The Russell Moore Show

What if one of the greatest threats to democracy is not that people hate freedom, but that they get bored with it?

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For decades, political philosopher Francis Fukuyama has been asking a question that seems more urgent now than when he first posed it: What happens when people have peace, prosperity, and security, but still find themselves longing for something more? His landmark book The End of History and the Last Man explored the human desire for recognition, greatness, and struggle—and warned that those desires could eventually threaten the very institutions that made modern life possible. Now, in his new memoir, In the Realm of the Last Man, Fukuyama reflects on the ideas that shaped his life, the convictions he's reconsidered, and the political upheavals that have followed.

Russell Moore talks with Fukuyama about the surprising connections between religious faith, human nature, and the growing appeal of authoritarian politics. They discuss his family's experience of Japanese American incarceration during World War II, his father's work as a Protestant minister and civil rights advocate, and why some Christians have begun rejecting the religious liberty their predecessors fought to secure. They also consider why political movements increasingly promise the kind of meaning and purpose once found in religious communities, and what happens when the desire for greatness turns into a celebration of cruelty.

Along the way, the two of them explore the threats artificial intelligence poses to the dignity of work, the difference between democracy and liberal democracy, and whether Americans can recover a sense of shared purpose without manufacturing new enemies.

Francis Fukuyama's books

In the Realm of the Last Man — Francis Fukuyama (new memoir and primary subject of the conversation)

The End of History and the Last Man — Francis Fukuyama

Trust — Francis Fukuyama

Identity — Francis Fukuyama

The Origins of Political Order — Francis Fukuyama

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From the Moore to the Point newsletter: I can talk and write about transcendence and moral foundations and canonical coherence, but what really kept me Christian most is learning how to say, “I Love Jesus.”

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What happens when Christians become more afraid of losing political power than of losing their moral witness?

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The question of what American Christians should care about has become increasingly difficult to separate from the question of what their political tribes demand. This week, Russell welcomes back his friend Peter Wehner, a contributing writer at The Atlantic and former adviser in three presidential administrations. Drawing on two of Pete's recent essays (The Issues Christian Voters Are Neglecting, and What If AI Is the End of the World?), they consider why so many Christians have become selective in their moral concerns, how the culture wars can obscure the teachings of Jesus, and what happens when political identity begins to shape the way we read Scripture rather than the other way around.

But there's another kind of fear looming. As developers of artificial intelligence warn of its potentially catastrophic consequences, Russell and Pete turn to the question of how Christians should respond to threats they cannot control. What can C. S. Lewis teach us about living in the shadow of catastrophe? And how can churches prepare for a future that may be changing faster than anyone realizes?

Moore and Wehner close with reflections on Johnny Cash, Columbo, and what a haunting music video can teach us about mortality, grace, and the hope of resurrection.

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From the Moore to the Point newsletter: What a Painfully Weird Movie Can Show Us About Lying and Liars

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What if everything we think we know about power is wrong?

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In a world captivated by political strongmen, military might, and the promise of technological salvation, the ancient prophet Isaiah offers a startlingly different picture of what happens when God comes to set the world right.

For Russell Moore, Isaiah has been one of the biblical books keeping him sane in unsettling times. And in his new book, Into the Heart of Isaiah (October 27), renowned biblical scholar N. T. Wright argues that the prophet's message is even stranger—and more hopeful—than many Christians realize.

Moore and Wright explore why Isaiah mocks the idols people trust, how money and military power can become objects of worship, and whether artificial intelligence might be creating idols of its own. They also take up a particularly contemporary question: What should Christians make of the claim that God raises up modern-day versions of Cyrus, the pagan king who delivered Israel from exile?

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