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

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“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”

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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

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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].

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​​“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].

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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

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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

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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].

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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

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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].

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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].

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