Warnock Discusses Spiritual, Affordability Crises with NBA Champion, All the Smoke Host Matt Barnes

Senator Reverend Warnock joined All the Smoke podcast host Matt Barnes to highlight his unique spiritual perspective on the affordability crisis impacting working families across America

Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Senator Warnock and Matt Barnes discussed the enduring legacy of MLK and what lessons from his work we can learn from today

Senator Warnock is Senior Pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, the spiritual home of Martin Luther King Jr.

The conversation, the fourth installment of YouTube's In Session event series which connects lawmakers with content creators for live, authentic discussions, reflects Senator Warnock's efforts to meet people where they are in the digital age and speak to audiences disaffected by today's politics

***Watch the full conversation HERE***

Watch Senator Warnock's conversation with Matt Barnes HERE

Above: Senator Warnock and Matt Barnes record a conversation for the All the Smoke podcast

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) joined NBA champion and CEO of All the Smoke Productions Matt Barnes for a live podcast recording of the hit sports and lifestyle-centered podcast "All the Smoke". Barnes and the Senator recorded their conversation at the latest YouTube "In Session" event in front of a live audience of over 150 people and discussed the twin affordability and spiritual crises, the legacy and lessons of Dr. King's work, and how people can keep hope alive in today's tumultuous political moment.

"These fights come with starts and fits. Some days you move a couple steps forward, then you move one or two steps back. There are moments in the story of our country where the democracy expands. There are moments when it contracts," said Senator Warnock. "And we're going through one very painful period of contraction, but a contraction that's necessary for new birth. What I hope is that we will not waste this moment of crisis, that we will lean into what it means to be an American, people that will show up for our neighbors, having had this awful moment of staring into the abyss, seeing how bad it can be. I'm afraid things are going to get worse before they get better. But you take the long view, and you keep showing up with the hope that we'll be better-not go back to where we were. There's no going back. We need to be better."

The conversation builds off of a December 2025 speech Senator Warnock delivered at the Center for American Progress. Senator Warnock argued that the ongoing affordability crisis has created a spiritual crisis in America, saying that decades of politicians failing to center the people they serve has undermined the American dream, created a cycle of division and despair, and ultimately led to the deep divisions and economic disparity we see today.

Above: Fun facts about Senator Warnock could be found around the event venue for guests attending the live podcast recording

During the conversation, Senator Warnock discussed his deep personal connection to Dr. King and how King's legacy inspires his work in the Senate. Senator Warnock is Senior Pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Dr. King's spiritual home.

"I was a kid who grew up in public housing. Number 11 out of 12 children. And because of the covenant that we have with each other as an American people, because of good public policy, because of Head Start, because of Upward Bound, which is a good federal program, because of low interest student loans and Pell Grants, I was able to earn four degrees […] I was able to become pastor of the church led by Dr. King, and now I am a United States Senator. The thing that keeps me up at night is the reality that it would be harder for me to do that now than it was for that kid who did it then. And in America, we always want to make sure that our kids are better off than we had it. That's moving in the wrong direction, so I'm fighting for that kid who grew up on Cape Street, the kid who grew up in public housing, the kid grows up in an Appalachian rural community in Georgia, I'm fighting for those kids."

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