On Being with Krista Tippett

J. Drew Lanham reads his poem “Love for a Song”

Ornithologist J. Drew Lanham reads his poem, “ Love for a Song .” Krista’s conversation with him is our episode, ‘ I Worship Every Bird that I See .’

Feb 01, 2021•2 min•Ep. 923

J. Drew Lanham reads from his book.

This is an excerpt from a chapter called “New Religion” in 'The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature.' There's also a video designed around this reading on our YouTube channel . Krista's conversation with J. Drew is our episode ‘ I Worship Every Bird that I See .’...

Feb 01, 2021•3 min•Ep. 922

Katherine May Reads from 'Wintering'

This passage of Katherine May's book, read by her in our latest show, is so lovely that we decided to offer it up as its own meditation. There's also a beautiful video designed around it on our YouTube channel . And hear Krista's whole conversation with Katherine - and more reading - in the full episode How 'Wintering' Replenishes ....

Jan 25, 2021•3 min•Ep. 919

Living the Questions: A Civil Rights Elder on Exhaustion and Rest, Spiritual Practice, and the Necessity of Loving Community

Our colleague Lucas Johnson catches up with one of his mentors, Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons. Now a member of the National Council of Elders, she was a teenager when she joined the Mississippi Freedom Summer. She shares what she has learned about exhaustion and self-care, spiritual practice and community, while engaging in civil rights organizing and deep social healing. Dr. Simmons was raised Christian and later converted to the Sufi tradition of Islam. Lucas Johnson leads The On Being Project's w...

Jan 18, 2021•24 min•Ep. 916

[Unedited] Nicki Giovanni with Krista Tippett

It feels good and right this week to sit with the beloved writer Nikki Giovanni’s signature mix of high seriousness, sweeping perspective, and insistent pleasure. In the 1960s, she was a poet of the Black Arts Movement that nourished civil rights. She’s also a professor at Virginia Tech, where she brought beauty and courage after the 2007 shooting there. And she’s an adored voice to a new generation — an enthusiastic elder to us all — at home in her body and in the world of her lifetime even whi...

Jan 14, 2021•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 914

Frank Wilczek — Beauty as a Compass for Truth

“Having tasted beauty at the heart of the world, we hunger for more.” These are words from Nobel physicist Frank Wilczek in his book, A Beautiful Question . It’s a winsome, joyful meditation on the question: Do cosmic realities embody beautiful ideas? — probing the world, by way of science, as a work of art. He reminds us that time and space, mystery and order, are so much stranger and more generous than we can comprehend. He’s now written a wonderful new book, Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality....

Jan 07, 2021•51 min•Ep. 913

[Unedited] Frank Wilczek with Krista Tippett

“Having tasted beauty at the heart of the world, we hunger for more.” These are words from Nobel physicist Frank Wilczek in his book, A Beautiful Question . It’s a winsome, joyful meditation on the question: Do cosmic realities embody beautiful ideas? — probing the world, by way of science, as a work of art. He reminds us that time and space, mystery and order, are so much stranger and more generous than we can comprehend. He’s now written a wonderful new book, Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality....

Jan 07, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 912

Mary Catherine Bateson — Living as an Improvisational Art

Underpinning all the great challenges of our time there is the human drama, the human condition. And as we move beyond 2020, we turn to Mary Catherine Bateson to help us understand the puzzle of being ourselves, of rising to our best capacities and gifts, in all of our complexity and strangeness. She is the daughter of the great anthropologists Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson, and she is a linguist and anthropologist herself. Mary Catherine Bateson - is Professor Emerita at George Mason Univer...

Dec 31, 2020•51 min•Ep. 911

[Unedited] Mary Catherine Bateson with Krista Tippett

Underpinning all the great challenges of our time there is the human drama, the human condition. And as we move beyond 2020, we turn to Mary Catherine Bateson to help us understand the puzzle of being ourselves, of rising to our best capacities and gifts, in all of our complexity and strangeness. She is the daughter of the great anthropologists Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson, and she is a linguist and anthropologist herself. Mary Catherine Bateson - is Professor Emerita at George Mason Univer...

Dec 31, 2020•2 hr 35 min•Ep. 910

Gaelynn Lea’s Voice and Violin

Gaelynn Lea’s voice and violin land like a balm — an offering of both clarity and gladness that can still be mustered in this midwinter, this upended Christmas season. She first came to the attention of many when she won NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2016. This fiddler and singer-songwriter moves through the world in an electric wheelchair, and plays the violin like a cello because of the disability she was born with — a genetic condition that has made her bones more breakable. So much of wha...

Dec 23, 2020•51 min•Ep. 909

[Unedited] Gaelynn Lea with Krista Tippett

Gaelynn Lea’s voice and violin land like a balm — an offering of both clarity and gladness that can still be mustered in this midwinter, this upended Christmas season. She first came to the attention of many when she won NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2016. This fiddler and singer-songwriter moves through the world in an electric wheelchair, and plays the violin like a cello because of the disability she was born with — a genetic condition that has made her bones more breakable. So much of wha...

Dec 23, 2020•2 hr 30 min•Ep. 908

Jennifer Michael Hecht — 'We Believe Each Other Into Being'

“We are indebted to one another and the debt is a kind of faith — a beautiful, difficult, strange faith. We believe each other into being.” That’s the message the philosopher, poet, and historian, Jennifer Michael Hecht, puts at the center of her unusual writing about suicide. She’s traced how Western civilization has, at times, demonized those who died by suicide, and, at times, celebrated it as a moral freedom. She has struggled with suicidal places in her life and lost friends to it. She prop...

Dec 17, 2020•51 min•Ep. 907

[Unedited] Jennifer Michael Hecht with Krista Tippett

“We are indebted to one another and the debt is a kind of faith — a beautiful, difficult, strange faith. We believe each other into being.” That’s the message the philosopher, poet, and historian, Jennifer Michael Hecht, puts at the center of her unusual writing about suicide. She’s traced how Western civilization has, at times, demonized those who died by suicide, and, at times, celebrated it as a moral freedom. She has struggled with suicidal places in her life and lost friends to it. She prop...

Dec 17, 2020•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 906

Bishop Michael Curry & Dr. Russell Moore — Spiritual Bridge People

We’re in a tender spiritual moment, widely feeling our need for re-grounding both alone and together. By way of the Almighty force of Zoom, Krista engages a forward-looking conversation with two religious thinkers and spiritual leaders from very different places on the U.S. Christian and cultural spectrum: Episcopal Bishop Michael Curry and Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through their friendship as much as their words, they model what they preach. The Washington National Cathe...

Dec 10, 2020•51 min•Ep. 905

[Unedited] Bishop Michael Curry & Dr. Russell Moore with Krista Tippett

We’re in a tender spiritual moment, widely feeling our need for re-grounding both alone and together. By way of the Almighty force of Zoom, Krista engages a forward-looking conversation with two religious thinkers and spiritual leaders from very different places on the U.S. Christian and cultural spectrum: Episcopal Bishop Michael Curry and Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through their friendship as much as their words, they model what they preach. The Washington National Cathe...

Dec 10, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 904

Agustín Fuentes — This Species Moment

We’ve realized in 2020 that the way we’ve organized culture — from the economy to race to work — could be done radically differently. We’ve been modeling our life together on “survival of the fittest” long after science itself moved on from that. And we’re learning to see that in every sphere of life we inhabit ecosystems. Agustín Fuentes brings spacious insight into all of this as a biological and evolutionary anthropologist, exploring how humans behave, function, and change together. In this c...

Nov 25, 2020•51 min•Ep. 901

[Unedited] Agustín Fuentes with Krista Tippett

We’ve realized in 2020 that the way we’ve organized culture — from the economy to race to work — could be done radically differently. We’ve been modeling our life together on “survival of the fittest” long after science itself moved on from that. And we’re learning to see that in every sphere of life we inhabit ecosystems. Agustín Fuentes brings spacious insight into all of this as a biological and evolutionary anthropologist, exploring how humans behave, function, and change together. In this c...

Nov 25, 2020•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 900

Richard Blanco — How to Love a Country

The Cuban American civil engineer turned writer, Richard Blanco, straddles the many ways a sense of place merges with human emotion to make home and belonging — personal and communal. The most recent — and very resonant — question he’s asked by way of poetry is: how to love a country? At Chautauqua, Krista invited him to speak and read from his books. Blanco’s wit, thoughtfulness, and elegance captivated the crowd. Richard Blanco – practiced civil engineering for more than 20 years. He is now an...

Nov 19, 2020•51 min•Ep. 899

[Unedited] Richard Blanco with Krista Tippett

The Cuban American civil engineer turned writer, Richard Blanco, straddles the many ways a sense of place merges with human emotion to make home and belonging — personal and communal. The most recent — and very resonant — question he’s asked by way of poetry is: how to love a country? At Chautauqua, Krista invited him to speak and read from his books. Blanco’s wit, thoughtfulness, and elegance captivated the crowd. Richard Blanco – practiced civil engineering for more than 20 years. He is now an...

Nov 19, 2020•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 898

Remembering Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

Rabbi Sacks was one of the world’s deepest thinkers on religion and the challenges of modern life. He died last week after a short battle with cancer. When Krista spoke with him in 2010, he modeled a life-giving, imagination-opening faithfulness to what some might see as contradictory callings: How to be true to one’s own convictions while also honoring the sacred and civilizational calling to shared life — indeed, to love the stranger? Jonathan Sacks was Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congreg...

Nov 12, 2020•51 min•Ep. 897

[Unedited] Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks with Krista Tippett

Rabbi Sacks was one of the world’s deepest thinkers on religion and the challenges of modern life. He died last week after a short battle with cancer. When Krista spoke with him in 2010, he modeled a life-giving, imagination-opening faithfulness to what some might see as contradictory callings: How to be true to one’s own convictions while also honoring the sacred and civilizational calling to shared life — indeed, to love the stranger? Jonathan Sacks was Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congreg...

Nov 12, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 896

Karen Murphy — The Long View, II: On Who We Can Become

We are called to consider who we want to be as a people and what kind of world we will build with and for our children. Karen Murphy has been gathering wisdom for this juncture, as she’s worked around the world with teachers and educators in societies moving toward repair after histories of violence. We learn from her about how to prepare ourselves in the U.S. for the civic healing that we are called to ahead. Karen Murphy creates curricula, trains teachers, and leads global gatherings for Facin...

Nov 05, 2020•51 min•Ep. 895

[Unedited] Karen Murphy with Krista Tippett

We are called to consider who we want to be as a people and what kind of world we will build with and for our children. Karen Murphy has been gathering wisdom for this juncture, as she’s worked around the world with teachers and educational systems in societies moving toward repair after histories of violence. We learn from her about how to prepare ourselves in the U.S. for the civic healing that we are called to ahead. Karen Murphy creates curricula, trains teachers, and leads global gatherings...

Nov 05, 2020•2 hr 44 min•Ep. 894

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

Mary Oliver reads her poem, “ Wild Geese .” This poem is included in our “Taking the Long View” playlist on Spotify , which we created to get grounded in reflection that will be with us the day after the U.S. election and far beyond, whoever wins. Find more of Mary’s poems on our website, where we’ve recently launched an entirely new way to Experience Poetry ....

Oct 30, 2020•1 min

Ars Poetica #100: I Believe by Elizabeth Alexander

Elizabeth Alexander reads her poem, “ Ars Poetica #100: I Believe .” This poem is included in our “Taking the Long View” playlist on Spotify , which we created to get grounded in reflection that will be with us the day after the U.S. election and far beyond, whoever wins. Find more of Elizabeth’s poems on our website, where we’ve recently launched an entirely new way to Experience Poetry ....

Oct 30, 2020•1 min

The Facts of Life by Pádraig Ó Tuama

Pádraig Ó Tuama reads his poem, “ The Facts of Life .” This poem is included in our “Taking the Long View” playlist on Spotify , which we created to get grounded in reflection that will be with us the day after the U.S. election and far beyond, whoever wins. Find more of Pádraig’s poems on our website, where we’ve recently launched an entirely new way to Experience Poetry ....

Oct 30, 2020•3 min

This is what was bequeathed us by Gregory Orr

Gregory Orr reads his poem, “ This is what was bequeathed us .” This poem is included in our “Taking the Long View” playlist on Spotify , which we created to get grounded in reflection that will be with us the day after the U.S. election and far beyond, whoever wins. Find more of Gregory’s poems on our website, where we’ve recently launched an entirely new way to Experience Poetry ....

Oct 30, 2020•2 min

America the Beautiful Again by Richard Blanco

Richard Blanco reads his poem, “ America the Beautiful Again .” This poem is included in our “Taking the Long View” playlist on Spotify , which we created to get grounded in reflection that will be with us the day after the U.S. election and far beyond, whoever wins. Find more of Richard’s poems on our website, where we’ve recently launched an entirely new way to Experience Poetry ....

Oct 30, 2020•3 min

John Biewen — The Long View, I: On Being White

The U.S. election will be over soon but this year has surfaced deep human challenges that remain our callings — and possibilities for growth — for the foreseeable future. So this week and next, we’re taking the long view — first with journalist John Biewen, on the stories of our families and hometowns, what it means to be human, and what it means to be white. This conversation between Krista and John starts simply — tracing the racial story of our time through the story of a single life. It’s an...

Oct 29, 2020•51 min•Ep. 888

[Unedited] John Biewen with Krista Tippett

The U.S. election will be over soon but this year has surfaced deep human challenges that remain our callings — and possibilities for growth — for the foreseeable future. So this week and next, we’re taking the long view — first with journalist John Biewen, on the stories of our families and hometowns, what it means to be human, and what it means to be white. This conversation between Krista and John starts simply — tracing the racial story of our time through the story of a single life. It’s an...

Oct 29, 2020•2 hr 46 min•Ep. 887

On Being with Krista Tippett

Episodes