McKay Coppins: A Latter-day Saint Biographer and a Latter-day Saint Politician

McKay Coppins began covering Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential race and because the two shared a common faith as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, other reporters often looked to McKay, a very young journalist at the time, as a source on Romney’s religion. Over a decade later, Coppins’ new biography profiles the Latter-day Saints’ life and career in the public sphere. In anticipation of the book’s release, we talk with Coppins on today’s episode about the faith that is deeply embedded into both he and Romney’s lives. 

Show Notes 

2:08- Varied Latter-day Saint Characters

5:04- “I’m Actually a Member of This Church”

7:27- Folding Into Faith

11:27- The Latter-day Saint on the Campaign Trail

16:22- Sharing Faith in a Secular Biography

22:24- Refusal to Denounce Faith

28:50- A Young Missionary in France

35:24- More To Your Life Than Making Money

40:38- The Worth of Integrity

45:21- By Their Fruits

49:10- Legacy

53:03- What Does It Mean To Be All In the Gospel of Jesus Christ? 

“I realized in that moment that I could do both. I didn’t have to pretend like I wasn’t a Latter-day Saint to be a good reporter and I didn’t have to be a bad reporter to be a good Latter-day Saint. I could do all of it and I wasn’t going to set aside my faith.” —McKay Coppins 

Links & References: 

Romney: A Reckoning biography 

Romney on CBS News See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.