Katie Couric (IG: @katiecouric) is an award-winning journalist, New York Times bestselling author, and co-founder of the non-profit Stand Up to Cancer, which has raised more than $500 million to fund scientific research teams.
Katie launched her production company, Katie Couric Media, in 2015. Since then, the aptly named Katie Couric Podcast has featured conversations with some of the biggest names in politics, media, and popular culture.
Katie’s documentaries include Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric for National Geographic, Under the Gun, which aired on Epix, and Fed Up, which can be found on Netflix. Katie’s new six-part National Geographic series is called America Inside Out with Katie Couric, and I recommend you check it out.
Katie joined CBS as the first woman at the helm of an evening newscast after a 15-year run as co-anchor of NBC’s Today Show. Her awards include a duPont-Columbia, Peabody, two Edward R. Murrows, a Walter Cronkite, and multiple Emmys. Enjoy!
You can find the transcript of this episode here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.
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Want to hear another podcast with an influencer in the media? — Listen to my conversation with Ezra Klein. In this episode, we discuss influencing the rules of the game by which this country is run (overall politics — not partisan), how Ezra lost 60 pounds, and his ascension into the ranks of the most respected media companies in the world (stream below or right-click here to download):
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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Selected Links from the Episode
- Connect with Katie Couric:
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
- Katie Couric Podcast
- America Inside Out with Katie Couric
- South by Southwest (SXSW)
- Katie Couric on Surprise ’92 Today Interview with Bush 41
- Katie Couric, at Home with Bush by Tom Shales, The Washington Post
- Election
- Katie’s CBS interview with Sarah Palin
- Katie’s Interview with Columbine Victims’ Families, Today
- Katie Couric Pays Tribute on 20th Anniversary of Husband’s Death: ‘We Miss You’, Today
- The Impact of a Celebrity Promotional Campaign on the Use of Colon Cancer Screening: The Katie Couric Effect by Peter Cram, et al., Archives of Internal Medicine
- Katie Couric’s Colonoscopy, Stand Up To Cancer
- Stand Up To Cancer
- Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric
- Katie’s interview with Carmen Carrera
- Katie Couric Debuts Episode of Her New Series in Charlottesville, CBS
- Equal Justice Initiative
- Soil Collection: A Community Remembrance Project
- How the Survivors of Parkland Began the Never Again Movement by Emily Witt
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- You’re the Average of the Five People You Spend the Most Time With by Aimee Groth, Business Insider
- Zen Hospice Project
- Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant
- My Life Countdown by Kevin Kelly, CT2
- The Trolley Problem, BBC Radio 4
- Black Mirror
Show Notes
- How did Katie land on her feet when faced with the challenge of an impromptu interview with then-president George H.W. Bush on live television? [08:46]
- Is Katie’s moxie intrinsic to her DNA or something she developed? [15:09]
- Why do I lean more toward putting out evergreen over topical content? [16:54]
- What interviews have made Katie nervous? [19:04]
- How did Katie prepare for her interview with Sarah Palin? [22:12]
- The importance of letting the silence do the work. [26:16]
- How does Katie deal with her more pugnacious or combative subjects? [27:16]
- What interviews are Katie most proud of? [28:55]
- On grieving and preparing for the death of a terminally ill loved one. [32:51]
- Why cancer and other potentially terminal ailments often go undiagnosed until it’s too late. [37:49]
- Regrets Katie has about her late husband’s final days. [41:43]
- On using her role in the public eye as a platform for early cancer screening advocacy and co-founding Stand Up To Cancer. [42:41]
- Katie talks about the real heroes in the multi-fronted fight against cancer. [47:55]
- How does Katie select her involvement in projects? [49:33]
- Katie tells us what we can expect from her upcoming six-part National Geographic series America Inside Out. [52:29]
- On turning an inappropriate question into a teachable moment. [54:40]
- What impact does Katie hope this series will have on viewers? [1:00:26]
- What would Katie’s billboard say? [1:05:05]
- Katie hits me with a “gotcha” question. [1:07:34]
- Katie is intrigued to hear about BJ Miller and advocates getting his story out to more people. [1:08:09]
- Pondering the insights a crystal ball might offer. [1:13:11]
- Parting thoughts on the ethical challenges faced by social media and technology. [1:14:22]
People Mentioned
- Luke Skywalker
- Obi-Wan Kenobi
- Barbara Bush
- Millie
- George H.W. Bush
- Marlin Fitzwater
- Jeff Zucker
- Tom Shales
- Michael Gartner
- Bryant Gumbel
- John and Elinor Couric
- Tracy Flick
- Yasser Arafat
- Ross Perot
- Tom Brokaw
- O.J. Simpson
- Jay Monahan
- Sarah Palin
- Brian Goldsmith
- Madeleine Albright
- Sam Nunn
- Richard N. Haass
- Cal Fussman
- Michael Shoels
- Isaiah Shoels
- Craig Scott
- Rachel Scott
- Carrie and Ellie Monahan
- Sean Parker
- Joe Biden
- Tristan Harris
- Kara Swisher
- Biz Stone
- Donald Trump
- Laverne Cox
- Carmen Carrera
- Robert E. Lee
- Zyhana Bryant
- Mitch Landrieu
- Julianne Moore
- Bryan Stevenson
- Frances McDormand
- Jim Rohn
- BJ Miller
- Sheryl Sandberg
- Adam Grant
- Kevin Kelly
- Chrissy Teigen
- Valerie Bertinelli
- Ana Gasteyer
- William Gibson