The Russell Moore Show

What can we do when we love our country, but feel exhausted by politics and unable to understand how the government actually works?

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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).

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Russell gets a listener question about country music as he explores how a Martina McBride song helps us better love our neighbors.

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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.
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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

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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.


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Why walk with God when answers don’t come quickly—and sometimes don’t come at all?

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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.

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