Savannah Guthrie and Her Pastor Reflect on the Advice She ‘Always’ Gives Her Kids About Treating Others
Savannah Guthrie and Her Pastor Reflect on the Advice She ‘Always’ Gives Her Kids About Treating Others
Alex RossTue, September 29, 2026 at 9:34 PM UTC
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Savannah Guthrie on November 29, 2023.Credit: Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty
Savannah Guthrie is bringing people together.
The Today anchor led NBC News’ live Common Ground event on Sept. 28, where she was joined by guests Michael Rudzena and Arthur C. Brooks, PhD, to discuss the role faith can play in finding common ground in 2026.
The conversation centered around modern ways to practice the age-old principle of “loving your neighbor,” and Guthrie, who attends Rudzena’s Good Shepherd New York church, noted an important lesson she tries to instill in her children about how even big changes can start small.
Savannah Guthrie with Michael Rudzena and Arthur C. Brooks on Sept. 28, 2026Credit: Scott Gries/NBC
“I always tell my kids when you see something that upsets you or you see something that feels so overwhelming, the answer is to do for one person what you wish you could do for the whole world,” said Guthrie, who shares daughter Vale, 12, and son Charley, 9, with husband Michael Feldman.
“And that’s the kind of inspiration we need now, is to be able to say, ‘What kind of world do I want to see, and how can I start rehearsing that now?’” said Rudzena.
Brooks, a social scientist and author of The Meaning of Your Life, agreed with the sentiment.
“Love is local. Love is the most intensely local thing possible,” he said. “That means it starts with the people in your house and the people in your neighborhood and the people that you have proximity to.”
During the conversation, Brooks also raised the other side of that idea: that letting others love you in return is equally important.
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“Allowing other people to love us is a form of self-care as well,” he said. “This is really counterintuitive. The greatest thing that you could do for somebody else is giving them the opportunity to love you and to be charitable toward you.”
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Guthrie said that notion resonated with her personally.
“I mean that called me out on my thing,” she admitted. “I try to be so self-sufficient and not needy, and I never thought about it in that way, that one of the greatest gifts we can do is be vulnerable and let people love you. And I think sometimes that can be a big challenge, especially for type A, New Yorker types.”
Mike Tirico with Drew Brees, Diana Flores and Hans SchroederCredit: Jennifer Graylock/NBC
NBC News’ Common Ground initiative is “focused on what unites us as Americans,” per its website, and the series of specials “bring together leaders with different perspectives who agree on solutions to the issues that matter most to Americans.”
In addition to Guthrie’s panel, the Sept. 28 event also featured Mike Tirico in a sports-centric conversation with Drew Brees, Diana Flores and Hans Schroeder as well as the return of NBC contributor Harry Smith, who spoke with violinist and Music Kitchen founder Kelly Hall-Tompkins about her work.
Smith’s return comes more than two years after his NBC News departure, when the correspondent wrapped his 12-year run at the company.
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to do what I have done for so long: tell America’s story,” Smith told PEOPLE of rejoining the news organization. “I have long believed that there is more that unites us than divides us. It’s in our bones. It’s part of America’s DNA.”
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
