Christine Emba on the Fantasy of Porn’s Harmlessness

Even where nobody talks about it, porn is everywhere--so much so that many, even those who think it's immoral, have concluded that it's an inextricable part of 21st century digital culture. But what if that attitude is leading us to levels of brokenness we never even imagined?

In this episode, Christine Emba joins Russell to talk about what she calls a “quiet catastrophe”: the normalization of pornography in an era marked by loneliness and disconnection.

Drawing from her widely read New York Times essay, “The Delusion of Porn’s Harmlessness,” Emba offers a pointed and profound look at what pornography is doing not just to our minds, but to our relationships, our desires, and our sense of self.

Emba and Moore explore why the idea of intimacy feels threatening, and how a generation raised on digital pleasure might struggle to imagine and practice real relational connection. They also talk about how porn shapes our expectations of each other, why Christians often mishandle this issue, and what it might look like to recover a deeper, more beautiful ethic of intimate relationships.

Emba even shares ways she sees society combatting our perceived defeat and possible despair when it comes to AI’s influence on porn–and the good news is, she has a positive outlook.

This is not a frantic conversation about culture war panic. It’s a thoughtful and sobering conversation about what kind of restoration is possible when desire is distorted, but not beyond healing.

Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include:

• C.S. Lewis letters, Yours, Jack: Spiritual Direction from C.S. Lewis

• “The Delusion of Porn’s Harmlessness” by Christine Emba (The New York Times)

• Rethinking Sex: A Provocation by Christine Emba

• Kate Julian’s “The Sex Recession” (The Atlantic)

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