Krista Tippett Promo

I listened this morning to another of Krista Tippett's radio interviews, this time with Kate Braestrup who serves as chaplain to Maine Game Wardens. She is promoting a book published last year. In this case the guest is Unitarian-Universalist so readers with preconceived notions about "those" people may want to pass. I found her observations worthwhile and spiritually enriching as I recalled a friend's sarcastic swipe years ago at a Unitarian ("Ya'll are the ones who believe in one God at the most, aren't you?")

Krista's own book is a quick, quiet, revealing read, good summer reading. Starting as a professional journalist not especially aimed at spirituality, she came into her genre with a well-sharpened skill set. It has been her privilege to interview over the last few years some of the most important living writers, thinkers and teachers across the spectrum of all that includes "faith" in the broadest sense of the word. She is another Barbara Walters, David Frost, Charlie Rose, James Lipton , Brian Lamb or Terry Gross.

Can you tell I like to listen to interviews? Done well, the listener pays more attention to the subject than the host. (By the same token I deplore interviews that bring more attention to the host than the guest. I'm thinking here of radio talk shows and what passes for commentary on the popular networks. Larry King gets a point or two but commercials and flashy suspenders get in the way. One reason that Tim Russert was so good was his ability to hold the middle ground among talking heads, but playing umpire to a spate position-players is not the same as interviewing individuals.)