Krista Tippett

Program Date: February 18, 2017

Peabody Award-winning broadcaster and 2013 National Humanities Medal recipient Krista Tippett has interviewed the most extraordinary voices of our time for her public radio program and podcast, On Being, thoughtfully delving into the mysteries of human existence. On the air and in print, Tippett avoids easy answers, embracing complexity and inviting people of every background to join her conversation about faith, ethics, and moral wisdom—from scientists to theologians to poets and activists. Her most recent book, Becoming Wise, was driven by the search for recurring themes and qualities in the “lives of wisdom and grace” led by her guests.

In her address to The Forum, she offered some “encouragements” to guide us through what she views as an era of reformation, when we are reopening the fundamental questions of humanity and relationships we once thought were answered. She emphasized the importance of the impact of our words, the power of generous listening, and daring to embody love as a public good.

The Belle Arte String Quartet performed before the program and during intermission.

Mark Webb, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Chief Legal Officer, Dominion Resources, the Lead Patron for the evening, welcomed Krista Tippett to Richmond.

Krista Tippett took the stage to address The Forum for part one of the program. Dr. Victoria B. Saunders of Chrysalis Institute moderated the question and answer portion in part two.

Krista Tippett is a Peabody Award-winning broadcaster and New York Times bestselling author. In 2014, she was awarded the National Humanities Medal at the White House for “thoughtfully delving into the mysteries of human existence.” Presenting the honor, President Obama said, “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.”

Tippett grew up in Oklahoma, the granddaughter of a Southern Baptist preacher. She studied history at Brown University and went to Bonn, West Germany in 1983 on a Fulbright Scholarship to study politics in Cold War Europe. She was The New York Times stringer in Berlin and also reported 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 left Berlin in 1988, the year before the Wall fell. She lived in Spain, England, and Scotland for a time, then pursued a Master of Divinity from Yale. When she graduated in 1994, she saw a black hole where intelligent media coverage of religion should be and began to imagine radio conversations about the spiritual and intellectual content of faith that could open imaginations and enrich public life.

The radio show she developed—originally called Speaking of Faith—became a monthly series on Minnesota Public Radio in 2001, and a weekly national program in 2003. Now called On Being and produced and distributed by Krista Tippett Public Productions, a non-profit organization, the program is heard on more than 440 public radio stations and downloaded by millions as a podcast. On Being opens up the animating questions at the center of human life: What does it mean to be human, and how do we want to live? Wisdom and moral imagination are pursued as much as knowledge; nuance and poetry are esteemed as much as fact.

In 2007, Tippett published her first book, Speaking of Faith, a memoir of religion in our time. In 2010, she published Einstein’s God, drawn from her interviews at the intersection of science, medicine, and spiritual inquiry. Her most recent book, New York Times bestseller Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living confronts the central questions and challenges of this century. Maria Popova calls it “a tremendously vitalizing read—a wellspring of nuance and dimension amid our Flatland of artificial polarities, touching on every significant aspect of human life with great gentleness and a firm grasp of human goodness.”

Tippett’s two children are at the center of her life. She also loves cooking, radio plays, beautiful writing, great science fiction, cross-country skiing, and hot yoga.

Victoria B. Saunders Ph.D. has served Chrysalis Institute over the past 20 years as a teacher and professional facilitator, specializing in spiritual development, consciousness, creativity, strategic planning, and women’s studies. She is currently chair of the Program and Development Committees and serves on the Institute’s faculty. Saunders is also a past president of Chrysalis.

Dr. Saunders started her professional career as a global account sales manager for Digital Equipment Corporation. From DEC, she started her own independent consulting practice. Her clients included Signet Bank, Philip Morris, Virginia Department of Transportation, United Network for Organ Sharing, Leadership Metro Richmond, and LifeNet. Dr. Saunders has presented at several national conferences and has served as an adjunct professor for American University and Virginia Commonwealth University, teaching courses in Human Performance Improvement and Organizational Learning.

Saunders has a Master’s Degree in Jungian Studies from the Jung Institute in Houston and Saybrook University. She also earned a Ph.D. in Organizational Systems from Saybrook and a Master’s degree in Human Resources Development from George Washington University.

Dr. Saunders is also an avid reader, mediocre golfer, and proud wife, mother, and grandmother.