I am a relatively recent, but wholeheartedly enthusiastic fan of Krista Tippett, host of American Public Media’s Being, formerly Speaking of Faith. Listening to her this week as the opening lecturer for Calvin College’s January Series, I had one recurring thought. I want her job. Krista’s paycheck and purpose coexist, the result of her insatiable curiosity about people and her passion for life’s most significant questions. She interviews poets, scientists, clergy, artists, spiritual leaders and spiritual questioners. She is as enthralled with the as yet unknown voice as she is with those who speak with the authority of the world’s acclaim. Seriously. I want her job.

Her enunciation and rich vocal tones, her inquisitive questions and palpably receptive spirit….I’m inclined to listen no matter the topic or guest. I listen because Krista provides conversational hospitality. I feel as invited in as her guests, and listening to her has taught me a great deal about dialogue. Here’s just a lesson or two on Being Krista Tippett:

Preparation: Krista enters each interview with hours of reading, listening, and conversing with producers, loved ones, and friends already logged. To take full advantage of guests’ wisdom, we would also be wise to learn all we can before their visit. In his original works on Black Theology, James Cone rightfully insisted that it was not the responsibility of blacks to educate whites. How then, as one who is white, do I learn? Public libraries were made for the work of this very sort of education. Find one writer and follow her or him to the trail of references this writer leaves behind. Observe people silently and without judgment or intrusion. Form relationships outside of the interview or dialogue context and, eventually, when it is time to ask questions, do so by seeking permission and by standing on the platform of trust and knowledge you have built together.

Curiosity: Einstein’s God: Conversations about Science and the Human Spirit, Krista’s recent book, was not the starting point of her life’s work–she would likely describe it as a book she never imagined herself writing. She wrote it, however, because she kept bumping into the world of science as she probed the world of faith. She literally couldn’t avoid this collective of thinkers, experimenters, and questioners as they worked toward greater understanding of the universe. She paid attention to who she met and the pattern of these conversations, and she allowed her curiosity to be stirred–then she followed it to the people and the conversations that would keep it going. In the past, I have mistakenly believed that others would be jazzed about the very questions that keep me awake at night. I have become frustrated when people do not wish to pursue what I consider the “ultimate questions.” But really, isn’t the unique nature of our own curiosity part of the gift of our diversity? Shouldn’t we all pursue the questions that stir us, and give others the space to pursue the questions that stir them? I imagine we’ve all been the recipients of questions asked by people who weren’t genuinely interested in the answer. Wouldn’t we rather engage and be engaged by those who truly want to know? The world needs you, following your curiosity where it takes you.

Compassion: In the open question and answer period at the close of Krista’s talk, I was struck by the tenderness with which she received each question. Even when she was responding to a question she’s asked a hundred times a day, or challenged on decisions she’s made in regards to the platform she has to the world, her voice had a gentleness to it. It was as though she was greeting each person from a place of compassion, welcoming their words as a gift. I remembered once more that conversational hospitality must find its roots in compassion–an authentic desire to connect at a place of deep meaning, even if only for a moment in time.

There are other words to be written and shared–about recognizing when to strive to be the “wise voice” or when to be the “wise listener” who facilitates the wisdom-sharing of others, about humility, and about allowing our journeys to unfold over time. For now, I’ll simply thank Krista Tippett for Being who she is, and for modeling hospitable dialogue for the world at large. Call me when you’re ready to mentor your replacement!