Listening/Wisdom

Speaking of Faith is a podcast I listen to most weeks. The weeks I don't, it's usually not because of the guest, but because of the host, Krista Tippett. She doesn't have the normal weird-o public radio voice like Sarah Vowell or David Sedaris, but she uses what seems like too many pauses for emphasis, and I get the impression from her voice that she's smiling way too widely while she speaks, like there might just be saliva hanging from the corners of her mouth.

Not that I dislike her, really. She's flaky sometimes, but often asks interesting questions. This week's interview with Sister Joan Chittister was great. Sister Joan is a Benedictine nun, and a woman of amazing wisdom. I won't attempt to summarize the interview, but from listening it struck me that she's someone who doesn't buy into a lot of false dichotomies set up in religion.

And she's interesting as a nun. Kathleen Norris got me interested in learning more about monastics, and then one summer at camp I worked with a woman who had taken vows, and then left the order. She still kept her vows although she had left, which fascinated me. Sister Joan is just as interesting. One thing in particular I liked was hearing her talk about monastic life as liberating for women.

Anyway, just one podcast I really enjoyed this week. If you want, you can listen to it here.