Reynolds Price “How Do People Actually Change?” by Simeon Zahl “Tears” by Frederick Buchner Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today   Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper   Host: Russell Moore   Producer: Ashley Hales   Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill  Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens   Audio engineering by Dan Phelps   Video producer: Abby Egan   Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While answers to the question “How often do you think about the Roman Empire?” range from “daily” to “just about never,” Ancient Rome has a considerable impact on the lives of people in the West. On this episode, Russell Moore welcomes Tom Holland—award-winning biographer, historian, and author of Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World. Holland's new book Pax: War and Peace in Rome’s Golden Age sheds light on the Roman Empire’s lasting impact.  During their discussion, Moore and Holland consider the Roman influence on many American facets of life ranging from government to philosophy to gender. They consider what Ancient Rome can teach listeners about navigating dissension, the role of violence, and the role of virtue in maintaining a civilization. Their conversation covers the relationship of Ancient Rome to Christianity, how the Bible depicts Rome, and how to read Revelation with the Roman context in mind. Moore and Holland talk about radicalization, the October 7th Hamas attack, and the influence of social media.  Tune in for a powerful discussion that sheds light on specific ways our histories inform our present lives. Resources mentioned in this episode include: “Citizens” by John Guerra Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World by Tom Holland Pax: War and Peace in Rome’s Golden Age by Tom Holland Mary Beard Man in Full by Tom Wolfe Song of Ice and Fire Series by George R.R. Martin Edward Gibbon Spartacus  Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today   Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper   Host: Russell Moore   Producer: Ashley Hales   Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill  Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens   Audio engineering by Dan Phelps   Video producer: Abby Egan   Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How can parents guard against viewing their children’s behavior as solely a statement about their success or failure in parenting? What does it look like for churches to embrace people with cognitive differences? Why is it important to support adopted children in grieving the loss of their biological families?  Russell and producer Ashley Hales address complex questions like these on this episode of The Russell Moore Show. They discuss issues of sexuality, trauma, and mental health in response to listener questions. Tune in as they provide compassionate Christian perspectives on tough topics.  Questions addressed during this episode include:  How can parents wisely navigate relationships with their adult children who have differing views on theological and social issues?  What does it look like for the church to help adoptees heal from the trauma of losing their birth families and communities? Why did Russell and his wife, Maria, choose to homeschool their sons? How can parents trust God’s goodness when a child tries to take their own life? Will an unwed pregnant mother go to hell if she doesn’t marry the child’s father? How can families find welcoming churches for children with neurodivergence, such as those on the autism spectrum?  Resources mentioned in this episode include: The University of Chicago Institute of Politics 23andMe Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today  Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper  Host: Russell Moore  Producer: Ashley Hales  Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens  Audio engineering by Dan Phelps  Video producer: Abby Egan  Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does it say about the state of the evangelical church that 83 percent of women’s ministry leaders are not compensated? That’s the question that Russell Moore and Jen Wilkin, an author and Bible teacher, pose at the beginning of their conversation on this episode. Wilkin, who spent most of her years leading women’s ministry in a volunteer capacity, talks about how the fifth commandment to honor our parents prompted her to grow more curious about how the church treats its mothers.  Wilkin and Moore discuss how churches can better value women as leaders, staff members, and congregants. They consider the challenge of being one of the only women on a church leadership team as well as the pros and cons of single-gender ministries. Wilkin and Moore explore the importance of encouraging biblical literacy and teaching theology within the local church. And they consider what it means that, as Wilkin says, “all theology is autobiography.” Resources mentioned in this episode include: You Are a Theologian, An Invitation to Know and Love God Well by Jen Wilkin and J.T. English “Honor Thy Church Mothers—with Wages” by Jen Wilkin Lifeway Women Academy To Be a Woman: The Confusion Over Female Identity and How Christians Can Respond by Katie J. McCoy PhD Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today   Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper   Host: Russell Moore   Producer: Ashley Hales   Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill  Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens   Audio engineering by Dan Phelps   Video producer: Abby Egan   Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“People are dying to tell you their life story. They just need to be asked.”  So says author, columnist at The New York Times, and writer at The Atlantic David Brooks on a new episode of The Russell Moore Show. Moore and Brooks’ conversation explores the themes in Brooks’ new book, How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen. They talk about what it means to view people according to the inherent value and dignity of their souls, how love shapes us, and the cultural vocabulary around trauma. Moore and Brooks discuss marriage and the power of compassion. Their conversation covers the Hamas attacks, political volatility, and how to get through 2024 without increasing division. Tune in for an episode that cuts straight to the heart of what it means to be human and to honor the humanity in others.  Resources mentioned in this episode include: Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America by Russell Moore How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen by David Brooks Weave: the Social Fabric Project Telling Secrets: A Memoir by Frederick Buechner  Michael Gerson’s sermon at Washington National Cathedral Man's Search for Meaning by Victor E. Frankl The Angel That Troubled the Waters by Thornton Wilder Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High by Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, and Emily Gregory  Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The year is coming to an end, which means it’s time to reflect on our favorite reads! On this episode, Russell Moore and producer Ashley Hales discuss the books that have stuck with them this year. Their conversation touches on the winners of Christianity Today’s 2023 Book Awards and the back catalogs of authors whose new releases are making a splash.  Their conversation spans biographies, memoirs, fiction, and more. Moore and Hales discover themes across genres and consider how their 2023 reading might inform their 2024 thinking.  For more insight into what Russell is reading throughout the year, subscribe to his newsletter here.  Russell’s Top Ten Books of 2023: How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen by David Brooks  The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta Watership Down: The Graphic Novel by Richard Adams, adapted and Illustrated by James Sturm and Joe Sutphin All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir by Beth Moore C.S. Lewis in America: Readings and Receptions, 1935-1947  by Mark A. Noll Godless Crusade: Religion, Populism, and Right-Wing Identity Politics by Tobias Cremer King: A Life by Jonathan Eig How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family's Story of Hope and Survival in the American South by Esau McCaulley Self-Made: Creating Our Identities from DaVinci to the Kardashians by Tara Isabella Burton Lights a Lovely Mile: Collected Sermons of the Church Year by Eugene H. Peterson Additional books mentioned in this episode include:  Biblical Critical Theory: How the Bible's Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life and Culture by Christopher Watkin (CT Book of the Year Award) The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis Surprised by Joy by C. S. Lewis The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Strong and Weak: Embracing a Life of Love, Risk and True Flourishing by Andy Crouch Bobos In Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There by David Brooks Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World by Tara Isabella Burton Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West by Andrew Wilson The Adams-Jefferson Letters: The Complete Correspondence Between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail and John Adams by Lester J. Capon The Three-Body Problem Series by Cixin Liu Episodes of The Russell Moore Show featuring authors discussed in this episode include: “Tim Alberta on the White Evangelical Crisis” “Christianity’s Being Co-opted with Tobias Cremer” “Developing a Biblical Framework with Christopher Watkin” “Esau McCaulley Makes Grace Plausible” “Losing Our Religion: David Brooks on the Allure of Tribalism” “Andy Crouch’s Cure for a Tech-Obsessed World” “Beth Moore Didn’t Expect Us to Be Us” “Beth Moore and Russell Moore in Conversation” & “Listener Questions for Russell Moore and Beth Moore” Ashley Hales is the producer of The Russell Moore Show, founder of Willowbrae Institute, and an author. Find out more at aahales.com. Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You’ve heard of the nones: the agnostic or atheist-adjacent young people who profess no religious faith. But what about the ums: those who, when asked, “Do you go to church?” are likely to respond with “um” or “not really” or “I kind of drifted during the pandemic.” What can be done to invite them back into connection and community?  On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Moore welcomes author Kara Powell, Chief of Leadership Formation and Executive Director of the Fuller Youth Institute at Fuller Theological Seminary. Powell and Moore talk about research on Gen Z’s relationship to faith and church. They explore the reasons that young people are skeptical of Christianity and highlight opportunities for church leaders and older Christians to come alongside young people on their journeys. Moore and Powell discuss TENx10, a collaboration that endeavors to help faith matter more to 10 million young people over the next 10 years and offers faith communities the resources they need to prioritize youth discipleship. And they offer hope for rebuilding trust with members of Gen Z through, as Powell puts it, “everyday acts of listening and empathizing.”  Tune in for a dynamic conversation that will help parents, church leaders, and all who love Gen Z to answer the questions they’re asking about life and faith. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Faith Beyond Youth Group: Five Ways to Form Character and Cultivate Lifelong Discipleship by Kara Powell, Jen Bradbury, and Brad M. Griffin Fuller Youth Institute The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt Skye Jethani TENx10 “New Findings on Young Americans Two Years Into The Covid-19 Pandemic” from Springtide Research Institute Orange Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When journalist Tim Alberta attended his father’s funeral, he expected people to speak words of comfort. What he didn’t expect was a confrontation. And yet, just a short walk away from the casket, someone approached a grieving Alberta to critique his writing on Trumpism. On a new episode of The Russell Moore Show, Moore welcomes Alberta, a writer for The Atlantic and the author of The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism to discuss how American culture has reached the point where people feel compelled to argue politics at all times. Alberta and Moore talk about the ways that politics have invaded the church in recent years. He and Moore talk about what fear has done to the state of evangelicalism, the rise of secularism, and the differences in conversations between white and multiethnic congregations. They consider ways that demographics affect political and religious perspectives, how pastors have engaged QAnon, and the variances in generational perspectives on American politics. Tune in for a conversation that sheds light on America’s history and ponders what its future could be. Resources mentioned in this episode include: The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta Blinded by Might: Can the Religious Right Save America? by Cal Thomas“ The Religious Right and the Abortion Myth” by Randall Balmer “Russell Moore Wants Us To Be Strange (But Not Crazy)” on the Good Faith podcast The “Against Trump” issue of National Review High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out by Amanda Ripley Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Many evangelicals are taught to share the gospel according to “The Romans Road,” which charts a path through the book to explain the path to salvation. But English theologian and prolific author N.T. Wright says that while anything that highlights how God’s love reaches out to humanity is good news, the book of Romans itself paints a far more beautiful picture of salvation than The Romans Road can encapsulate. On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Wright and Moore discuss Wright’s new book on Romans 8, Into the Heart of Romans: A Deep Dive into Paul's Greatest Letter. Their conversation includes the storyline of Scripture, what it means that there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8), and what keeps people from realizing that God is love. They talk about atonement theories, fear of judgment, and embracing the fact that Christians do not need to fear, for God is with them (Psalm 23). Moore and Wright consider the meaning of covenant faithfulness, covenant justice, and the groaning of creation. They discuss the ecological impact of eschatology, how Romans can be a comfort to the hurting, and the meaning of the term “predestination.” Their conversation covers prayer, women in ministry, and how Wright knows for sure that Christianity is true. Tune in for an episode that is both theologically rich and characterized by humility, kindness, and joy. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Into the Heart of Romans: A Deep Dive into Paul's Greatest Letter by N.T. Wright In Christ Alone by Keith and Kristyn Getty Endpoint and Other Poems by John Updike Romans Disarmed: Resisting Empire, Demanding Justice by Sylvia C. Keesmaat and Brian J. Walsh Conformed to the Image of His Son: Reconsidering Paul's Theology of Glory in Romans by Haley Goranson Jacob After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters by N.T. Wright The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis   Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today  Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper  Host: Russell Moore  Producer: Ashley Hales  Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens  Audio engineering by Dan Phelps  Video producer: Abby Egan  Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are modern Christians focusing too much on identity or not enough? How should Christians think about injecting their beliefs into civic leadership? What are some words of wisdom for church leaders who are asked questions about public policy? These are some of the timely listener questions that Russell and producer Ashley Hales discuss on this episode of The Russell Moore Show. They talk about how Jesus navigated a cultural context that hypervalued political alignment. And they consider what it looks like to prosper in confusing times. Questions addressed during this episode include: Where does Russell get his news? How can Christians focus on their identity in Christ? What is the relationship between Christians and culture? How can church leaders exercise wisdom as they engage questions of politics and public policy? What should Christians do when the churches in their community preach dogma over doctrine? What do love and justice look like in practical, concrete terms (like yard signs)? Why aren’t people tired of perpetual panic? What does it look like to maintain hope? Resources mentioned in this episode include: “Sphere Sovereignty” Joseph Loconte The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Ashley Hales is the producer of The Russell Moore Show, the founder of The Willowbrae Institute, and an author. Find out more at aahales.com. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When it comes to building communities that nurture the next generation, it's hard to identify a universal standard for success. But as social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt looks at the trends among today’s children, he sees both common concerns and shared opportunities to address them. On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Haidt and Moore discuss the alarming rates of anxiety and depression among children and adolescents, which Haidt explores at length in his new book The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. Haidt and Moore consider the factors that lead to childhood mental health crises, including access to iPhones and social media. They talk about the ways that the Covid-19 pandemic affected (and didn’t affect) young people. And they look back on the last several decades of American history, during which parents have increasingly treated raising children like a school project or professional endeavor. While much of their discussion outlines the challenges young people face today, Haidt and Moore’s conversation hinges on hope. They propose meaningful opportunities for cultivating good mental health, confidence, and a sense of purpose in children and adolescents. And they encourage all who are investing in the next generation with practical advice for healthy homes and communities. Resources mentioned in this episode include:  The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom by Jonathan Haidt iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us by Jean Twenge High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out by Amanda Ripley The Gardener and the Carpenter: What the New Science of Child Development Tells Us About the Relationship Between Parents and Children by Alison Gopnik Wayfinding: The Science and Mystery of How Humans Navigate the World by M. R. O’Connor “What Is Attachment Theory?” American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us by Robert D. Putnam Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Does baptism with the Holy Spirit happen to everyone when they believe the gospel or does it occur later? Has the gift of prophecy ended in the modern era? What does speaking in tongues really mean?  On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Christine Caine speaks to these questions and more. As an author, speaker, and co-founder of anti-slavery nonprofit A21, Caine has a global perspective on the supernatural. She and Moore talk about various beliefs regarding spiritual gifts, why Christians have differing opinions about them, and what the implications are for believing (or not believing) that miraculous gifts still operate today. They talk about the importance of Scripture, possible misuses of prophetic words, and the ultimate purpose of gifts like prophecy or healing—pointing people to Jesus. Their conversation plays by the “Tell Me Where I’m Wrong” rules: Moore is only allowed to ask questions to better understand the guest’s point of view. If he starts to argue, the guest is supposed to stop him. Episodes in the “Tell Me Where I’m Wrong” series include: Rainn Wilson Tells Me Where I’m Wrong on Spirituality Ross Douthat on American Religion and Where Martin Luther was Right and Wrong Bill McKibben Tells Me Where I’m Wrong About Cultural Christianity Shane Claiborne Tells Me Where I’m Wrong on the Death Penalty Ligon Duncan Tells Me Where I’m Wrong on Infant Baptism Resources mentioned in this episode include:  A21 Sam Storms Michael Cromartie Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Russell Moore saw footage of a “Jesus saves” sign during the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the United States Capitol, he wasn’t just angered by the assault on democracy. He was horrified by what he saw as a blasphemous misrepresentation of the gospel. How could American culture have gotten to such a place? And what can be done about it? Those are the types of questions that today’s guest, Dr. Tobias Cremer, explores in his new book The Godless Crusade, Religion, Populism, and Right Wing Identity Politics in the West.  Cremer, a junior research fellow at Pembroke College, and an associate member of the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford, studies the relationship between religion, secularization, and the rise of right-wing identity politics. And when he looks at right-wing populism, he sees far more secularism than true religion. On this episode, Moore and Cremer discuss the rise of national populist movements in America and other Western countries. They discuss how faith and socioeconomic status influence political leanings, why religious symbols are used in political movements, and what people really mean when they say they are Christian in a political context. Moore and Cremer talk about the growing number of de-churched Protestants in the Bible Belt and how the populist right confuses religion for identity. And they consider the changes that people and institutions can make to address polarization, resentment, and radicalization. Tune in for an episode that provides a nuanced view of political and religious history in the West and sheds light on our culture today. Resources mentioned in this episode include:  The Godless Crusade, Religion, Populism, and Right Wing Identity Politics in the West by Tobias Cremer “White Southern Evangelicals Are Leaving the Church” by Daniel K. Williams The 1934 Barmen Declaration Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild Christianity and History by Herbert Butterfield Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America by Russell Moore Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Our church lived through the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections divided. Our church lived through Black Lives Matter protests divided. Our church lived through COVID divided. How are we going to get through 2024?” That’s one of the questions that Russell Moore is asked on a regular basis, and it’s not an easy one to answer. Enter Amanda Ripley, author of High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out. An investigative journalist and the co-founder of Good Conflict, Ripley has spent years exploring how humans engage in disagreements that threaten to tear people apart.  On this episode, Moore and Ripley discuss the differences between regular conflict and high conflict. They consider examples of good and bad engagement with conflict, how polarization occurs in politics and religion, and the line between accountability and humiliation. They consider the role of media, institutions, and and family relationships in navigating divisions. And they consider how conflict can be harnessed to serve as a public good. Tune in for a rich discussion of the things that seek to tear us apart but can be redeemed to bring us together. Resources mentioned in this episode include: High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out by Amanda Ripley The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way by Amanda Ripley  The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes —and Why by Amanda Ripley Good Conflict  Practical Tools from Good Conflict King Rat by China Miélville Chicago CRED Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America by Russell Moore Well-Intentioned Dragons: Ministering to Problem People in the Church by Marshall Shelley B’nai Jeshurun Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and Azurae Phelps Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“She’s in a better place.”  Statements like this tend to pop up at funerals and in Facebook comment threads memorializing a lost loved one. But do people really mean what they’re saying? Is cultural commentary on life after death merely an attempt at comforting the bereaved or a statement of belief?  Enter Skye Jethani, co-host of The Holy Post Podcast and author whose newest title asks the question What If Jesus Was Serious about Heaven? During his conversation with Russell Moore, Jethani talks about views on heaven, including whether it's a real place or a mere platitude. He and Moore discuss the human desire for judgments and rewards, theories on near-death experiences, and when eternal life actually begins. They consider biblical passages on life and death, miracles, and setting our minds on heavenly things. And they ask one another what it looks like to commune with God and when they feel closest to heaven.  Tune in for a thoughtful conversation on how earthly lives interact with heavenly futures and what it looks like to live according to the reality of eternity. Resources mentioned in this episode include: What If Jesus Was Serious about Heaven?: A Visual Guide to Experiencing God's Kingdom Among Us by Skye Jethani The Holy Post Podcast  “Training for Reigning” series by Dallas Willard A Testament of Devotion by Thomas R. Kelly “Morning Prayer” from The Book of Common Prayer Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World by Tom Holland Four Quartets by T. S. Eliot Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and Azurae Phelps Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Part of the beauty of America is that we all have roots in all kinds of parts of the world, and we bring that cultural richness—and the aspect of cultural diversity—with us to this country.”  So says Yascha Mounk on this episode of The Russell Moore Show. And yet, of course, differences can also bring about conflict that has a significant negative impact on individuals and society alike. Mounk, an expert on issues in liberal democracy, and Moore discuss these parallel truths through the lens of Mounk’s new book, The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time. Mounk and Moore talk about the “spiral of radicalization” the United States finds itself in today. They consider the role of political parties, institutions, and perspectives on race in shaping our cultural moment. Their conversation dives into sexual orientation, gender identity, and marriage as well as pedagogy, theology, and social psychology.  Tune in for a thoughtful dialogue that spans issues of discrimination, justice, and the power of influence in our daily lives.  Resources mentioned in this episode include: Yascha Mounk at The Atlantic Council on Foreign Relations Persuasion Journal The Good Fight podcast The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time by Yascha Mounk Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story by Ruby Bridges Chloé Valdary Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and Azurae Phelps Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome back to the quarterly books episode of The Russell Moore Show! Listen in as Russell and producer Ashley Hales talk about the bookstores, newsletters, and reviews that help them find great reads. The two discuss everything from classic stories to new titles and Christian imagery to transhumanist fantasies. Their conversation also covers family, political history, and engaging the Scriptures imaginatively.  Books mentioned in this episode include:  How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family's Story of Hope and Survival in the American South by Esau McCaulley Escape into Meaning: Essays on Superman, Public Benches, and Other Obsessions by Evan Puschak The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis The Singularities by John Banville Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires by Douglas Rushkoff God with Us: Lived Theology and the Freedom Struggle in Americus, Georgia, 1942–1976 by Ansley L. Quiros The Inconvenient Gospel: A Southern Prophet Tackles War, Wealth, Race, and Religion by Clarence Jordan  Clarence Jordan: A Radical Pilgrimage in Scorn of the Consequences by Frederick L. Downing It All Turns on Affection: The Jefferson Lecture and Other Essays by Wendell Berry Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America by Russell Moore Resources mentioned in this episode include: Carmichael’s Bookstore The New York Review of Books Englewood Review of Books The Nerdwriter Writing for the Heart Workshop with Ashley Hales and Mike Cosper Russell’s newsletter Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Ashley Hales is the producer of The Russell Moore Show, founder of Willowbrae Institute, and an author. Find out more at aahales.com. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and Azurae Phelps Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Dr. Kutter Callaway, Be Afraid is an exploration of fear, faith, and stories that scare the hell out of us. You’ll hear from filmmakers, film critics, psychological scientists, and even an exorcist or two, each of whom shares their unique insights on the horror genre and its growing popularity. Listen to the trailer and subscribe today. The full series launches on October 6th, 2023. From the studio that brought you "The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill" and "The Bulletin," “Be Afraid” is a production of Christianity Today, Fuller Seminary, and Uncommon Voices Collective More from Kutter Callaway on theology and culture: https://www.kuttercallaway.com/ More from Uncommon Voices Collective: https://www.uncommonvoices.faith/ More from Fuller Seminary: http://fuller.edu/beafraid Join the conversation at our Fearmakers Conference: https://www.fearmakerscon.com/ Executive Produced by Erik Petrik Produced, Written, and Edited by Kutter Callaway Produced and Edited by Stephen Scheilder Associate Produced by TJ Hester Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What can be done with generational fractures that feel irreparable?  If there’s any question Russell Moore hears regularly, it’s that one. On today’s episode of The Russell Moore Show, he and psychologist Jean Twenge consider what the answer may be in light of Twenge’s new book, Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents—and What They Mean for America's Future.  Twenge, a professor at San Diego State University, and Moore discuss the differences—and lack of differences—between generations. They consider why our current government leaders are so much older than most of the population, how the naming of children signals generational changes, and the influence of technology on increased individualism. They talk about how people of various ages value self-esteem, how smartphones affect rates of mental health issues, and the implications of society’s reconception of marriage.  Tune in for a nuanced conversation of generational trends as they pertain to politics, sexuality, raising children, and institutions. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America's Future by Jean M. Twenge, PhD iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us by Jean M. Twenge, PhD Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America by Russell Moore “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” by Alan Jackson “Obama’s Advice For Democrats.” on Pod Save America The Social Security Administration Baby Name Dataset “Skye Jethani (Co-host of the Holy Post Podcast)” on Mere Christians Podcast Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and Azurae Phelps Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Resonate Recording Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One might think working as a CNN anchor and chief Washington correspondent would have Jake Tapper spending his spare minutes doing anything but working with words. His recently published third novel, All the Demons Are Here, would beg to differ. On a new episode of The Russell Moore Show, Moore asks Tapper how he manages his time and talents. They discuss Tapper’s political thrillers, his curiosity about eras of disillusionment and mistrust of power, and his interest in the role of showmanship in politics. Moore and Tapper’s conversation covers the ways that recent political history has been stranger than fiction, the effect of information silos, and how Tapper’s Judaism helps him look at multiple viewpoints. They talk about how to be a sophisticated consumer of news, how Tapper keeps from giving himself over to the sensational, and the importance of a wise inner circle. Tune in for a meaningful discussion of American faith and politics. Resources mentioned in this episode include: All the Demons Are Here: A Thriller by Jake Tapper All the President’s Men“ Jake Tapper on his 1970s thriller ‘All the Demons Are Here’” on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday “CNN exclusive: DeSantis downplays concerns about the state of his 2024 campaign” Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and Azurae Phelps Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the unforgettable “I Have a Dream Speech.” Sixty years later, two men have a dream of their own: to share the life and teachings of Dr. King for the good of the church and the world. This episode of The Russell Moore Show features one of those men, Professor Matthew Daniels. A global human rights activist and founder of the non-profit organization Good of All, Daniels is half of the team that created Share the Dream™, a Bible study based on the life, teachings, and biblical principles of Dr. King. In collaboration with Harper Christian Resources and Urban Ministries, the video sessions of the study are co-hosted by Daniels and Chris Broussard, an award-winning journalist and broadcaster for FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports Radio and the founder and president of The K.I.N.G. Movement. This dynamic discussion considers counter-cultural engagement, social progress, and civil rights. Daniels and Moore talk about King’s legacy, the current state of racial divides in the church, and how the history of polarization influences where we are today. Their conversation covers online extremism, evangelical emphases on personal piety over communal justice, and what obedience to Christ looks like in practical terms.  Tune in for a powerful episode that underscores the value of partnerships and the persistent merit of Dr. King’s dream. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" Speech Share the Dream: Shining a Light in a Divided World through Six Principles of Martin Luther King Jr. by Matthew Daniels and Chris Broussard  The K.I.N.G. Movement Good of All Harper Christian Resources Urban Ministries  Ambassador Andrew Young The Buffalo Massacre “Reclaiming MLK Jr.’s ‘Dream’ 60 Years Later” by Mika Edmondson “It’s Not Enough to Preach Racial Justice. We Need to Champion Policy Change.” by Esau McCaulley Grab a copy of Russell’s new title, Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America, here! Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today  Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper  Host: Russell Moore  Producer: Ashley Hales  Associate Producers: Abby Perry and Azurae Phelps  Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens  Audio engineering by Dan Phelps  Video producer: Abby Egan  Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the final episode of the Losing Our Religion special series, Russell Moore and Beth Moore answer listener questions as a continuation of the August 9th live event in the prior episode.  Tune in for their answers to these 11 thoughtful inquiries: Considering everything they’ve been through, how do Beth and Russell guard against bitterness? What are their favorite things about Houston, Texas? Why hasn’t the church figured out how to help address the epidemic of loneliness? What do Beth and Russell most appreciate about their SBC upbringings and their current church families? What would they tell someone starting seminary who wants to teach and keep their faith in the long run? In addition to Losing Our Religion, what are three important books for people interested in the future of the evangelical church in America? How do our current news forms contribute to our modern culture, how can believers remain knowledgeable about society while resisting the negative effects of various news mediums, and how much time is faithful to spend on news relative to spending time serving others? What advice does Russell have for pastors leading “Trump-enthusiastic” congregations? What do Beth and Russell love about their current seasons of life and ministry? How might the church effectively engage with culture today? What is giving Beth and Russell the most hope and joy when they think about the future of the church? This special series of episodes around Russell Moore’s newest book, Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America, explores the Christian faith in confusing times. Check out the other episodes in the series: "Losing Our Religion and Russell Moore’s Hope" "Losing Our Religion: Evangelical Imagination with Karen Swallow Prior" "Losing Our Religion: Revival with Jackie Hill Perry" "Losing Our Religion: Credibility Gaps with Sam Allberry" "Losing Our Religion: David Brooks on the Allure of Tribalism" Resources mentioned in this episode include: Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America by Russell Moore Living Proof Ministries The Woodland’s Methodist Church Sharon Hodde Miller John Stott John M. Perkins “The Sound” by Switchfoot Neil Postman Johnny Cash Grab a copy of Russell’s new title, Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America, here! Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today  Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and Azurae Phelps Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the first episode of the two-part Losing Our Religion special series finale! This episode and the one to follow were recorded at a special live event with Bible teacher and author Beth Moore and Russell Moore in Houston on August 9, 2023. Beth and Russell gathered with hundreds in person and thousands online for a discussion of Russell’s new book, Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America. They shared the story of their friendship and the similarities in their Southern Baptist upbringings. Beth asks Russell a series of "getting to know you" questions about his family of origin, marriage, children, and ministry. And they both speak to the loss and disruption of ultimately leaving the SBC and the ways their ministries have affected their families. Tune in for thoughts on not giving up on people who are deconstructing, walking by faith, and honesty with God. Beth and Russell’s discussion covers shifts in evangelical Christianity, how politics is asked to bear a weight it cannot support, and our common desire for belonging. Make sure you check out the next episode, which features Beth and Russell answering questions from the live audience! This special series of episodes around Russell Moore’s newest book, Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America, explores the Christian faith in confusing times. Check out the other episodes in the series: "Losing Our Religion and Russell Moore’s Hope" "Losing Our Religion: Evangelical Imagination with Karen Swallow Prior" "Losing Our Religion: Revival with Jackie Hill Perry" "Losing Our Religion: Credibility Gaps with Sam Allberry" "Losing Our Religion: David Brooks on the Allure of Tribalism" Resources mentioned in this episode include: Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America by Russell Moore Living Proof Ministries The Woodland’s Methodist Church The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention (ERLC) The Boys from Biloxi by John Grisham Melissa Moore Kat Armstrong The University of Southern Mississippi New Orleans Baptist Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Johnny Cash Waylon Jennings The After Party Brandon Lake Baptist Hymnal Twila Paris Travis Cottrell Amy Grant Houston’s First Baptist Church Eudora Welty Marilynn Robinson Walker Percy Frederick Buechner  Why It’s OK to Ignore Politics by Christopher Freeman High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out by Amanda Ripley Grab a copy of Russell’s new title, Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America, here! Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and Azurae Phelps Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What happens when we see truth as “a means to tribal belonging rather than as a reality that exists outside of us,” asks Russell Moore in his new book Losing Our Religion? That question is at the heart of today’s discussion between Moore and NY Times columnist and author David Brooks.  On a new Losing Our Religion episode of The Russell Moore Podcast, Moore and Brooks discuss culture-making, concentrations of power, and complex social situations. They ponder the potential impact of the recent affirmative action decision and how artificial intelligence might influence college admissions. Moore and Brooks talk about the role of Christian institutions in the social fabric of America. They consider how remembering the humanity of our conversation partners affects the way we dialogue. Their conversation covers the wokeness war, gender and sexuality, and political divides between men and women.  Tune in for a rich discussion of belief, belonging, and building a better world. This special series of episodes around Russell Moore’s newest book, Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America, explores the Christian faith in confusing times. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America by Russell Moore “What if We’re the bad Guys Here?” by David Brooks “At Fancy Farm, old jabs at McConnell take on new meaning amid health concerns” by Juliana Kim How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen by David Brooks Mónica Guzmán Charles Finney Iris Murdoch “When She Was Good” by Martha C. Nussbaum The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time by Yascha Mount Bobos In Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There by David Brooks Edmund Burke William F. Buckley Irving Kristol A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40) by David Hume Weave the Social Fabric Project Covenant & Conversation: Exodus: The Book of Redemption by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Jordan Peterson on “Club Random with Bill Maher” Tim Keller The Return of Ansel Gibbs by Frederick Buechner “David Brooks on his life-changing pilgrimage with St. Augustine and Dorothy Day” by Bill McGarvey Plough Grab a copy of Russell’s new title, Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America, here! Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and Azurae Phelps Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When the news broke that world-famous apologist Ravi Zacharias had perpetrated years of abuse, many evangelicals felt like their world had been flipped outside-down. Sam Allberry knows the feeling—he was a staff apologist at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) when the allegations emerged.On a new Losing Our Religion episode of The Russell Moore Podcast, Moore and Allberry talk about the devastating impact of Christian leaders who are living secret lives of sin. Allberry, a pastor, apologist, author, and speaker, shares what he learned about how institutions deal with crises and how he emotionally and mentally stepped away from the job. He and Moore discuss knowing when it’s time to leave and time to stay, grieving severed relationships, and how God’s grace shows up in seasons of loss.Tune in for a nuanced discussion of faith and doubt, growth in Christ, and gender and sexuality. Moore and Allberry also discuss the ministry of their dear friend, the late Tim Keller. And they point to the power of the gospel in discipleship, sanctification, and changing the lives of those we might be tempted to think of as far from God.This special series of episodes around Russell Moore’s newest book, Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America, explores the Christian faith in confusing times.Resources mentioned in this episode include: Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America by Russell Moore Is God Anti-Gay? And Other Questions About Jesus, the Bible, and Same-Sex Sexuality by Sam Allberry What God Has to Say about Our Bodies: How the Gospel Is Good News for Our Physical Selves by Sam Allberry 7 Myths about Singleness by Sam Allberry Why Bother with Church? And Other Questions about Why You Need It and Why It Needs You by Sam Allberry “Ravi Zacharias Hid Hundreds of Pictures of Women, Abuse During Massages, and a Rape Allegation” by Daniel Silliman and Kate Shellnutt for CT God in the Dock by C.S. Lewis Grab a copy of Russell’s new title, Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America, here!Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected] here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and Azurae Phelps CT Administration: Christine Kolb Social Media: Kate Lucky Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does it look like to practice revival and holiness in our personal lives? What should we do if we feel jaded about the idea of revival? And how can we imagine God’s law as a way for us to understand who God is?  On a new Losing Our Religion episode of The Russell Moore Podcast, Moore and author, poet, Bible teacher, and recording artist Jackie Hill Perry explore the answers to these questions. Moore and Perry talk about what it means to be holy and how Christians can pursue holiness in a tech-driven society. Perry shares her story of coming to know the Lord and the influence of the Scriptures on her poetry and spoken word. And she and Moore discuss the definition of revival, how revival is described in the Bible, and how we might think about revival in our era. This special series of episodes around Russell Moore’s newest book, Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America, explores the Christian faith in confusing times. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America by Russell Moore Holier Than Thou: How God’s Holiness Helps Us Trust Him by Jackie Hill Perry  Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was, and Who God Has Always Been by Jackie Hill Perry  Losing Our Religion and Russell Moore’s Hope  Keys to the Deeper Life by A. W. Tozer With The Perrys Upon Waking: 60 Daily Reflections to Discover Ourselves and the God We Were Made For by Jackie Hill Perry  Asbury Revival  The ERLC Grab a copy of Russell’s new title, Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America, here! If you’re able, join us for a live event hosted by Beth Moore in Houston on August 9. If you can't make it in person, join us via livestream! Click here for details. Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected]. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and Azurae Phelps CT Administration: Christine Kolb Social Media: Kate Lucky Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices