Ep 48: A Huge Hug for Krista Tippett - The Incomparable, Insightful Host of On Being

Krista Tippett is a Peabody Award-winning broadcaster and New York Times bestselling author.

In 2014, Krista received the National Humanities Medal at the White House from President Obama for “thoughtfully delving into the mysteries of human existence, on the air and in print."

I first discovered Krista Tippett on public radio and was immediately drawn to her voice and the structure of the content. She discussed and explored existential questions. She was spiritually bold.

I was a 20-year old international college student at the time, who had only been in the U.S. for a couple of years. I was terrified to talk about politics, spirituality and religions in any kind of social conversations. All I remembered were these stereotypes, heated debates that left everyone in the room angry and frustrated.

So I avoided those topics for years, until Krista and her show Speaking of Faith came into my life. I was empowered to talk about spirituality again. More importantly, I learned how to connect with people from all walks of life, all faith or no faith, and I was able to teach and influence others to do the same.

In recent years, I felt hungry for an in-depth interview about Krista, but Google search results are primarily dominated by the On Being podcast, where she interviews other people.

These 30 minutes I spent with her, one on one, was an such a thrill.

Krista reveals the different stages of her radio show On Being from infancy to the enterprise it has become today. The success didn't come easy. She had to struggle and fight for years.

Krista also opened up about her origin story. As a young girl, she wasn't a bookworm. When in school, she signed up for a debate club that changed her life forever.

As a fellow podcaster and radio show host, I picked her brain and found out so much more about her creative process, how she prepares for the interviews, and the talented crew (from producers to artists, columnist, the technical staff) behind the On Being social enterprise.

Thank you Kristia Tippett, for teaching me and so many other people out there what it means to be human, for showing us how we could trust our inner voice and be our own guru.

Learn more about Krista Tippett on the On Being website. Listen to her radio program, also available via iTunes, SoundCloud and podcast apps on mobile.