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 is co-host of the weekly series “Retro Report on PBS” and season three of the Scene on Radio podcast – “MEN.” Celeste serves as an advisory board member for Procon.org and The Listen First Project. In her 20-year career in public radio, Celeste 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, anchored presidential coverage in 2012 for PBS World Channel, and received the 2019 Media Changemaker Award. 



Celeste has interviewed hundreds of people from all walks of life. In a time when conversations are often minimized to a few words, Celeste sheds light on the lost and essential art of conversation. Celeste's TEDx Talk "10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation" has garnered over 23 million views.