© 2024 Iowa Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

On Being's Krista Tippett: "Where Does It Hurt?"

John Pemble
/
Iowa Public Radio
On Being's Krista Tippett in Iowa Public Radio's Des Moines studio

It is hard to have conversations with people who disagree with your viewpoint. If you're having an even harder time with those conversations lately, you're not alone. 

"This election has played to our most primitive fear, and fight or flight responses. A lot of us are just weary and need to give ourselves time to muster those better qualities in ourselves," says Krista Tippett, host of the radio show On Being.

"Compassion, empathy and understanding don't feel very natural right now, but they are what are needed to live right now."

During this hour of Talk of Iowa, Charity Nebbe talks with Tippett about asking hard questions and starting difficult conversations. In addition to hosting On Being, Tippett works on the Civil Conversations Project and is a Peabody Award Winning journalist and a National Humanities Medal recipient. She recommends asking "Where does it hurt?" 

"We have to start very small, and to know the power of starting small and to know the power each of us has to be re-weaving what common life means," she says.

"Start a conversation that is not an either or question and is not about positions ... diffuse the defensive and guarded positions that people are into."

She'll be delivering the 37th annual Bucksbaum Lecture at Drake University tonight at the Knapp Center at 7:00 p.m. 

Tim Knepper, a professor of philosophy at Drake University, joins the show for the last part of the conversation to talk about the Comparison Project, which is working to create bridges between faith communities in Des Moines. 

Tags
Lindsey Moon is IPR's Senior Digital Producer
Charity Nebbe is the host of IPR's Talk of Iowa