Terry Gross (Fresh Air host) delivers some humble, humorous, and educational remarks to the 2008 Graduates of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

By respecting a guest’s right to decline to answer a personal question, by giving him or her the responsibility to define what’s going too far, I’m giving myself the freedom to ask absolutely anything. Having been assured that I won’t invade his or her privacy, a guest is more likely to answer seemingly personal questions than he or she might have been otherwise.