Michael McCullough describes science that helps us comprehend how revenge came to have a purpose in human life. At the same time, he stresses, science is also revealing that human beings are more instinctively equipped for forgiveness than we’ve perhaps given ourselves credit for. Knowing this suggests ways to calm the revenge instinct in ourselves and others and embolden the forgiveness intuition. Krista’s unedited conversation with Michael McCullough, author of “Beyond Revenge: The Evolution of the Forgiveness Instinct.” Krista spoke with him on August 29, 2008 from the studios of American Public Media in St. Paul, Minnesota, and he was in the studios of WLRN in Miami, Florida. This interview is included in our program “Getting Revenge and Forgiveness.” See more at onbeing.org/program/getting-revenge-and-forgiveness/104

Michael McCullough describes science that helps us comprehend how revenge came to have a purpose in human life. At the same time, he stresses, science is also revealing that human beings are more instinctively equipped for forgiveness than we’ve perhaps given ourselves credit for. Knowing this suggests ways to calm the revenge instinct in ourselves and others and embolden the forgiveness intuition.

As some Lakota make an annual pilgrimage on horseback to Wounded Knee in memory of Sitting Bull’s death, we’ll pull out some of the lesser known threads of the legacy of this complex leader and American icon. And we’ll explore why his spiritual character has animated his own people in the last three decades more openly than at any time since his death in 1890. Krista Tippett interviewed Ernie LaPointe, great-grandson of Sitting Bull, on October 20, 2009. This interview is included in the show “Tatanka Iyotake: Reimagining Sitting Bull.” See more at http onbeing.org/program/reimagining-sitting-bull-tatanka-iyotake/152

As some Lakota make an annual pilgrimage on horseback to Wounded Knee in memory of Sitting Bull’s death, we’ll pull out some of the lesser known threads of the legacy of this complex leader and American icon. And we’ll explore why his spiritual character has animated his own people in the last three decades more openly than at any time since his death in 1890.

An understanding of Easter from inside the Armenian Orthodox tradition that is at once mystical and literally down to earth. Vigen Guroian is a theologian who experiences Easter as a call to our senses. He is passionate about the meaning of grand ideas like incarnation, death, and eternity as revealed in life and in his garden.

An understanding of Easter from inside the Armenian Orthodox tradition that is at once mystical and literally down to earth. Vigen Guroian is a theologian who experiences Easter as a call to our senses. He is passionate about the meaning of grand ideas like incarnation, death, and eternity as revealed in life and in his garden. Krista Tippett interviewed Armenian Orthodox theologian Vigen Guorian on February 22, 2007. This interview is included in the show “Restoring the Senses: Gardening and an Orthodox Easter.” See more at: onbeing.org/program/restoring-senses-gardening-and-orthodox-easter/164

The 13th-century Muslim mystic and poet Rumi has long shaped Muslims around the world and has now become popular in the West. Rumi created a new language of love within the Islamic mystical tradition of Sufism. We hear his poetry as we delve into his world and listen for its echoes in our own.

The 13th-century Muslim mystic and poet Rumi has long shaped Muslims around the world and has now become popular in the West. Rumi created a new language of love within the Islamic mystical tradition of Sufism. We hear his poetry as we delve into his world and listen for its echoes in our own. Krista Tippett interviewed Fatemeh Keshavarz on January 17, 2007. This interview is included in the show “The Ecstatic Faith of Rumi.” See more at onbeing.org/program/ecstatic-faith-rumi/189

Can journalism be a humanitarian art? New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has learned that reportage can deaden rather than awaken the consciousness, much less the hearts, of his readers. He shares his wide ethical lens he’s gained on human life in our time — both personal and global.

Can journalism be a humanitarian art? New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has learned that reportage can deaden rather than awaken the consciousness, much less the hearts, of his readers. He shares his wide ethical lens he’s gained on human life in our time — both personal and global. Krista Tippett’s unedited interview with Nicholas Kristof, op-ed columnist for the New York Times. She spoke with him on September 3, 2010 from the studios of APM in St. Paul, Minnesota. Nicholas Kristof was in a private recording studio in New York City. This interview is included in the show “Journalism and Compassion.” See more at onbeing.org/program/journalism-and-compassion/114

For Black History Month: a MacArthur “genius” who’s unearthing an especially painful chapter of the American experience — the intersecting history of African-Americans and Native Americans, and the little-known narratives that Cherokee landowners held black slaves. Even with history this difficult, Tiya Miles shows us the possibility of stretching the canvas of the past wide enough to hold both hard truths and healing.

Krista Tippett’s unedited interview with Tiya Miles, Chair and Professor in the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She spoke with her on November 16, 2011 from the studios of APM in St. Paul, MN. Tiya Miles was in studio at Michigan Radio at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This interview is included in the show “Toward Living Memory.” Download the produced show at onbeing.org.

What happens when people transcend violence while living in it? John Paul Lederach has spent three decades mediating peace and change in 25 countries — from Nepal to Colombia and Sierra Leone.. He shifts the language and lens of the very notion of conflict resolution. He says, for example, that enduring progress takes root not with large numbers of people, but with relationships between unlikely people. John Paul Lederach is Professor of International Peacebuilding at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Krista Tippett spoke with him on June 22, 2010 from the studios of APM in Saint Paul, Minnesota. John Paul Lederach was in the studios of KGNU in Boulder, Colorado. This interview is included in our show “John Paul Lederach on The Art of Peace.” See more at onbeing.org/program/art-peace/182

What happens when people transcend violence while living in it? John Paul Lederach has spent three decades mediating peace and change in 25 countries — from Nepal to Colombia and Sierra Leone. He shifts the language and lens of the very notion of conflict resolution. He says, for example, that enduring progress takes root not with large numbers of people, but with relationships between unlikely people.

Scott-Martin Kosofsky is a book composer, typographer, and author of “The Book of Customs.” Krista Tippett spoke with him on November 2, 2004 from the studios of APM in Saint Paul, Minnesota; Mr. Kosofsky was in a studio of WGBH in Boston. This interview is included in our show “Legends To Live By.” Download the mp3 of the produced show at onbeing.org.

Could a Yiddish text from the Middle Ages serve as a guide to living now? Book composer and typographer Scott-Martin Kosofsky revives unlikely sources of “customs” for leading a modern life and marking sacred time. For Hanukkah and all the seasons upon us.

Amoral zombies. Loving vampires. Righteous serial killers. And lots of God. That’s all in the new TV season — a place where great writers and actors are telling the story of our time — playfully, violently, soulfully.

Diane Winston is the Knight Chair in Media and Religion at the Annenberg School for Communication + Journalism at the University of Southern California. Krista Tippett spoke with her on November 2, 2011 from the studios of APM in Saint Paul, Minnesota; Diane Winston was in a studio at NPR West in Culver City, California. This interview is included in our show “Monsters We Love: TV’s Pop Culture Theodicy.” Download the mp3 of the produced show at onbeing.org.

Paul Brandeis Raushenbush is the Senior Religion Editor for the Huffington Post. Krista Tippett spoke with him on October 5, 2011 from the studios of APM in Saint Paul, Minnesota; Paul Brandeis Raushenbush was in the Argot Studios in New York City. This interview is included in our show “Occupying the Gospel.” Download the produced show at onbeing.org.

Paul Brandeis Raushenbush opens up a hidden but possibly re-emerging influence in the DNA of American Christianity, reaching back to the Social Gospel movement at the turn of the 20th century. And, the Huffington Post religion editor shares what he’s learning about religion in this century’s evolving realm of technology.

What may one of the great literary teachers of Torah and midrash — the Jewish tradition of reading between the lines of the Bible to uncover hidden layers of meaning — teach us about our own human longings? Hear what happens when she takes on Noah and the Flood, and Adam and Eve in the garden.

Avivah Zornberg is a celebrated, literary teacher of the Torah. We spoke with her on April 7, 2005, from the studios of American Public Media in St. Paul, Minnesota. She was in a private recording studio in Jerusalem. This interview is included in our show “Exodus, Cargo of Hidden Stories.” Download the produced show at onbeing.org. 

We experience a vision of caution and hope planted in a long view of Arab and Palestinian history, culture, and time in Palestinian philosopher Sari Nusseibeh. His personal story is steeped in layers of identity and, as he says, living legend, which shape history in the making today. See more at onbeing.org/program/evolution-change/15

We experience a vision of caution and hope planted in a long view of Arab and Palestinian history, culture, and time in Palestinian philosopher Sari Nusseibeh. His personal story is steeped in layers of identity and, as he says, living legend, which shape history in the making today.

In the days and months after 9/11, St. Paul’s Chapel became the hub where thousands of volunteers and rescue workers received round-the-clock care. It was a moving setting to explore how 9/11 changed us as a people — and to ponder the inward work of living with enduring grief and unfolding understanding. See more at: http://onbeing.org/program/who-do-we-want-become-remembering-forward-decade-after-911/257

In the days and months after 9/11, St. Paul’s Chapel became the hub where thousands of volunteers and rescue workers received round-the-clock care. It was a moving setting to explore how 9/11 changed us as a people — and to ponder the inward work of living with enduring grief and unfolding understanding. From a live conversation at the edge of Ground Zero, The New Yorker‘s Hendrik Hertzberg, journalist and novelist Pankaj Mishra, and theologian Serene Jones.

Richard Mouw challenges his fellow conservative Christians to civility in public discourse. He offers historical as well as spiritual perspective on American Evangelicals’ navigation of disagreement, fear, and truth.

Richard Mouw challenges his fellow conservative Christians to civility in public discourse. He offers historical as well as spiritual perspective on American Evangelicals’ navigation of disagreement, fear, and truth. See more at http://onbeing.org/program/restoring-political-civility-evangelical-view/163

One child in every 110 in the U.S. is now diagnosed to be somewhere on the spectrum of autism. We step back from public controversies over causes and cures and explore the mystery and meaning of autism in one family’s life, and in history and society. Our guests say that life with their child with autism has deepened their understanding of human nature — of disability, and of creativity, intelligence, and accomplishment.

One child in every 110 in the U.S. is now diagnosed to be somewhere on the spectrum of autism. We step back from public controversies over causes and cures and explore the mystery and meaning of autism in one family’s life, and in history and society. Our guests say that life with their child with autism has deepened their understanding of human nature — of disability, and of creativity, intelligence, and accomplishment. See more at: onbeing.org/program/autism-and-humanity/70

Did you know that the sacred city of Bethlehem lies within the West Bank? And, inside its borders, you’ll find something unexpected — a close-knit neighborhood where generations of people have created a new life for themselves. Amahl Bishara and Nidal Al-Azraq show us something rare that we don’t see in the news about refugee camps — the quiet cycles of everyday life. See more at onbeing.org/program/pleasure-more-hope/13

Did you know that the sacred city of Bethlehem lies within the West Bank? And, inside its borders, you’ll find something unexpected — a close-knit neighborhood where generations of people have created a new life for themselves. Amahl Bishara and Nidal Al-Azraq show us something rare that we don’t see in the news about refugee camps — the quiet cycles of everyday life.

Did you know that the sacred city of Bethlehem lies within the West Bank? And, inside its borders, you’ll find something unexpected — a close-knit neighborhood where generations of people have created a new life for themselves. Amahl Bishara and Nidal Al-Azraq show us something rare that we don’t see in the news about refugee camps — the quiet cycles of everyday life. See more at onbeing.org/program/pleasure-more-hope/13

A look back at the closest thing the early 20th century may have had to Oprah Winfrey. The flamboyant Pentecostal preacher Aimee Semple McPherson was a multimedia sensation and a powerful female religious leader long before most of Christianity considered such a thing. The contradictions and passions of her life are a window into the world of global Pentecostalism that touches as many as half a billion lives today. Arlene Sanchez-Walsh is Associate Professor of Latino Church Studies at Azusa Pacific University. Krista Tippett spoke with her on June 22, 2007 from the studios of APM in St. Paul, Minnesota. Ms. Sanchez-Walsh was in a recording studio at public radio station KPCC in Pasadena, CA. This interview is included in our show “Reviving Sister Aimee.” See more at onbeing.org/program/reviving-sister-aimee/166

A look back at the closest thing the early 20th century may have had to Oprah Winfrey. The flamboyant Pentecostal preacher Aimee Semple McPherson was a multimedia sensation and a powerful female religious leader long before most of Christianity considered such a thing. The contradictions and passions of her life are a window into the world of global Pentecostalism that touches as many as half a billion lives today.

A look back at the closest thing the early 20th century may have had to Oprah Winfrey. The flamboyant Pentecostal preacher Aimee Semple McPherson was a multimedia sensation and a powerful female religious leader long before most of Christianity considered such a thing. The contradictions and passions of her life are a window into the world of global Pentecostalism that touches as many as half a billion lives today. Margaret Paloma is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at University of Akron in Ohio. Krista Tippett spoke with her on June 19, 2007 from the studios of APM in St. Paul, Minnesota. This interview is included in our show “Reviving Sister Aimee.” See more at onbeing.org/program/reviving-sister-aimee/166

A look back at the closest thing the early 20th century may have had to Oprah Winfrey. The flamboyant Pentecostal preacher Aimee Semple McPherson was a multimedia sensation and a powerful female religious leader long before most of Christianity considered such a thing. The contradictions and passions of her life are a window into the world of global Pentecostalism that touches as many as half a billion lives today. Anthea Butler is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Graduate Chair of Religion at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. Krista Tippett spoke with her on June 22, 2007 from the studios of APM in St. Paul, Minnesota. Ms. Butler was in a recording studio at public radio station WKNO in Memphis, TN. This interview is included in our show “Reviving Sister Aimee.” See more at onbeing.org/program/reviving-sister-aimee/166

A new show from Jerusalem with American-Israeli journalist Yossi Klein Halevi, who says Jerusalem is a place where the essential human story plays itself out with particular intensity.

A new show from Jerusalem with American-Israeli journalist Yossi Klein Halevi, who says Jerusalem is a place where the essential human story plays itself out with particular intensity. This is the unedited interview of the produced show “Thin Places, Thick Realities.” See more at http://onbeing.org/program/thin-places-thick-realities/14

Mohammad Darawshe is Arab with an Israeli passport — a Muslim Palestinian citizen of the Jewish state. Like 20 percent of Israel’s population, he is, as he puts it, a child of both identities. He brings an unexpected way of seeing inside the Middle Eastern present and future. Darawshe is co-executive director of The Abraham Fund Initiatives in Israel. Krista Tippett spoke with him on March 17, 2011 at his office outside of Jerusalem. This interview is included in our show “Children of Both Identities.” See more at http://onbeing.org/program/children-both-identities/12

Mohammad Darawshe is Arab with an Israeli passport — a Muslim Palestinian citizen of the Jewish state. Like 20 percent of Israel’s population, he is, as he puts it, a child of both identities. He brings an unexpected way of seeing inside the Middle Eastern present and future.

Science and religion are often pitted against one another; but how do they complement, rather than contradict, one another? We learn how one man applies the deepest insights of modern physics to think about how the world fundamentally works, and how the universe might make space for prayer.

This unedited interview with John Polkinghorne was recorded in 2005 and is included in our show, “Quarks and Creation.” Science and religion are often pitted against one another; but how do they complement, rather than contradict, one another? Physicist and theologian John Polkinghorne applies the deepest insights of modern physics to think about how the world fundamentally works, and how the universe might make space for prayer. See more at onbeing.org/program/quarks-and-creation/148

At the turn of the year, we look at how American culture’s encounter with religious ideas and people has evolved in the past decade — and this radio project with it.

One of the world’s leading experts on torture, Iranian-American political scientist Darius Rejali discusses, in particular, how democracies change torture and are changed by it. In the wake of Wikileaks revelations about torture in U.S.-occupied Iraq, we explore how his knowledge might deepen our public discourse about such practices — and inform our collective reckoning with consequences yet to unfold.

One of the world’s leading experts on torture, Iranian-American political scientist Darius Rejali discusses, in particular, how democracies change torture and are changed by it. In the wake of Wikileaks revelations about torture in U.S.-occupied Iraq, we explore how his knowledge might deepen our public discourse about such practices — and inform our collective reckoning with consequences yet to unfold. See more at onbeing.org/program/long-shadow-torture/206

Using stem cells, Doris Taylor brought the heart of a dead animal back to life and might one day revolutionize human organ transplantation. She takes us beyond lightning rod issues and into an unfolding frontier where science is learning how stem cells work reparatively in every body at every age.

Using stem cells, Doris Taylor brought the heart of a dead animal back to life and might one day revolutionize human organ transplantation. She takes us beyond lightning rod issues and into an unfolding frontier where science is learning how stem cells work reparatively in every body at every age. In this unedited conversation, Krista speaks with Doris Taylor, the director of the Center for Cardiovascular Repair at the University of Minnesota. They speak about the science of stem cells and their regenerative/reparative potential, and the ethics surrounding such work. This entire, unedited interview is included in the program, “Stem Cells, Untold Stories.” See more at onbeing.org/program/stem-cells-untold-stories/178