Next Question with Katie Couric

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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