Podcast Summary: On Being with Krista Tippett – “A New Season for a Tender New Year”
Host: Krista Tippett
Production: On Being Studios
Release Date: February 19, 2026
Episode Overview
In this special introductory episode, Krista Tippett warmly welcomes listeners to a new season of On Being. With the world steeped in tenderness and tumult, this season promises to replenish and orient listeners through conversations that span spiritual inquiry, scientific insight, social healing, and poetry. Tippett offers a preview of upcoming guests and themes, emphasizing the interplay between pain, love, and practical hope, while hinting at transformative new scientific frontiers.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
Welcoming the New Season
- Krista returns with enthusiasm, recognizing the challenges of the current era and the need for “heart soothing and mind expanding” content.
- “Hello friends. I am so happy to say that On Being is back with a heart soothing and mind expanding Season of new shows.” (00:02)
A Preview of Guests & Themes
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The season will feature a diverse roster:
- Two poets
- Four Israelis and Palestinians
- A philosopher rabbi
- A neuroscientist
- A storyteller for new generations
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These voices promise:
- “beauty and pragmatic wisdom and nourishment for our hurting world”
- Guidance for “witnessing each other’s hurt and each other’s promise” (00:11–00:20)
Hope Amid Despair
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Tippett expresses the relevance of hope even when hopelessness feels so reasonable, suggesting that the conversations will explore:
- What love really means and how it works
- The meaning of hope in the face of adversity
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“There are life giving, transformatively healing ways forward even in the most devastating of human circumstances.” (00:14)
The Frontier of Healing: Psychedelic Therapies
- The season will introduce “majestic learning” about healing emerging from “the frontier of psychedelically assisted therapeutic treatments.”
- This highlights the show’s commitment to cutting-edge conversations at the intersection of science and spirituality. (00:29)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On the promise of the new season:
- “There is beauty and pragmatic wisdom and nourishment for our hurting world and for witnessing each other's hurt and each other's promise.” – Krista Tippett (00:09)
- On hope and healing:
- “There are life giving, transformatively healing ways forward even in the most devastating of human circumstances.” – Krista Tippett (00:14)
- On exploring love and hope:
- “There is searching and pondering on what love really means and how it works and what hope can mean in this world in which hopelessness feels so reasonable.” – Krista Tippett (00:18)
- On scientific discovery:
- “And an introduction to majestic learning underway about new transformative healing of our brains and our lives emerging from the frontier of psychedelically assisted therapeutic treatments.” – Krista Tippett (00:25)
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 00:02 — Krista Tippett welcomes listeners and previews the new season’s intent
- 00:09–00:20 — Highlight on guests, themes, and collective healing
- 00:14 — Statement on healing within devastation
- 00:18–00:25 — Exploration of love, hope, and advances in therapeutic treatments
- 00:29 — Invitation to join and spread the word
Tone & Style
Krista Tippett’s words are warm, restorative, and open-hearted. The focus is on nourishment, pragmatic wisdom, and communal care. Her tone is both grounded and visionary, bridging scientific discovery, spiritual wisdom, and social healing with gentleness and hope.
Summary
This brief yet impactful episode orients listeners to a new season that tenderly addresses the complexities and wounds of our times. Through conversations with poets, philosophers, scientists, and peacebuilders, On Being offers space for replenishment, radical curiosity, and healing—reminding us of the inexhaustible depth of wisdom available when we come together with openness and longing for renewal.
“Please help me spread the word and join us.” – Krista Tippett (00:32)