On being is brought to you by the John Templeton Foundation,

harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest and most perplexing questions facing humankind.

Learn about the latest discoveries in the study of hope and optimism,

intellectual humility, and free will at templeton.org.

In this moment, I'm feeling called to walk alongside others to listen, ask, and lead in this space.

So in the year ahead, about once a month, we are going to bring a beautiful array of voices,

former guests on this show, engaging in conversations they want to be having.

We're calling this series The Future of Hope.

Today, as we get started, the esteemed journalist, Wajahad Ali,

in an irreverent exploration of hope with theologian, writer, and podcaster, Kate Boller.

These are two people I have long admired.

Their friendship began when Wajah, as he likes to be called, met Kate at an event with the Washington Post,

while his three-year-old daughter was enduring stage 4 cancer.

Kate, who had her own stage 4 diagnosis at the age of 35,

recognized the hospital bracelet he'd mistakenly left on,

and she could tell from his face that he hadn't slept all night.

Kate has an amazing ability to honor heartbreak and evoke smiles at once.

As in the very title of her utterly original book,

everything happens for a reason and other lies I've loved.

This conversation is rich in practical wisdom for these years in which we are all living

on communal edges of facing uncertainty, mortality,

losses we did not foresee, and new beginnings we would not have chosen.

...