Celeste Headlee

Buddhist, Change Agent, Consultant, Jewish, Journalist, Musician, Parent, Single, Writer/Editor

Celeste Headlee is an award-winning journalist, professional speaker and best-selling author of We Need To Talk: How To Have Conversations That Matter. She's also the host of "Retro Report" on PBS. In her 20-year career in public radio, she has been the Executive Producer of On Second Thought at Georgia Public Radio and anchored programs including Tell Me More, Talk of the Nation, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. She also served as co-host of the national morning news show, The Takeaway, from PRI and WNYC, and anchored presidential coverage in 2012 for PBS World Channel. Celeste’s TEDx Talk sharing 10 ways to have a better conversation has over 20 million total views to date. Celeste serves as an advisory board member for Procon.org and The Listen First Project and received the 2019 Media Changemaker Award. Along with artist Masud Olufani, Celeste is co-host of PBS’s new weekly series Retro Report which will debut in the fall of 2019. She is also co-host for season three of the Scene on Radio podcast – MEN. Her work and insights have been featured on TODAY, Psychology Today, Inc., NPR, Time, Essence, Elle, BuzzFeed, Salon, Parade, and many more. Celeste has presented to over 100 companies, conferences and universities including Apple, Google, United Airlines, Duke University, Chobani and ESPN. She lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

Face-to-face conversation and using smartphones as phones.

Human beings are the worst versions of themselves online. Research shows we are less cooperative, ruder and more likely to escalate conflict in our digital communication. So it's best to limit email and texting as much as possible and use the phone whenever you can.

I gave a TEDx talk in Savannah in 2015 that ended up going viral, with more than 13 million views. Out of that came a book and a busy speaking schedule and a whole new career path. My second book, Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving, is due out in March of 2020.

Gardening. I grow my own herbs and leafy greens in my little kitchen garden.