Author │ Radio Show Host │ Journalist
Krista grew up in Oklahoma, went to the far-away land of Rhode Island to study at Brown University, and ended up in divided Germany for most of the 1980s. She was
The New York Times stringer in divided Berlin and reported and wrote as well for
Newsweek,
The International Herald Tribune, the BBC, and
Die Zeit. Later she served as a special political assistant and chief Berlin aide to the U.S. Ambassador to West Germany.
She wrote her book (
Speaking of Faith) in part to answer the question she is often asked — how she went from that mode of geopolitical engagement to becoming a religious person and student of theology. When she emerged from Yale with a Master of Divinity in 1994, she saw a black hole where
intelligent coverage of religion should be. As she conducted a far-flung oral history project for the Benedictines of St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota, Tippett began to imagine radio conversations about the spiritual and intellectual content of faith that would enliven and open imaginations and public discussion.
When she is not making radio — and even when she is — she is a mother of two, an avid reader of literary mystery novels, a practitioner of yoga, and a lover of great science fiction, particularly
Battlestar Galactica.
The winner of a Peabody Award,
Speaking of Faith with Krista Tippett is public radio's weekly program about "religion, meaning, ethics, and ideas." The show is produced and distributed by American Public Media and is currently heard on over 200 public radio stations across the U.S. and globally via the web and podcast.
"[Krista Tippett's] wonderful new book,
Speaking of Faith,
confronts the most crucial issue facing humanity today: the role of
religion in creating conflict and in healing conflict. Like the radio
program of the same name that she hosts, this book challenges the
reader with unconventional wisdom and inspires with unsentimental hope.
Speaking of Faith proves it possible to be passionate about one’s own
faith commitment while attentive to the passionate commitments of
others. Krista Tippett has created an original and authentic place in
the great debate of our time.
"
—Yossi Klein Halevi, journalist
and author,
At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden: A Jew's Search for
God with Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land
Tippett takes a narrative approach to religious and philosophical conversation. She draws out the intersection of theology and human experience, of grand religious ideas and real life. A weekly national program since July 2001, Speaking of Faith is not so much about religion per se, but about drawing out compelling and challenging voices of wisdom on the most important subjects of 21st-century life. Topics range from "Einstein and the Mind of God" to "The Spirituality of Parenting" to "Diplomacy and Religion in the 21st Century."
"We see our online platforms as central to what we do, and are constantly pursuing ways we can expand our content, offer resources, and interact with listeners in new ways via journalism's fastest-growing medium. Our guests include theologians and scientists, poets and parents, educators and physicians — both religious and non-religious — and our program listener demographic is correspondingly diverse.
"We're proud that the Columbia Journalism Review has credited the show with modeling a new paradigm of journalism about religion. And New York's Jewish Week has called Speaking of Faith "the most intelligent and inquisitive program on religion anywhere on the air." Most importantly, we take delight in the ideas, reactions, and correspondence we receive every day from listeners across the spectrum of belief and around the world."
--Krista Tippett
Bio courtesy of American Public Media.Selected Lecture Topics- Religion, Media, and Public Life in the 21st Century
- Speaking of Faith: Why Religion Matters and how to Think About It
- Einstein's God: Conversations about Science and the Human Spirit
- Evolving Faith: Krista Tippett, Beyond the Broadcast
Selected Publications- Einstein’s God: Conversations about Science and the Human Spirit (Penguin, 2010)
- Speaking of Faith: Why Religion Matters and How to Talk about it (Penguin, 2007)
AwardsTo learn more about Krista Tippett and her radio show Speaking of Faith, go to
www.speakingoffaith.com.