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On Being with Krista Tippett podcast

On Being with Krista Tippett

Wisdom to replenish and orient. Conversations to live by. New episodes dropping every Thursday from September 21. On the intelligence that lives in the human body: love and loss, comedy and ecology, social creativity and poetry. Also, beyond the hype and the doom, what does the new AI call us to as human beings? With Kate Bowler, Kerry Washington, Nick Cave, Reid Hoffman, Latanya Sweeney, Baratunde Thurston … and more. Also: classic, celebrated, beloved conversations in our 20-year archive: Mary Oliver. John O'Donohue. Thich Nhat Hanh. Desmond Tutu. And so much more.

Wisdom to replenish and orient. Conversations to live by. New episodes dropping every Thursday from September 21. On the intelligence that lives in the human body: love and loss, comedy and ecology, social creativity and poetry. Also, beyond the hype and the doom, what does the new AI call us to as human beings? With Kate Bowler, Kerry Washington, Nick Cave, Reid Hoffman, Latanya Sweeney, Baratunde Thurston … and more. Also: classic, celebrated, beloved conversations in our 20-year archive: Mary Oliver. John O'Donohue. Thich Nhat Hanh. Desmond Tutu. And so much more.

 

#951

Kerry Washington — Acting as a Devotional Practice

“Becoming other people” for a living, as Kerry Washington likes to describe her craft, turns out to be a revelatory lens on the high drama that is the human condition. As a “learning actor,” a kind of actor/anthropologist, she has brought elegance and moral rigor to all kinds of roles: as the uber-glamorous, tough-as-nails Olivia Pope on Scandal; as the wife of Idi Amin and the wife of Ray Charles; from Little Fires Everywhere to Django Unchained. Just after Scandal ended seven triumphant seasons, she starred on Broadway as Kendra, a jeans-clad mother in a Miami police station waiting to hear what has happened to her beloved son. Krista was in that audience, and saw how Kerry attended not just to her role on stage but to bringing a beautifully racially mixed audience to participating and reflecting together.  So this conversation has been a while in coming. It is rich with grace and surprising angles of insight — on the roles we all learn to play in the stories of the lives that we are given, and the evolution that is possible in how we assume those characters and leave them behind and grow them up.  This episode of On Being was produced with consideration of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike and with external legal guidance. In distributing this episode, we attest to our belief that no statements made involve promotion of struck work in violation of the SAG-AFTRA Strike Order. Kerry Washington is the author of a new memoir, [Thicker Than Water] (https://bookshop.org/p/books/thicker-than-water-a-memoir-kerry-washington/19671945) , and founder of the production company Simpson Street. Her many credits include the television series Little Fires Everywhere, the Broadway play — and Netflix film — American Son, and the film Django Unchained. She starred as Olivia Pope on seven seasons of the hit TV series Scandal.  [Find the transcript] (https://onbeing.org/programs/kerry-washington-acting-as-a-devotional-practice/#transcript) for this show at onbeing.org. ______ [Sign up for The Pause] (https://bit.ly/3V9mD57) — a Saturday morning companion to the podcast season. ... Read more

28 Sep 2023

1 HR 05 MINS

1:05:17

28 Sep 2023


#950

Kate Bowler — On Being in a Body

We love the theologian Kate Bowler's allergy to every platitude and her wisdom and wit about the strange and messy fullness of what it means to be in a human body. She's best known for her 2018 book Everything Happens for a Reason (And Other Lies I've Loved) — a poetic and powerful reflection on learning at age 35 that she had Stage IV colon cancer.  From a reset on how to think about aging, to the new reality in our time of living with cancer as a chronic illness, to the telling of truths to our young, this beautiful conversation is full of the vividly whole humanity that Kate Bowler singularly embodies.  (Also, as you'll hear, if she hadn't become a theologian, she might have been a stand-up comedian.) Krista and Kate spoke as part of the 2023 Aspen Ideas Festival. Kate Bowler's beloved books include [Everything Happens for a Reason (And Other Lies I’ve Loved)] (https://bookshop.org/p/books/everything-happens-for-a-reason-and-other-lies-i-ve-loved-kate-bowler/11377507?aid=24198&ean=9780399592089&listref=my-books-c4210dfd-4ea9-4de8-b1e4-26f30a3c499b) and most recently, [The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days] (https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-lives-we-actually-have-100-blessings-for-imperfect-days-kate-bowler/18517063?gclid=CjwKCAjwwb6lBhBJEiwAbuVUShL6y2lwhZO2ZsA9-EUj5VAn-B_3ALP-5AhAavZcUEnKXW_v-MBMMBoCfUIQAvD_BwE) . She is an associate professor at Duke Divinity School and made an early name in her field of American religious history with her 2013 book [Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel] (https://bookshop.org/p/books/blessed-a-history-of-the-american-prosperity-gospel-kate-bowler/11691448?aid=24198&ean=9780190876739&listref=my-books-c4210dfd-4ea9-4de8-b1e4-26f30a3c499b) . She also hosts the podcast [Everything Happens] (https://katebowler.com/podcasts/) . [Find the transcript] (https://onbeing.org/programs/kate-bowler-on-being-in-a-body/#transcript) for this show at onbeing.org. _____ [Sign up for The Pause] (https://bit.ly/3V9mD57) — a Saturday morning companion to the podcast season. ... Read more

21 Sep 2023

1 HR 00 MINS

1:00:22

21 Sep 2023


#949

Kate Bowler — A Blessing for the Life You Didn't Choose

This blessing is featured in Kate’s conversation with Krista, “ [On Being in a Body] (https://onbeing.org/programs/kate-bowler-on-being-in-a-body) .” It's published in her book [The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days] (https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-lives-we-actually-have-100-blessings-for-imperfect-days-kate-bowler/18517063?gclid=CjwKCAjwwb6lBhBJEiwAbuVUShL6y2lwhZO2ZsA9-EUj5VAn-B_3ALP-5AhAavZcUEnKXW_v-MBMMBoCfUIQAvD_BwE) .  Kate Bowler's beloved books include [Everything Happens for a Reason (And Other Lies I’ve Loved)] (https://bookshop.org/p/books/everything-happens-for-a-reason-and-other-lies-i-ve-loved-kate-bowler/11377507?aid=24198&ean=9780399592089&listref=my-books-c4210dfd-4ea9-4de8-b1e4-26f30a3c499b) and most recently, [The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days] (https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-lives-we-actually-have-100-blessings-for-imperfect-days-kate-bowler/18517063?gclid=CjwKCAjwwb6lBhBJEiwAbuVUShL6y2lwhZO2ZsA9-EUj5VAn-B_3ALP-5AhAavZcUEnKXW_v-MBMMBoCfUIQAvD_BwE) . She is an associate professor at Duke Divinity School, and made an early name in her field of American religious history with her 2013 book [Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel] (https://bookshop.org/p/books/blessed-a-history-of-the-american-prosperity-gospel-kate-bowler/11691448?aid=24198&ean=9780190876739&listref=my-books-c4210dfd-4ea9-4de8-b1e4-26f30a3c499b) . She also hosts the podcast [Everything Happens] (https://katebowler.com/podcasts/) . ... Read more

21 Sep 2023

01 MINS

01:55

21 Sep 2023


#948

A New Season of On Being Is Coming

A big conversation to live by starting NEXT WEEK — every Thursday — from September 21.  Loss — and love. AI — and the intelligence that lives in our bodies.  Kerry Washington, Kate Bowler, Reid Hoffman, Latanya Sweeney, Nick Cave, Baratunde Thurston … and more. Subscribe, tell your friends, and buckle your (metaphorical) seatbelts. ... Read more

14 Sep 2023

01 MINS

01:39

14 Sep 2023


#947

"Love is still the only revenge. It grows each time the earth is set on fire."

From Krista: I have been texting this exquisite poem from our archives to my beloveds. Perhaps it will touch you — hold you — as it is touching and holding me. ON ANOTHER PANEL ABOUT CLIMATE, THEY ASK ME TO SELL THE FUTURE AND ALL I'VE GOT IS A LOVE POEM To call the young Pakistani-American poet, Ayisha Siddiqa, a "climate activist" feels too simple. She describes herself as a storyteller and human rights and land defender. She is a climate advisor to the U.N. Secretary General, and was a 2023 TIME Woman of the Year.  The poem is read by the also extraordinary young marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, from her On Being conversation with Krista, [What If We Get This Right?] (https://onbeing.org/programs/ayana-elizabeth-johnson-what-if-we-get-this-right/) ... Read more

21 Jul 2023

02 MINS

02:19

21 Jul 2023


#946

From Poetry Unbound: Benjamin Gucciardi — The Rungs

Hello friends, it is a joy to introduce the new season of Poetry Unbound, which is underway. As Krista shares at the top, this episode has everything in it that makes Poetry Unbound such a gift in a noisy podcast world. If you enjoy this episode, subscribe to Poetry Unbound for new episodes every Monday and Friday through July — and stay tuned for a new season of On Being this fall.  We’re pleased to offer Benjamin Gucciardi’s poem, “The Rungs,” and invite you to [connect with Poetry Unbound] (http://poetryunbound.org/) throughout this season. ... Read more

08 Jun 2023

16 MINS

16:07

08 Jun 2023


#945

Patronage and Love: On Being's Becoming

Pádraig makes an announcement, and we listen to a few lovely moments from the On Being season we've just brought into the world.  We're inviting the beautiful humans who gather around On Being to partner in the vitality of the unfolding On Being Project in a new way.  Our friend Maria Popova says it daringly, beautifully, and she's given us permission to adapt her equation. Giving = loving.  Any amount of love and sustenance will be gratefully — indeed, gleefully — received. Learn more and make a gift: [onbeing.org/LoveUs] (https://bit.ly/3KXhUQi) . ... Read more

20 Apr 2023

01 MINS

01:40

20 Apr 2023


#944

Vivek Murthy — To Be a Healer

We need a modicum of vitality to simply be alive in this time. And we're in an enduringly tender place. The mental health crisis that is invoked all around, especially as we look to the young, is one manifestation of the gravity of the post-2020 world. How to name and honor this more openly? How to hold that together with the ways we've been given to learn and to grow? Who are we called to be moving forward? Dr. Vivek Murthy is a brilliant, wise, and kind companion in these questions. He's a renowned physician and research scientist in his second tenure as U.S. Surgeon General. And for years, he's been naming and investigating loneliness as a public health matter, including his own experience of that very human condition.  It is beyond rare to be in the presence of a person holding high governmental office who speaks about love with ease and dignity — and about the agency to be healers that is available to us all. There is so much here to walk away with, and into. This conversation quieted and touched a room full of raucous podcasters at the 2023 On Air Fest in Brooklyn. There are many resources for mental health support. If you're in the U.S., [find some of them here] (https://www.cdc.gov/howrightnow/get-help/index.html) . Vivek Murthy is the 21st Surgeon General of the United States. He also served in this role from 2014 to 2017. He hosts the podcast [House Calls with Dr. Vivek Murthy] (https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/house-calls/index.html) . And he’s the author of Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World. [Find the transcript] (https://onbeing.org/programs/vivek-murthy-to-be-a-healer/#transcript) for this show at onbeing.org. ___________ Sign up for The Pause to receive our seasonal Saturday morning newsletter and advance invitations and news on all things On Being. And: if you can, please take a minute to rate On Being in this podcast app — you'll be bending the arc of algorithms towards this adventure of conversation and living. ... Read more

13 Apr 2023

57 MINS

57:04

13 Apr 2023


#943

Vivek Murthy — A Meditation for Moments of Despair, and To Feel Less Alone

An excerpt from the On Being episode, " [To Be a Healer] (https://onbeing.org/programs/vivek-murthy-to-be-a-healer) ." The extraordinary physician and public servant stilled a raucous room full of storytellers and podcasters with this offering at the 2023 On Air Fest. Vivek Murthy is the 21st Surgeon General of the United States. He also served in this role from 2014 to 2017. He hosts the podcast [House Calls with Dr. Vivek Murthy] (https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/house-calls/index.html) . And he’s the author of Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World. ... Read more

13 Apr 2023

03 MINS

03:04

13 Apr 2023


#942

[Unedited] Vivek Murthy with Krista Tippett

We need a modicum of vitality to simply be alive in this time. And we're in an enduringly tender place. The mental health crisis that is invoked all around, especially as we look to the young, is one manifestation of the gravity of the post-2020 world. How to name and honor this more openly? How to hold that together with the ways we've been given to learn and to grow? Who are we called to be moving forward? Dr. Vivek Murthy is a brilliant, wise, and kind companion in these questions. He's a renowned physician and research scientist in his second tenure as U.S. Surgeon General. And for years, he's been naming and investigating loneliness as a public health matter, including his own experience of that very human condition.  It is beyond rare to be in the presence of a person holding high governmental office who speaks about love with ease and dignity — and about the agency to be healers that is available to us all. There is so much here to walk away with, and into. This conversation quieted and touched a room full of raucous podcasters at the 2023 On Air Fest in Brooklyn. There are many resources for mental health support. If you're in the U.S., [find some of them here] (https://www.cdc.gov/howrightnow/get-help/index.html) . Vivek Murthy is the 21st Surgeon General of the United States. He also served in this role from 2014 to 2017. He hosts the podcast [House Calls with Dr. Vivek Murthy] (https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/house-calls/index.html) . And he’s the author of Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World. This unedited audio includes audience Q & A at the 2023 On Air Fest. Find a shorter, produced version in the On Being episode "Vivek Murthy — To Be a Healer." [The transcript] (https://onbeing.org/programs/vivek-murthy-to-be-a-healer/#transcript) for that show is at onbeing.org. ___________ Sign up for The Pause to receive our seasonal Saturday morning newsletter and advance invitations and news on all things On Being. And: if you can, please take a minute to rate On Being in this podcast app — you'll be bending the arc of algorithms towards this adventure of conversation and living. ... Read more

13 Apr 2023

1 HR 17 MINS

1:17:26

13 Apr 2023


#941

Barbara Brown Taylor — “This Hunger for Holiness”

"I like it much better than ‘religious’ or ‘spiritual’ — to be a seeker after the sacred or the holy, which ends up for me being the really real." – Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor From Krista, about this week's show: It's fascinating to trace the arc of spiritual searching and religious belonging in my lifetime. The Episcopal priest and public theologian Barbara Brown Taylor was one of the people I started learning about when I left diplomacy to study theology in the early 1990s. At that time, she was leading a small church in Georgia. And she preached the most extraordinary sermons, and turned them into books read far and wide. Then in 2006, she wrote Leaving Church — about her decision to leave her life of congregational ministry, finding other ways to stay, as she's written, "alive and alert to the holy communion of the human condition, which takes place on more altars than anyone can count.”  She's written other books since, with titles like An Altar in the World, Learning to Walk in the Dark, and Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others. Being in the presence of Barbara Brown Taylor's wonderfully wise and meandering mind and spirit, after all these years of knowing her voice in the world, is a true joy. I might even use a religious word — it feels like a "blessing." And this is not a conversation about the decline of church or about more and more people being "spiritual but not religious." We both agree that this often-repeated phrase is not an adequate way of seeing the human hunger for holiness. This is as alive as it has ever been in our time — even if it is shape-shifting in ways my Southern Baptist and Barbara's Catholic and Methodist forebears could never have imagined. Barbara Brown Taylor is the author of many books, including [An Altar in the World] (https://bookshop.org/a/10066/9780061370472) ,  [Leaving Church] (https://bookshop.org/a/10066/9780060872632) , [Holy Envy] (https://bookshop.org/a/10066/9780062406576) , and [Learning to Walk in the Dark] (https://bookshop.org/a/10066/9780062024343) . Her 2020 book is [Always a Guest] (https://bookshop.org/a/10066/9780664261702) , a compilation of recent sermons. She is the former rector of Grace-Calvary Episcopal Church of Clarkesville, Georgia, and she taught for two decades in the religion department at Piedmont College. [Find the transcript] (https://onbeing.org/programs/barbara-brown-taylor-this-hunger-for-holiness/#transcript) for this show at onbeing.org. ___________ Sign up for The Pause to receive our seasonal Saturday morning newsletter and advance invitations and news on all things On Being. And: if you can, please take a minute to rate On Being in this podcast app — you'll be bending the arc of algorithms towards this adventure of conversation and living. ... Read more

06 Apr 2023

1 HR 05 MINS

1:05:07

06 Apr 2023