The Russell Moore Show - Christianity Today, Russell Moore

Latest Episodes:

Paul Elie on Culture Wars in Music and Art Jun 18, 2025

Show notes

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 1980sby Paul Elie
The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimageby 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

Gov. John Kasich on the Culture-Changing Power of Faith Communities Jun 11, 2025

Show notes

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 Futureby 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

Moore to the Point: PEPFAR and the Uneasy Conscience of American Christianity Jun 09, 2025

Show notes

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

Andrew Peterson on the Authors Who Kept Us Christian Jun 04, 2025

Show notes

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

Molly Worthen on Being Spellbinding May 28, 2025

Show notes

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:

Spellboundby 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

Moore to the Point: The Oral Majority May 26, 2025

Show notes

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

Tara-Leigh Cobble on Recapping the Bible May 21, 2025

Show notes

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:

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

Moore to the Point: In 666ness and in Health May 19, 2025

Show notes

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

Charlie Peacock on Music, Meaning, and Letting Go of Power May 14, 2025

Show notes

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: