Next Question with Katie Couric

On this episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Katie explores the subject of happiness. Because as a culture, we seem to be obsessed with achieving it. Just look to higher ed. Some of the most elite universities tout courses on happiness — the science of it, the value of it, the history and future of it. But the search for happiness has also seeped into our regular podcast consumption and our must-watch TV shows. So what’s the deal? Why is happiness the carrot dangling just outside of our reach? And what defines happiness anyway? To find out, Katie talks with one of those aforementioned happiness scholars, Arthur C. Brooks, whose most recent book is called “From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life.”

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Five years ago, on Oct. 5, 2017, the New York Times published an article written by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey. The headline read: “Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades.” Fueled by the Hollywood stars in the story, Jodi and Megan’s reporting made the Me Too movement — started by Tarana Burke in 2006 — go viral. Now the reporters and their incredible investigation are the subjects of a feature film called “She Said,” which is based on the eponymous book they co-wrote in 2019. The movie stars Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan and not only focuses on the personal lives of the reporters and how they got the story no one else could, but also the lives of their sources — the regular women whose careers were cut short and lives altered because of Weinstein’s torment. “They wanted to break into the industry,” Megan tells Katie, “and instead they experienced attacks and harassment and abuse and to see in this movie the toll that has taken on their lives so many years later. I mean, it wrote them out of the industry.” On this episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Katie and the New York Times reporters talk about the bizarre experience of seeing their lives unfold on screen, the power of journalism, the comfort of the newsroom, and the lasting impacts of Me Too.

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Charlayne Hunter-Gault has spent nearly sixty years chronicling history as a journalist, but when she was just 19 years old, she played a crucial role in making it. On January 9, 1961, she and her classmate Hamilton Holmes bravely walked onto University of Georgia’s campus becoming the first two Black students to integrate the school. On this episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Katie talks with Charlayne about that historic day and a career that stationed the journalist at some of the most respected media outlets in the country, including the New York Times, the New Yorker, and PBS Newshour. No matter the outlet, Charlayne made it her mission to cover “Black people in ways they were rarely portrayed in the media — in their full humanity.” Katie and Charlayne talk about some of her most impactful stories, many of which have been collected into her new book, “My People: Five Decades of Writing About Black Lives.”

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For more than two decades, Kelly Ripa has been welcomed into millions of people’s homes, kitchens, and even bedrooms, as the co-host of ABC’s daytime talk show “Live!” And it’s easy to see why: she’s funny, warm, and perpetually self-effacing. And those same endearing qualities come through in her writing, too. Her first book, “Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories,” is a collection of hilarious, revealing, and tender memoirish essays that highlight moments of transition in her life — from meeting her husband on a soap opera set, to her awkward tryout for “Live!”, to dropping her youngest child off to college and facing an empty nest. On this episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Katie and Kelly talk about it all, including their shared frustrations working in the male-dominated media industry and what it was like for Kelly to set the record straight on a few false headlines. 

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The new movie “Call Jane” is a period piece about abortion and reproductive activism in the years before Roe vs Wade was enacted. But given our post-Roe world and the very real consequences of abortion bans across the country, the plot — about a suburban housewife who desperately needs an abortion but can’t get one in her state — sounds like it could be ripped from our 2022 headlines. What can a story about our past struggles teach us about our present circumstances? Why is levity a convincing tool in the fight for bodily autonomy? Can a movie like “Call Jane” affect the fast-approaching midterms? On this episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Katie talks with the movie’s director, Phyllis Nagy, and its star, Elizabeth Banks, about the movie’s poignancy, some of its blood-boiling scenes, and why the movie’s not just preaching to the choir. “Call Jane” is in select theaters starting Oct. 28.

For more information about abortion access in this country, check out Katie’s six-part podcast series on the subject, Abortion: The Body Politic. Some of the real life Janes are featured in Part Two. You can stream the documentary “The Janes” on HBO Max now.

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We are just a few weeks out from the 2022 midterms and there is a lot to unpack — makeup of the House, will the Senate flip, the very future of our democracy! To help us understand what is truly at stake this Nov. 8, Katie brings on three political strategists to break it all down. On this episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Katie is joined by her former podcast co-host (and current Democratic political and media strategist) Brian Goldsmith, as well as Lis Smith, who is a 20-year veteran of Democratic political campaigns -- from Barack Obama 2012 to Pete Buttigieg 2020 -- and Republican political consultant Mike Murphy who, with David Axelrod, hosts the political podcast “Hacks on Tap”. The group walks through the biggest issues driving voters to the polls, the impact of Roe, the races that could change up Congress and how all of this affects what’s to come in 2024. Check out Lis Smith’s new memoir, “Any Given Tuesday: A Political Love Story.”

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Jon Hamm has been busy. On a fall visit to New York City, while shooting the next season of The Morning Show, and amid actual morning show visits to promote his new comedy, Confess Fletch, Jon stopped by the studio to chat with Katie -- blissfully -- face-to-face. On this episode of Next Question, they discuss the challenges of rebooting an iconic character, Jon’s early years as a struggling actor in LA, and how he broke out of the Don Draper shackles.  Katie and Jon also bond over their cancer losses and Jon shares some of his therapy journey. Naturally, Katie can’t help but dig into Jon’s personal life. Find out what he divulges. Catch Confess, Fletch, on digital video on demand. 

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Geena Davis has been a face we have come to know on screen for 40 years. And despite being in the public eye for so long, Geena is one of those actors who has cleverly obscured herself and her personal life behind the scenes. But now, she’s putting her whole self out there with a memoir called Dying of Politeness. On this episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Katie and Geena talk about her “throwback” childhood, girlhood trauma, and some of her most iconic roles. They talk about the feminist thread that has shaped Geena’s career, the inescapable misogyny of Hollywood, and how she carved her own professional path in the second phase of life. 

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Katie has always been vigilant about her health. Ever since her husband Jay died of stage four colon cancer in 1998, Katie has been a cancer screening advocate, sharing information about and helping to normalize seemingly intimidating procedures that can detect cancer early and save lives (you might recall Katie’s on-air colonoscopy?). When Katie realized she had missed a mammogram, she decided to take listeners into the procedure room with her to understand why it’s important for women like Katie, who has dense breasts, to get not only a mammogram but also an ultrasound. But then, Katie gets the news that no one wants to get. On this very personal episode, Katie — with the help of her doctors and daughters — takes listeners behind the scenes of her cancer diagnosis, treatment and long term plan. Katie also introduces listeners to cancer survivor and activist, Michele Young, who beat the odds and is changing the breast cancer screening system. Also, check out Ellie and Carrie Monahan’s podcast, All Each Other Has, wherever you get your podcasts. 

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There is no better — or funnier — way to launch a new season of Next Question with Katie Couric than an interview with comedian and actor, Billy Eichner. Billy is best known for his 2010s cult-favorite pop culture quiz show, Billy on the Street. And after regular side-kick appearances on the small and big screens, he is now leaping confidently into starring-man status in the groundbreaking and hilarious boy-meets-boy comedy, Bros (opening in theaters September 30). Billy is the first openly gay man to both write and star in a gay romcom from a major movie studio and while there’s a lot riding on the success of this movie, Billy proves he’s enjoying the sometimes turbulent ride. Katie and Billy talk about the long journey to Bros, the importance of supportive parents, some of his all-time favorite Billy on the Street clips and so much more.

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After deep-diving into the history and future of abortion access with her investigative series Abortion: The Body Politic, Katie Couric is eager to return to her favorite format, the intimate interview. In fact, she’s brimming with questions. Big questions about how to find happiness and purpose in life. Pressing questions about the future of the GOP and if there’s any common ground to be found in our polarizing politics. Intimate questions about health, dating, parenting and love. And a million more questions for a whole new slew of interesting creators, thinkers, scientists, authors, activists and plenty of high profile actors. On this season of Next Question: new guests, new topics, same curious Katie.

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Next Question with Katie Couric is launching an all new season on September 29th. In the meantime, Katie shares a delightful conversation she had with the ever charming and talented, Michelle Pfeiffer. They talk about the Showtime series, The First Lady, and what it was like to not only become Betty Ford, but also to really get to know her (and step into her pretty spectacular 70s wardrobe). Michelle also shares her decades-long journey to entrepreneurship and what it was like to create a “clean,” unisex fragrance line, Henry Rose.

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In 2002, journalist Ken Auletta tried to expose Harvey Weinstein’s sexual abuse of women in a New Yorker profile he was writing about the powerful film mogul, but his sources were unwilling to go on the record. It would take another 15 years for the full story to come to light through Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey’s reporting for the New York Times and Ronan Farrow’s for the New Yorker. For his new book, “Hollywood Ending: Harvey Weinstein and the Culture of Silence,” Auletta revisits the story that got away and offers up a fascinating portrayal of Weinstein’s life and career. And for this bonus episode, he talks with Katie about what exactly motivated Weinstein to commit such horrific acts, the culture of complicity that enabled him, and the current state of the #MeToo movement that his toppling set in motion.

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On this mid-season bonus of Next Question with Katie Couric, Katie shares an urgent conversation she had with Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Chief Medical Advisor to the President. Katie has called on Dr. Fauci to help her and her listeners navigate all of the endless questions and concerns throughout the pandemic. For this latest episode, they dig into the recent covid surge, latest subvariant, and the emergence of yet another infectious disease outbreak – monkeypox. 

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Katie’s special series, Abortion: The Body Politic, has wrapped, but we wanted to give the very last word to a special group of people — people who have had abortions. These first-person stories reveal the lengths people have always had to go through to get an abortion — enduring unnecessary waiting periods, lengthy travel, parental consent needs, manipulative partners, unsupportive family members, shame, guilt, and more. These abortion stories span decades, cultures, race, faiths and gender. They reveal how common abortion is and yet how consistently stigmatized. This episode is dedicated to abortion storytellers everywhere whose voices and personal experience help normalize abortion for all.  This episode includes stories from Busy Philipps, Gloria Steinem, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, and more. 

More about the organizations mentioned in this podcast: 

• We Testify

• Shout Your Abortion

• Physicians for Reproductive Health

• ReproAction

Action items:

• How to find, contact, and donate to your local abortion fund

• Learn about abortion laws in your state

• How to get abortion pills in any state

• How to share your abortion story [Also, We Testfy]

• Support reproductive justice organizations, like Sister Song and Latina Institute for Reproductive Rights

• Check out Vote Save America about how to take action at the ballot. 

• Follow all the organizations and people featured in this series!

 

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Two years ago, Daisy Edgar-Jones got everyone’s attention as Marianne in the hit BBC adaptation of the Sally Rooney novel, “Normal People.” The role earned her a Golden Globe nomination and, at 24, pegged her as one of the most exciting young actors working today. She now stars as Kya Clark, aka “the Marsh Girl” in another book to film adaptation, the much anticipated “Where the Crawdads Sing” based on the bestselling novel by Delia Owens. For this bonus episode of Next Question, she sits down with Katie to talk not only about how she transformed herself into Kya, but also about her early life growing up in London as an only child, her path to acting, and what she plans to do next.

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Abortion: The Body Politic started on the ground, visiting two abortion clinics 15 minutes away from each other in two very different states: Missouri and Illinois. On this last episode, we check back in with someone who works in those two clinics to understand the immediate impact the Supreme Court decision had on their patients. Then we consider, what now? Katie interviews Rep. Jayapal (D-WA) who has been a legislative leader in the fight for reproductive rights to understand what lawmakers can do to protect abortion now and in the future. Finally, we hear from a new generation of activists, actors (like Busy Phlipps), musicians (like MILCK and Amanda Shires), and TikTokers about how they are using their platforms, social media and art to not only normalize abortion but also share information (when that information could be criminalized), and, perhaps, change hearts and mind one person at a time. 

More information on this episode’s guests and resources:

• Planned Parenthood
• National Advocates for Pregnant Women
• ReproAction
• Rep. Pramila Jayapal
• Paula Ávila-Guillén
• Gen-Z For Change
• @OliviaJulianna
• Busy Philipps
• MILCK
• Whole Woman’s Health

Action items:

• How to find, contact, and donate to your local abortion fund
• Learn about abortion laws in your state
• How to get abortion pills in any state
• How to share your abortion story [Also, We Testfy]
• Support reproductive justice organizations, like Sister Song and Latina Institute for Reproductive Rights
• Follow all the organizations and people featured in this podcast!

Books and more:

• Pay Up: The Future of Women and Work (and Why It’s Different Than You Think), by Reshma Saujani
• It’s time for Republican women to speak up for reproductive rights, by Kathryn Kaufman, The Washington Post
• This Will Only Hurt A Little, by Busy Philipps
• Amanda Shires demands more artists stand up for abortion rights, Rolling Stone
• Take It Like A Man, by Amanda Shires
• We Won’t Go Back, by MILCK, BIIANCO, & Autumn Roe (feat. Ani DiFranco)

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In Part 5 of Abortion: The Body Politic, Katie looks abroad for models of progress — and regress — when it comes to reproductive rights and abortion access. What are the trends and how does the U.S. now compare? We check in with the Center for Reproductive Rights to find out. Perhaps no region has seen more progress than Latin America. Human Rights lawyer and one of the founders of the Green Wave movement, Paula Ávila-Guillén, shares her experiences on the front lines of the decades-long fight for reproductive justice and what Americans can learn from our sisters to the South. We also hear from an activist in Mexico who is helping people across the border access abortion care they can no longer get in the United States. And academic, Lina-Maria Murillo gives us context for the unique relationship the United States and Mexico share when it comes to abortion access. There’s no denying the fact that many of the countries we are highlighting are largely conservative and Catholic. What does the progress these Catholic countries have made say about our own complicated assumptions about religion and abortion. We hear from several leaders of faith from a Jewish Rabbi to a Baptist Reverend and leaders from organizations like, Catholics for Choice and SACRED, about how they have worked reproductive rights and abortion access into their faith practice.

More information on this episode’s guests and resources

• Center for Reproductive Rights

• Women’s Equality Center

• Paula Ávila-Guillén

• Las Libres

• Lina-Maria Murillo

• Physicians for Reproductive Health

• Catholics for Choice

• Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

• SACRED: A Spiritual Alliance of Communities for Reproductive Dignity

• Sister Song

Books and more:

• When Abortion Was a Crime, by Leslie J. Reagan
• A Complicated Choice: Making Space for Grief and Healing in the Pro-Choice Movement, by Reverend Katey Zeh

Guests include:

• Paula Ávila-Guillén, human rights lawyer, Green Wave activist

• Veronica Cruz, founder of Las Libres

• Leah Hoctor, senior regional director for Europe at the Center for Reproductive Rights

• Lina-Maria Murillo, professor at Iowa focusing on reproductive rights along the borderlands

• Jamie Manson, Catholics for Choice

• Katey Zeh, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
• Rabbi Kelly Levy, Congregation Beth Israel, Austin, Texas
• Kenyetta Chinwe, Sister Song, SACRED

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In Part 4 of Abortion: The Body Politic, Katie examines how abortion is explored and reflected in popular culture and Hollywood. Because whether we realize it or not, the movies we have loved and the TV shows we watch represent the collective imagination of our culture at particular moments in time. And for much of the past 50 years, that collective imagination was riddled with problematic abortion tropes that perpetuates stereotypes about the procedure and the people who seek it out. But the good news is that in the past decade, more showrunners and filmmakers — and even studios — telling more abortion stories and even taking some risks. Katie takes listeners to the front row of a new comedy show about abortion, aptly named, “Oh God A Show About Abortion,” from comedian Alison Leiby. Filmmakers Gillian Robespierre (“Obvious Child,” 2014), Rachel Lee Goldenberg (“Unpregnant,” 2020), and Dawn Porter (“Trapped,” 2016) share the origin stories of their narrative-busting movies and what more Hollywood and creatives need to do in the long fight toward reproductive rights. 

More information on this episode’s guests and resources:

• Abortion Onscreen study

• Abortion Onscreen Database

• Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health

• We Testify

TV Shows, movies and more:

• Stream Obvious Child on Prime and Hulu

• Stream Unpregnant on HBO Max
• Oh God, A Show About Abortion, by Alison Leiby

• Unpregnant, by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan

• Stream Trapped on Prime

• Watch The Racial Politics of Abortion on YouTube
• Planned Parenthood’s Secret Weapon (Washington Post)

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On Part 3 of Abortion: The Body Politic focuses on Roe and its unraveling. The last living Roe prosecutor, Linda Coffee, shares her recollections of that historic Supreme Court case and how she found out she had won. We learn of  the immediate failings of Roe, especially for Black women, and the birth of the Reproductive Justice movement. Experts trace the politicization of abortion, the belated moral-issue grab by evangelicals,  the violence that hit abortion doctors and clinics in the 1990s, and the anti-abortion strategy that forever altered American politics. We hear first-person experiences of long-time abortion doctors as well as fresh medical students who share why they felt inspired to join the cause. We also hear from two abortion storytellers about their experiences navigating a convoluted system that can be particularly apathetic to the needs of those seeking later abortions.

More information on this episode’s guests and resources:

• Access Reproductive Justice

• Boulder Abortion Clinic

• The Bixby Center for Reproductive Health

• Physicians for Reproductive Health

• The Doula Project

• Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast

Books and more

• Roe v. Wade’s secret heroine tells her story [Vanity Fair]

• Abortion and the Law in America: Roe v. Wade to the Present, by Mary Ziegler

• Dollars for Life: The Anti-Abortion Movement and the Fall of the Republican Establishment, by Mary Zeilger

• Reproductive Justice, by Loretta Ross and Rickie Solinger
• Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the Religious Right, by Randall Balmer

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In Part 2 of Abortion: The Body Politic, we step into the past, long before Roe, and trace the roots of today's abortion's debate to understand  — if abortions have always happened and the majority of Americans have always believed they should be legally accessible — why is abortion such a contentious, even volatile, issue in this country. In this journey, a new narrative of reproductive resistance comes to the surface. Women, particularly Black, brown and indigenous, have always made choices that are best for their bodies, families, and lives — no matter the obstacles men have placed before them. In these stories of resistance we also hear first-hand accounts of surprising allies in underground abortion access, courage in the face of limited reproductive choices, and a relentless push for bodily autonomy. The illegal period before Roe is a mirror to our impending, post-Roe future. It's vital that we pay attention.

More information on this episode's guests and resources:

• Guttmacher Institute

• The Bixby Center for Reproductive Health

• Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights

• Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

• Boulder Abortion Clinic

Books and more:

• Reproductive Justice, by Loretta Ross and Rickie Solinger

• When Abortion Was a Crime: Women, Medicine, and Law in the United States, 1867-1973, by Leslie Reagan

• The Janes, available to stream now on HBO Max
• Defenders of the Unborn: The Pro-Life Movement Before Roe V. Wade, by Daniel K. Williams

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In Part 1 of Abortion: The Body Politic, we explore the current state of abortion access. Katie Couric visits two abortion clinics that straddle the Missouri-Illinois border. They are only 15 minutes but — because of Missouri’s state-imposed restrictions — worlds apart. We also find out what types of abortion are available today, how people access them, and what it is like to  get an abortion in today’s charged climate. We hear from abortion fund organizers, doctors in restrictive and progressive states, and people from all over the country, many of whom are already living in a post-Roe world. We also find out what is at stake for the upcoming Supreme Court decision that is expected to reverse the landmark 1973 decision that guaranteed the right to a safe and legal abortion. 

More information on this episode’s guests and resources:

Organizations:

Guttmacher Institute

ARC Southeast

Physicians for Reproductive Health

We Testify

Advocates for Youth

Books and more:

You’re the Only One I’ve Told: The Stories Behind Abortion, by Dr. Meera Shah 

Abortion and the Law in America: Roe v. Wade to the Present, by Mary Ziegler

Unpacking the Roe draft bombshell with Mary Ziegler - Next Question with Katie Couric

The Body is Not an Apology, by Sonya Renee Taylor

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Forty-nine years ago, the landmark Roe v Wade decision guaranteed women the right to a safe, legal abortion. This June, the Supreme Court is expected to gut that historic ruling, triggering restrictive abortion laws in at least 23 states. While the United States is on the precipice of stepping back this women's health right, the rest of the world has seen a trend of liberalizing abortion laws over the past 25 years. In this limited, narrative series from Next Question with Katie Couric, we explore the history — and future — of abortion in this country. In this 6-episode series, Katie takes listeners inside abortion clinics, front row at an abortion comedy show, and shares intimate, first-person experiences of people — from the illegal period to now — who have had abortions and the stories of those who have cared for them. There's never been a more urgent time to understand how we got here and how reproductive rights can apply to everyone.

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Suddenly it feels like everyone is talking about the metaverse, doesn't it? But what exactly is the metaverse? Wikipedia describes it as “a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection,” but the only real consensus seems to be that it's going to be, well, huge. Google, Apple, Snapchat, and Microsoft have all made major investments and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg even renamed his company, Meta. For this episode of Next Question, Katie decides to find out what all the fuss is about firsthand and takes a trip into the metaverse with Wall Street Journal tech columnist Joanna Stern. 

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You probably know Melissa Gilbert best from her time playing Laura Ingalls for nine seasons on the classic NBC television show, “Little House On the Prairie.” She's done a lot since then – she's continued to act, tried her hand at directing, served as the president of the Screen Actors Guild, and even briefly ran for Congress. But a dozen or so years ago, she left her native Los Angeles to live with her husband, the actor and director Timothy Busfield, in rural Michigan and eventually ended up settling in a rustic, fixer-upper cottage in the Catskills Mountains. It was a pretty radical lifestyle change for Melissa and it sparked a number of realizations about her old life – and the way she wants to live now. For this episode of Next Question, she sits down with Katie to talk about this new phase of her life, the challenges – and rewards – of growing older, and her new book, “Back to the Prairie.” 

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If you've been watching TV lately, you've probably noticed that Jean Smart is having something of a moment. While she's been working steadily and building an enviable acting career for more than four decades, her recent one-two punch as washed up Las Vegas comedian Deborah Vance on the HBO Max Series, “Hacks,” and as Kate Winslet's mother, Helen Fahey, in “Mare of Easttown,” has finally and fully awakened the world to the genius that is Jean. For this episode of “Next Question,” she sits down with Katie to talk about her long career, what it feels like to receive all this dizzying attention at 70 years old, the recent and sudden loss of her husband of more than thirty years - fellow actor, Richard Gilliland - and the upcoming second season of “Hacks.”

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Something major happened this week: A leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court indicated the court will strike down Roe versus Wade. The landmark 1973 decision ruled that the Constitution protects a pregnant person's liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction. While that protection has been chipped away almost relentlessly for decades, resulting in abortion access that is very much dependent on your zip code, the overturning of Roe could be the most consequential opinion in decades. On this episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Katie talks with abortion law expert Mary Ziegler about the leak, the draft's damning language, and the impact of the conservative court on rights beyond abortion. Katie also takes the opportunity to tease an upcoming, in-depth and intimate series on abortion — something she has been working on for months in anticipation of the official ruling expected in late June. 

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You probably know Molly Shannon best from her iconic Saturday Night Live characters - quirky Catholic schoolgirl Mary Katherine Gallagher, proud (and limber!) 50-year old Sally O'Malley, and Delicious Dish co-host Terri Rialto. There's so much more to her story though. From losing her mom and sister in a tragic car accident at the age of 4 and growing up with her adventurous, fun-loving dad to coming into her own as a comedian and actor and becoming a mother herself, her life is proof positive that humor and joy can comingle with pain and sorrow. She shares it all in her new memoir, “Hello, Molly!” and in this week's episode of Next Question. It's a candid, heartfelt – and yes – very funny conversation you don't want to miss.

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There have been some scary headlines going around about the climbing rates of alcohol use, particularly among women, during the pandemic. One study found that heavy drinking among women increased 41 percent! What's behind these numbers and how do women find the help they need? On this episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Katie invites her friend and award winning broadcast journalist Elizabeth Vargas to co-host and help find some understanding about why women are drinking more than ever, why women drink, and what recovery looks like.. Elizabeth knows about this first hand and wrote about her issues around alcohol, addiction and anxiety in her memoir, Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction. Elizabeth and Katie talk to two women — Khadi Oluwatoyin and Emily Paulson who hit their own rock bottoms and not only found their way out, but also made recovery spaces for people like them — Black Girls Sober Club and the Sober Mome Squad, respectively. Katie and Elizabeth also talk to long-time clinical social worker and interventionist, Dr. Louise Stanger, on how to help someone you love who may be suffering through addiction. If you or anyone you love is struggling with alcohol use, you can call the national drug and alcohol treatment hotline at 1-800-622-HELP (4357).

Find out more about the people and organizations mentioned:

• Sober Black Girls Club
• Sober Mom Squad
• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Dr. Louise Stanger, Certified Interventionist
• Women, Alcohol and COVID-19, by Dr. Dawn Sugarman

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If you've binged much TV this pandemic, you might have happened upon a new reality TV show on Netflix called “My Unorthodox Life.” The show is centered around Julia Haart, a high-powered CEO and fashion designer with a penchant for short skirts and sky-high heels. In between design meetings and runway shows, Julia is also seen managing her growing — and grown up — kids, in a straight-talking, cool-mom kind of way. Their lives appear glitzy, fashionable, busy, and champaign-filled. But it's a far cry from the world Julia left in 2013. Until she was 40 years old, Julia lived in an extreme ultra Orthodox Jewish community in upstate New York. If you've ever watched the show and wondered how this all happened, Julia is finally sharing her full story in her memoir, Brazen, which is out now. On this episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Katie finds out how Julia went from a communist Russian childhood, to married off at 19 and living under the strict rules of her Orthodox community, to jet-setting, designing shoes and dresses for celebrities and, up until a few months ago, being the head of Elite World Group, one of the largest global modeling agencies. It's a journey you really have to hear for yourself.

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This week, Katie shares an intimate conversation with Mackenzie Fierceton, the 24-year-old subject of a lengthy, riveting and much-shared profile in the New Yorker written by Rachel Aviv. Mackenzie grew up as a star student in a St. Louis suburb where she lived with her mother, a prominent local radiologist. Behind the facade of her seemingly privileged life though, Mackenzie was allegedly being abused by her mother and her mother's boyfriend. After one particularly violent episode, she ended up in the hospital for 22 days and was placed in foster care. Mackenzie eventually won a full scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania and a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford…and that's when her story took yet another turn. After facing accusations that her depiction of her past was inaccurate, Mackenzie lost her Rhodes scholarship and is now in the midst of a legal battle with Penn. Beyond the specifics of Mackenzie's harrowing story though, her experience raises a lot of questions about the thorny politics of higher education, our assumptions about race and class regarding abuse, and so much more. A word of caution to our listeners –  Katie's conversation with Mackenzie touches on themes of physical and sexual abuse, which may be difficult for some listeners.

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For this bonus episode, I'm excited to share my conversation with New York Times journalist and The Daily co-host, Sabrina Tavernise. Sabrina recently spent three weeks in Ukraine and has delivered a series of dispatches offering a searing glimpse of what life is like there right now on the frontlines. Her time in the region actually extends all the way back to the 1990s when she first made her way to Russia as a freelance journalist and then as a foreign correspondent for the New York Times based in Moscow. So much of the coverage of the war in Ukraine concentrates on the day to day, but I really wanted to take advantage of Sabrina's rich perspective and sophisticated understanding of the region. So, for this conversation, we dug deep and covered everything from what life was like in Russia just after the wall came down and Putin's rise to power to how Russians today perceive this war and how things might play out in the months ahead. I hope you enjoy our talk as much as I did….(oh, and if you hear barking, Sabrina's dog Clementine also made an appearance!)

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Adam Scott is a familiar face, having starred in some truly bingeable TV, including “Parks and Rec,” the cult-fave “Party Down,” “Big Little Lies,” and now the psychological thriller, “Severance” from Apple TV. Adam is one of those actors you feel like you know. But going into this conversation, Katie realized she didn't really know anything about him. On this episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Katie and Adam talk about his cuss-loving hippie mom, his fondness for forts, and his youthful, almost delusional, drive to become an actor. They dive into the uncanny timeliness of “Severance” and also go back to Adam's youth and his Harrison Ford ah ha moment. No doubt, you'll come away loving Adam Scott just as much as you thought you did.

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We may be in the golden age of true crime television. Our latest obsession? The Silicon scammer. The bad entrepreneur. The failing founder. From “Super Pumped” (about Uber founder Travis Kalanick), to “We Crashed” (about WeWork founder Adam Neumann), to “The Dropout” (about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes), it seems audiences can't get enough of the heart-pounding rise and gut-punching fall of these brilliant, young, white, mostly male moguls. On this episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Katie explores what it was like to become one of the more enigmatic tech billionaires, Elizabeth Holmes. “I got to go to work everyday and play this enigma and then go home to my family,” says Amanda Seyfried who stars as Holmes in the Hulu series, “The Dropout,” based on the podcast of the same name. Amanda and Katie talk about nailing the look, reaching the depths of Elizabeth's voice, and how Amanda found ways to identify with the now-convicted, former Theranos founder.

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When Reshma Saujani started Girls Who Code in 2012, she was on a mission to close the gender gap in technology. Now, she's on a new mission: to bridge the support gap for women and bring more moms back to the workforce. “Women are in crisis. And I think we realized that no one is coming to save us,” Reshma says. On this episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Reshma Soujani talks about her new book, “Pay Up: The Future of Women and Work and Why It's Different Than You Think.” They talk about the origin story of the book, the state of women's professional progress, the impact the pandemic has had on their careers, mental health, and lives, and why there's no time like the present to redesign the workplace. “Never waste a good crisis,” Reshma says. 

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In part 2 of Next Question's deep dive into long COVID, Katie tries to get some answers. Why is the healthcare system so routinely dismissing the experiences of long COVID sufferers? Why is it so difficult to get care? What does the long COVID community need? And what is the government doing about it? On this episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Katie unpacks the systemic issues that are impeding patients' care and conveys the urgent needs of the long COVID community to elected officials. 

More about the groups and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Survivor Corps
• Body Politic
• Mount Sinai Post COVID Care Center

More about some of the guests mentioned in this episode:

• Yale Prof. Dr.  Akiko Iwasaki (Twitter)
• Yale Prof. Dr. Harlan Krumholz (Twitter)
• Chimére L. Smith
• Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason, Aphro Chic
• ABOUT - AphroChic | Modern Soulful Style
• Diana Berrent, Survivor Corps

More information on long COVID:

• The CARES for Long COVID Act
• Yale researchers unlock secrets through study of long-term effects of COVID [Yale Daily News]
• Is long COVID worsening the labor shortage [The Brookings Institute]
• Science and tech spotlight: Long COVID [The Government Accountability Office]

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Two years after COVID came to this country and shut it — and the world — down, Americans are eager to move on from this historic and devastating pandemic. The United States alone has lost close to one million people and nearly 80-million Americans have been infected with the virus. While we're all understandably sick of COVID-19, some of us are still just sick. Experts say long COVID is an alarming “parallel pandemic” and one that is not getting the attention or urgency it needs. By some estimates, as many as half of people infected with COVID-19 will face lingering symptoms. And yet, long COVID is still so unknown. On this episode of Next Question with Katie Couric — part 1 of a two-part series — Katie attempts to understand long COVID — what it is, what it can do to the body, who is affected, and how it is upending lives.

More about the groups and resources mentioned in this episode

• Survivor Corps
• Body Politic
• Mount Sinai Post COVID Care Center

 

More about some of the guests mentioned in this episode

• Yale Prof. Dr. Akiko Iwasaki [Twitter]
• Yale Prof. Dr. Harlan Krumholz [Twitter]
• Chimére L. Smith
• Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason [Aphro Chic]
• Diana Berrent, Survivor Corps

 

More information on long COVID

• The CARE for Long COVID Act
• The COVID-19 Long Haulers Act
• Yale researchers unlock secrets through study of long-term effects of COVID [Yale Daily News]
• Is long COVID worsening the labor shortage [The Brookings Institute]
• Science and tech spotlight: Long COVID [The Government Accountability Office]

 

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The new season of Next Question with Katie Couric launches with a satisfying dive into the movie industry with the brilliant Jessica Chastain. Jessica is up for another Oscar for her transformative performance in The Eyes of Tammy Faye. And in this intimate conversation, the pair talk about how Jessica broke into an industry that had “no idea what to do with [her],” the “acting Godfather” who helped her, and how she spent decades getting Tammy Faye to screen (and how she perfected that signature look and sound). Katie and Jessica also discuss the pervasiveness of the movie industry’s boys club, Jessica’s personal fight for gender equality, and how the movie business is evolving — and the ways it still needs to.

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After diving deep into Katie’s past last season, with the release of her memoir, “Going There,” Next Question with Katie Couric is taking its new season into the future. With her signature curiosity, Katie explores some of the biggest and most pressing questions of the moment, from what the future of women and work looks like, to how tech can help inspire sobriety, and what is the metaverse anyway? With the help of some of her favorite people, from actors and authors to scientists and activists, Katie investigates how our historic present can help us live — and be — better. New season starts March 3, 2022.

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WARNING: This episode contains information about suicide, which may be upsetting for some people. If you or anyone you know needs it, the suicide life line is there to help: 1-800-273-8255.

You might remember Rep. Jamie Raskin for the impassioned speech he made during President Trump’s impeachment hearing last year. “They thought they were going to die,” he said of his daughter and son-in-law who were with him on the day of the insurrection, when a violent mob stormed the Capital. That day — Jan. 6, 2021 — also happened to be the day after Rep. Raskin and his family buried their 25-year-old son, Tommy. This emotional confluence of personal grief and national terror is the focus of Rep Raskin’s new book, “Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of the American Democracy.” On this bonus episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Katie and Rep. Raskin talk about “the worst week” of his life, what he has learned from the country’s “self coup,” where our Democracy is now, and what 2024 may hold.

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We can acknowledge that we’ve hit COVID fatigue. We’re sick of hearing about it, worrying about it, and living among it. But when nearly 2,300 people are still dying from COVID every day, checking in with the CDC director on the state of affairs is more necessary than ever. On this episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Katie and Dr. Rochelle Walensky talk about where we are right now, our endemic future, the much-needed overhaul of our public health care system, and when our long (inter)national nightmare will end (and what that will look like). 

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The ongoing pandemic is overwhelming hospitals, schools, and individuals across the country. The recent Omicron surge has brought the highest rate of COVID cases to the U.S. since the start of the pandemic. To say 2022 is already exhausting is an understatement, which is why Katie is sharing an urgent conversation she had with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Chief Medical Adviser to the President and Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. On this bonus episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Katie and Dr. Fauci discuss the big testing push, the details of the under-five vaccine, and what the continued politicization of the pandemic is doing to our collective health.

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Happy New Year, Next Question listeners! Since you're most likely forced indoors, recovering from or avoiding Omicron, we have a little treat for you: A special bonus episode of Next Question! While the podcast prepares for our next big season (coming March 3), Katie is giving her listeners a sneak peek of a new upcoming podcast hosted by the nation’s doctor, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. In this preview episode of “House Calls With Dr. Vivek Murthy,” Dr. Murthy interviews Padma Lakshmi, an Emmy-Nominated food expert, television host, producer and New York Times best-selling author. The pair discuss the weight of the pandemic, the country's polarization and how to better connect with ourselves, our community and our country during these historically tough times. Look out for “House Calls with Dr. Vivek Murthy” in 2022. 

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This week on Next Question, Katie is sharing some interviews from her whirlwind, nine-city book tour, where she brought her memoir, “Going There,” to life and also shared the stage with some very special guests. On Nov. 13, Katie traveled to San Francisco and was joined at The Masonic by Leslie Jordan, actor, singer and another Instagram fave. Katie and Leslie talk about his childhood in Chattanooga, Tennessee, spending the pandemic with his mother, his surprise viral fame, and new music career. Follow all of Leslie’s activities and antics on Instagram. Also, find out more about that new duets album, “Company’s Coming.”

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This week on Next Question, Katie is sharing some interviews from her whirlwind, nine-city book tour, where she brought her memoir, “Going There,” to life and also shared the stage with some very special guests. On Nov. 15, Katie traveled down to Nashville and was joined at the Ryman Auditorium by Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley. The country music star and actor/activist talked with Katie about their meet-cute story, the ah-ha moments that set them on their paths, and their new joint non-profit that helps feed those in need, with dignity. Brad ends the conversation with a song! You can check out Brad and Kim’s enterprise — The Store — in Nashville or online. And there’s still time to catch Kim’s Hallmark movies this holiday season!

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This week on Next Question, Katie is sharing some interviews from her whirlwind, nine-city book tour, where she brought her memoir, “Going There,” to life and also shared the stage with some very special guests. On Nov. 8, Katie traveled down to Atlanta and was joined at the Atlanta Symphony Hall by Ina Garten, cook, Food Network host, author, and Instagram fave. Katie and Ina talk about Ina’s Instagram celebrity and how to use the social platform for good, especially during the pandemic. They also talk about Ina’s new projects, including a new show and a memoir (!), as well as how she comes up with new food recipes, the roast chicken that apparently sends couples into engagement, and meal Ina will never forget. Look out for Ina’s new show called “Be My Guest” in 2022 and follow Instagram for more comfort food and drink. Speaking of drinks, here’s the giant cosmopolitan recipe if you’re curious (and thirsty!)

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This week on Next Question, Katie is sharing some interviews from her whirlwind, nine-city book tour, where she brought her memoir, “Going There,” to life and also shared the stage with some very special guests. On Oct. 30, Katie traveled down to Washington, D.C. and was joined at The Anthem theater by Kara Swisher — tech journalist, podcast host, nuisance to all of Silicon Valley. Katie and Kara talk about the future of media, the public’s disintegrating trust in journalism, and all of those Facebook documents. Katie and Kara reference an interview Katie did with Sheryl Sandberg in 2019, where Katie held the Facebook COO’s feet to the flame. You can find that interview and episode here. Get more from Kara Swisher on Twitter, or her podcasts Sway from the New York Times, and Pivot from New York Magazine.

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On this episode of Next Question, the last of the season, Katie is sharing some moments from her whirlwind book tour. After “Going There” came out in late October, Katie criss-crossed the country to bring the book — and her personal and professional life — to in-person audiences (such a novelty!) in nine different cities. Katie shared parts of her childhood, her rise to “Today Show” host, the journey to media entrepreneur, as well as the loss of her husband Jay and her second chance at love. She also brought some famous friends along, from Ina Garten and Kim and Brad Paisley, to Kara Swisher and Leslie Jordan (more on those interviews in special bonus episodes to come). But on today’s episode, Katie is bringing conversations with some people you may not know, but should. These are people who Katie met along the way who were at the center of some of the biggest news stories of her career, from 9-11 and the Boston Marathon bombing, to the country’s gun violence epidemic. These are ordinary people who responded to extraordinary events in inspiring and life-changing ways. 

Find out more about the organizations mentioned in this podcast:

50 Legs

Purpose over Pain

Aimee Copeland Foundation

Oral Lee Brown Foundation

Get your copy of “Going There,” by Katie Couric.

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Katie’s out for one more week and her former producer and co-host Brian Goldsmith is stepping in. Brian was a part of the team behind Katie’s iconic interview with Sarah Palin in 2008. And he’s just as obsessed with elections today as he was back then. So, on this episode of Next Question, Brian looks ahead at the political landscape and the 2022 midterms — who will be the key players, what are the forces shaping the election, and what about that Trump-shaped shadow looming in the distance? Brian is joined by two of the wittiest, smartest politicos he knows: Republican strategist Mike Murphy (who has worked on campaigns for John McCain, Mitt Romney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and more), and Lis Smith, a Democratic strategist whom Brian met when she was the senior communications adviser to then-presidential contender, Pete Buttigieg. It’s a lively and helpful conversation to prepare you for the big election year ahead. 

And make sure you’re registered to vote! Check out vote.gov to find out how in your state. Also, check out Mike Murphy’s podcast with David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs called Hacks on Tap. 

Katie returns to the podcast next week!

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If you’re not familiar with Huma Abedin, that was her intention. For two decades, Huma has been mostly in the background, as the long-time trusted aide of Hilary Clinton. She was reluctantly wrenched from the shadows thanks to the public downfall of her (now ex) husband Congressman Anthony Weiner who was embroiled in multiple sexting scandals, one of which sent him to jail. Now, Huma is choosing to step into the spotlight and tell her own story with the release of her memoir, “Both/And.” “When I started writing this book, my researcher said the two most common articles out there in the world about you, Huma, are, number one, what is wrong with her and, number two, what is she thinking?,” Huma tells Katie. “And so I chose to put exactly what I was thinking into this book.” On this bonus episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Katie talks with Huma about her career, her history, her intimate relationship with Hillary Clinton, and the heartache and humiliation of her first love.

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