Episodes

  • BONUS: Lecrae on Reconstruction After Disillusionment

    BONUS: Lecrae on Reconstruction After Disillusionment
    Oct 3 2025
    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 questions@russellmoore.com 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
    Show More Show Less
    37 mins
  • Paul Kingsnorth on the Dark Powers Behind AI

    Paul Kingsnorth on the Dark Powers Behind AI
    Oct 1 2025
    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 questions@russellmoore.com 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
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 1 min
  • Tim Keller on Hope in Times in Fear (re-air)

    Tim Keller on Hope in Times in Fear (re-air)
    Sep 24 2025
    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 questions@russellmoore.com 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
    Show More Show Less
    36 mins
  • 30 Things for 30 Years in Ministry

    30 Things for 30 Years in Ministry
    Sep 22 2025
    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 questions@russellmoore.com. 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
    Show More Show Less
    47 mins
  • Books about Digital Resistance with Ashley Hales: The New Wendell Berry Novel, Jon Haidt, David Zahl, and More

    Books about Digital Resistance with Ashley Hales: The New Wendell Berry Novel, Jon Haidt, David Zahl, and More
    Sep 17 2025
    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
    Show More Show Less
    49 mins
  • Listener Question: Is Screentime with Grandparents Dangerous for My Children? With Jon Haidt

    Listener Question: Is Screentime with Grandparents Dangerous for My Children? With Jon Haidt
    Sep 15 2025
    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 questions@russellmoore.com — 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
    Show More Show Less
    8 mins
  • Jonathan Haidt’s Newest Thoughts on Technology, Anxiety, and the War for Our Attention

    Jonathan Haidt’s Newest Thoughts on Technology, Anxiety, and the War for Our Attention
    Sep 10 2025
    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
    Show More Show Less
    45 mins
  • Listener Question: How Can I Have Friendships With Atheists?

    Listener Question: How Can I Have Friendships With Atheists?
    Sep 8 2025
    Russell answers a listener's question: How can I be friends with atheists? Submit your own question for the show! Email questions@russellmoore.com — 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
    Show More Show Less
    20 mins