What is My Work To Do?

On Being returns to your podcast feed on April 16

Professor Michal Beth Dinkler and Krista explored “The Mystery and Art of Living” in February at Yale University.

Dear Friends,

This chapter of my life — and of On Being — is about moving out of the studio and into the world. I’ve been sharing in this newsletter about conversations and adventures and places this has recently taken me and my colleagues. And I am delighted to let you know that we’ll begin turning some of these into podcast episodes beginning next month.

We will commence on April 16 with a joy of a conversation about life and love, heartbreak and healing, with Justin Vernon – aka Bon Iver. You’ll also hear: a tender, complex, and mind- and heart-expanding conversation from our convening in the Hague with Jewish and Palestinian/Arab citizens of Israel last fall; a deep and wide ponder about “Being Young in America” at Georgetown from December, including former On Being guest Jason Reynolds (who was named a MacArthur Genius this past year) and a current Georgetown student; a moving and revelatory encounter I had with Mohawk Elder Katsi Cook at a cross-generational gathering in Vermont; an immensely helpful, grounding, and calming conversation in Minneapolis on journalism and our lives with the “news,” and how to train our attention to the generative story of our time in which we can take part; plus a gem from the On Being archive — a long ago, refreshing reflection on what prayer is about, and how to begin a practice of prayer.

Experimentally — and I’m excited about this — we’ll follow these shows, in May and June, with a seven-week resource/course experience drawn from teachings and wisdom inside the On Being archive: Hope, Imagination, and Remaking the World.

Together, in different keys, these conversations and this learning/pondering experience speak to the deepest questions and yearnings I am following in this new chapter of my life and work — questions and yearnings I hear everywhere mirrored as I speak and travel and accompany groups of good humans in listening into themselves and each other: How to be present to the gravity of this time in the life of the world, and keep body and soul together as we do so? What to turn away from and to orient towards? What is the work that is mine to do?

My hope is that you will find nourishment, support, and a sense of accompaniment in what is to come. We will send email reminders as each new offering goes live. Please encourage others in your life to sign up for The Pause if you’d like them, too, to partake of the next unfoldings.

With love, as always,

Krista

An Offering: The Wise Unknown podcast

Longtime Pause readers will remember the On Being blog and Courtney Martin as one of our weekly columnists. Courtney has continued to be a force of nature. I heartily recommend her Examined Family weekly newsletter. Among her many other projects, she has launched this heartening treasure of a podcast, The Wise Unknown, in which she draws interesting people out on the wisest person they’ve known who most of us have never heard of. Most of the wise people in the world, of course, are not famous. They are influencers in the analog way — enriching lives around them across a lifetime, in forms both quiet and profound. This to me is the measure of a wise life: the imprint it makes on other lives around. Looking to these human beings and taking in their “impact” — and listening to Courtney’s podcast — is one way to nurture a muscular hope.

In the World

Celebrate, Attend and Listen

Krista is delighted to be named one of the inaugural Curious 100 by the Eames Institute. This recognition celebrates courageous leaders and creative minds across the United States who harness the transformative power of curiosity to address today's most pressing challenges. She is honored to join a remarkable community of problem-solvers driving meaningful change through innovative thinking and bold approaches.

Join us for "A Sacred Story for Our Time: Wisdom, Practice & Belonging" online. Krista will engage in conversation with renowned scholar john a. powell and explore how we might navigate meaning and connection in an era of profound change, bridging tradition with innovation to cultivate practices for our modern times. The event will be held on Zoom. Admission is available by purchasing a ticket or through registration in the 'Rooting in the Sacred' course. Wednesday, April 16, 3pm. Please register to attend.

In New York City, please join Krista and special guests for "Design Matters at 20: A Celebration." The event pays tribute to Debbie Millman's groundbreaking podcast that redefined conversations around design, creativity, and culture. Hear special interviews between Debbie and her wife, writer Roxane Gay, with Suleika Jaouad and Dr. Chelsea Clinton, performances by Timothy Goodman and magician David Kwong, plus appearances by luminaries including Jad Abumrad, Elissa Altman, Isaac Fitzgerald, Ashley C. Ford, Esther Perel, Maria Popova, Jason Reynolds, and Jacqueline Woodson. Thursday, April 17, 2025, 7pm. Peter Jay Sharp Theatre, 155 West 65th Street. Tickets are now available.