Adam Kinzinger on… Just About Everything

The Russell Moore Show

Russell Moore

Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.7 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 3 June 2026

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What if heroism isn’t about being Superman, but about setting aside cynicism to choose courage in ordinary life? Russell welcomes his good friend Adam Kinzinger for a conversation that starts with Kingziner’s new children’s book, That’s What Heroes Do, which grew out of his experience becoming a father during one of the most turbulent stretches of modern American politics. Russell and Adam talk candidly—as friends who’ve walked through some of the same fire together—about the strange emotional and spiritual exhaustion of the last decade. The two revisit January 6, the culture of fear inside Washington, and the strange power Trump still seems to hold over people who privately disagree with him. Adam talks openly about what it was like to watch colleagues quietly support him in private while publicly falling back in line, why he believes accountability still matters, and why proximity to power can become spiritually intoxicating. Adam talks about rediscovering Christianity apart from political tribalism, and why the friendships forged in difficult times have mattered more than ever. It’s a serious conversation, but also a warm one between two friends trying to figure out how to remain human in an age determined to make everybody performative, furious, and afraid. Their conversation has an undertone begging the question: how can we stay hopeful when outrage and cynicism feel easier? Plus: Russell shares about one of his most awkward moments: meeting President Trump at a White House event, and the exchange that followed. Resources mentioned in this episode: That’s What Heroes Do by Adam Kinzinger Keep up with Russell: Subscribe to Russell on Substack Sign up for the weekly Moore to the Point newsletter 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

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This paid message is from Global Center for Coaching.
0:03.0	Some of us are wired to be catalysts for change.
0:06.0	If that's you, you'll want to check out the Global Center for Coaching.
0:10.0	Since 2005, they've been equipping people through faith-based coach training,
0:16.0	helping them lead transformational conversations that unlock potential in others.
0:21.4	You can start by joining a free 45-minute Discover coaching session online.
0:26.5	No pressure, just a chance to explore.
0:29.5	Head to Global Center for Coaching.org and click attend free discovery event.
0:36.1	And I pray legitimately pray hard that this is kind of one of those decades where we can look
0:43.0	back and say, for our kids, this is the example of how not to do it.
0:47.3	This makes me cynical with the exception, though, of saying, I think there will come a day of
0:52.1	reckoning.
0:54.7	Hello, this is Russell Moore, and this is the Russell Moore show, brought to you by Christianity
0:59.4	today. Here, we look for signposts in a strange time by standing fast to what really matters,
1:06.9	kingdom over culture wars, truth over tribalism, pilgrimage over partisanship, sanity over cynicism,
1:13.8	witness over winning, and Christ over everything.
1:17.1	Today we have a conversation to do just that.
1:24.7	What a weird decade this has been. I mean, I just think back, I was looking through some old
1:32.7	calendars from 2014, and I was thinking, I'm trying to imagine describing to my 2014 self,
1:41.7	what the next 12 years would be like. And there are a lot of things I would not have
1:47.6	seen coming. But one of the things that happened over that time were some really, really strong
1:53.3	friendships that came together because there's something about sort of being under fire together that bonds people together.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 27 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Russell Moore, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Russell Moore and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.