“Anger is often what pain looks like when it shows itself in public.”

– Krista Tippett

Krista Tippett (@KristaTippett) is a Peabody Award-winning broadcaster and New York Times bestselling author. She created and hosts the public radio program and podcast On Being and curates The Civil Conversations Project, an emergent approach to the differences of our age.

She received a National Humanities Medal in 2013 from President Barack Obama at the White House for “thoughtfully delving into the mysteries of human existence. On the air and in print, Ms. Tippett avoids easy answers, embracing complexity and inviting people of every background to join her conversation about faith, ethics, and moral wisdom.”

Krista was a journalist and diplomat in Cold War Berlin and holds a Masters of Divinity from Yale University. Her books are Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living, Einstein’s God: Conversations About Science and the Human Spirit, and Speaking of Faith: Why Religion Matters — and How to Talk About It.

In this conversation, we cover many things, including:

Krista’s morning routines
Zen versus striving — compatible, incompatible, or other?
Defining “spiritual” and “wise”
The role of prayer for her, and what she focuses on
Overcoming depression
The skills of good interviewing

Enjoy!

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Want to hear another episode with an influential podcaster? — Listen to my interview with Debbie Millman. In this episode, we discuss how to recover from rejection, how to overcome personal crises of faith, class exercises from her most impactful mentors, and much more (stream below or right-click here to download):

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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Selected Links from the Episode

Connect with Krista Tippett:

Twitter | On Being | The Civil Conversations Project

Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living by Krista Tippett
Einstein’s God: Conversations About Science and the Human Spirit by Krista Tippett
Speaking of Faith: Why Religion Matters — and How to Talk About It by Krista Tippett
Brown Researchers Pitch Landing Sites for NASA’s Mars 2020 Mission
The Stasi Files: Germany’s 600-Million-Piece Puzzle by Laura Goehler, CNN
Hanlon’s Razor: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” (Or, as I’ve heard it, incompetence.)
Stoicism Resources and Recommendations
Doubt: A History: The Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson by Jennifer Michael Hecht
An On Being interview with Jennifer Michael Hecht: A History of Doubt
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd
An On Being interview with poet Mary Oliver: Listening to the World
Mary Oliver reading Wild Geese
An On Being interview with poet Naomi Shihab Nye: Your Life Is a Poem
Naomi Shihab Nye reads Kindness
Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God by Rainer Maria Rilke
An On Being interview with Joanna Macy: A Wild Love for the World
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu
An On Being interview with Eula Biss: Let’s Talk About Whiteness
The Random Show Threesome — Tim Ferriss, Kevin Rose, and Matt Mullenweg
Words That Work: It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear by Frank I. Luntz
American History X
The Little Monk and the Samurai: A Zen Parable
Compassion for Our Bodies — Matthew Sanford
An On Being interview with Sylvia Boorstein: Spirituality Is Enfolded into the Act of Living
The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
Sam Harris on Daily Routines, The Trolley Scenario, and 5 Books Everyone Should Read
Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam M. Grant
With Eyes to See and Ears to Listen
The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO)
Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha by Tara Brach
When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron
Acumen Presents: Krista Tippett on the Art of Conversation via Udemy
The Night Manager
True Blood
Yorkshire Gold tea
The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton
An On Being interview with Brother David Steindl-Rast: Anatomy of Gratitude
Why Social Courage Should Be Taught in the Classroom by David Allyn, The Huffington Post

Show Notes

“Anger is often what pain looks like when it shows itself in public.” [05:19]
Were drama and debate in school good training for what Krista does now, or just a manifestation of what she was already good at? [10:19]
On moving to “Mars,” superpowers, and seeing one’s self through the lens of secret police. [11:37]
The principles of good learning. [15:12]
Working through a short temper and righteous indignation. [16:43]
Don’t negotiate on an empty stomach. [19:37]
Identifying and coping with depression. [21:05]
Therapy Krista finds most effective. [27:52]
Growing as an interviewer. [33:29]
Early interview mistakes. [35:37]
Lessons learned from the bad habits and practices of other interviewers. [38:31]
What did Krista read to her kids when they were younger? [42:15]
Poet and poetry recommendations for people who don’t think they like poetry. [44:15]
The most important word in any language. [51:55]
Once-meaningful words that have become conversation stoppers. [53:53]
How can you reconcile Zen and striving for success? [1:00:27]
How does Krista define spirituality, and what can someone do daily to grow in spiritual awareness? [1:07:16]
Does wisdom come with age? If so, how can we become wise beyond our years? [1:14:05]
How does Krista consistently see the best and most meaningful things in the world around her? [1:17:42]
“I can disagree with your opinion, it turns out, but I can’t disagree with your experience.” [1:22:32]
Drawing inspiration for civil discourse from Ecumenist Benedictine monks. [1:24:07]
Answering questions through the story of your life. [1:25:14]
Working through the instincts that don’t serve us well. [1:30:20]
A hopeful story about conversation across the political divide. [1:31:26]
Most gifted books. [1:33:04]
What college class would Krista teach, and what exercises would she assign? [1:34:57]
Krista talks about one of the best listeners she knows. [1:39:52]
Favorite moments of television storytelling. [1:41:25]
What would Krista’s billboard say? [1:43:47]
Morning rituals and prayer as “a mother tongue.” [1:44:26]
Krista shares her prayer. [1:48:07]
Closing requests and thoughts. [1:52:17]

Selected Links from the Episode

Show Notes

People Mentioned

Calming Philosophies for Chaotic Times — Krista Tippett