Next Question with Katie Couric

The first episode of Katie's National Geographic documentary series, America Inside Out, is out now! To mark the occasion, Katie and Brian welcome Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Bryan could have gone anywhere—he chose to move to Alabama to help confront racial disparities and reform the criminal justice system. On the pod, they discuss Br...

Cecile Richards has been president of Planned Parenthood for over a decade, but her interest in women's issues started before she could vote. As a teenager, she helped her mother, Ann Richards— who would go on to be governor of Texas— work on political campaigns for female candidates. Cecile joins Katie and Brian to discuss her trailblazing mom, her new memoir, and her decision to step down from h...

Aly Sheehy is a senior at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 people were killed in a mass shooting last month. She joins Katie and Brian for an emotional account of how she and her classmates in Parkland, Florida have coped with the tragedy's aftermath and why they are now pushing for change. Katie and Brian also speak with Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, about state...

Katie and Brian revisit the time they interviewed Ava DuVernay at Disney's studios in Burbank, California. They talk with the inimitable director of Selma and 13th about everything from A Wrinkle In Time to her relationship with Oprah. They also discuss #OscarsSoWhite, criminal justice and the AvaDuVernayBarbie doll. Plus, how Ava made the leap from publicizing movies to directing them.  Learn mor...

For the final installment in the Wonder Women series, Diane von Fürstenberg—the woman behind the iconic fashion line—welcomes Katie and Brian to her company's Manhattan headquarters for a conversation about her full and colorful life. They discuss her wide-ranging philanthropy, her famous husbands, and how her brand has evolved since she appeared on the cover of Newsweek at age 29. She also tells...

Kara Swisher is perhaps the most feared—and effective—journalist in tech. She first made a splash covering AOL in the 1990s and she's continued to scoop Silicon Valley players ever since. In this crossover episode with Kara’s podcast, Katie and Kara discuss the competition between Instagram and Snapchat, and why Facebook executives have been slow to acknowledge the site's role in the 2016 election...

Katie heads to Pyeongchang, South Korea to report from the 2018 Winter Olympics. First up: two Wonder Women from the U.S. women's ski jumping team explain their fight for recognition and resources that has been decades in the making. Next, New York Times sports reporter Karen Crouse explains how a tiny Vermont town has produced an outsized number of Olympians— and why these athletes are uniquely p...

Laverne Cox is no overnight success. By the time she stepped onto the national stage (and the cover of TIME magazine) in 2014, she'd been dedicating her life to acting for well over a decade. "Being an artist is what informs everything that I do," she says. Laverne joins Katie and Brian to discuss everything from acting opportunities for trans women, her breakthrough role as Sophia on Netflix's Or...

Amy Schumer made a name— and a career— for herself with her unapologetically raunchy brand of stand-up comedy. But being known as "the sex comic" never phased Amy. "That just seemed like a stepping stone," she says. Katie joins Amy at home to discuss everything that came out of her success in stand-up comedy, including starring roles in movies and on Broadway, her Comedy Central sketch series, and...

As the longest-serving black woman in the House of Representatives, Congresswoman Maxine Waters has been a fixture of California's political scene since the 1970s. In 2017, she unexpectedly became a viral sensation, too. Katie and Brian join Rep. Waters in Los Angeles to talk about “reclaiming her time,” growing up as one of 13 children, and why she doesn't hesitate to call President Trump racist....

Katie and Brian pop in with a preview of Unladylike, a new podcast from the Stitcher family about what happens when women break the rules. Join hosts Cristen Conger and Caroline Ervin for their trademark obsessive research and stories from rule-breakin’ ladies. Hear the first episode in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2n0NMsk Or visit their website: unladylike.co/podcast Learn more about your ad-...

Questions about Donald Trump? Maggie Haberman has answers. She began reporting on Trump as a New York tabloid journalist over a decade ago. Now, as a White House correspondent for the New York Times, she's made a name for herself by filing scoop after scoop about his presidency. She joins Katie and Brian to parse everything from Trump's Diet Coke consumption to his cabinet relationships. They also...

Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski share a morning TV news show— and a life. For over a decade, they've co-hosted Morning Joe on MSNBC, along with Willie Geist. Soon they'll take on new titles: husband and wife. Katie and Brian head to NBC Studios in New York to talk with Mika and Joe about the criticism they've faced for their coverage of Donald Trump, the evolution of the GOP, and why they thin...

Maria Sharapova has won five Grand Slams since becoming a pro tennis player at just 14 years old— and she's faced her share of setbacks, too. Sharapova joins Katie at 92Y in New York City to discuss highlights from her new memoir, including emigrating from Russia at age 6, her rivalry with Serena Williams, and the urine test that took her off the court. Sharapova also opens up about her recent ban...

Danny Meyer is a legend in the food business. While he's best known for founding Shake Shack, the global burger empire, he actually got his start in fine dining. He was just 27 years old when he opened his first restaurant, the Union Square Cafe. Katie joins Danny there to talk (over tagliatelle) about the decision to eliminate tipping at many of his restaurants, the difference between service and...

Rabbi Steve Leder, senior rabbi at the oldest synagogue in Los Angeles, sits down with Brian to discuss the subject of his new book: how suffering can be transformational. Rabbi Leder details the change he experienced following a car accident that briefly left him dependent on opioids and eating them "like they're candy." He also offers advice on how to help loved ones coping with trauma and why t...

Marie Kondo brings her world-renowned tidying expertise to Katie's own closet, where—let’s just say—not everything is “sparking joy.” They discuss Marie’s early (and sometimes overzealous) forays into organizing and why the "KonMari Method" for cleaning up has turned into a global phenomenon. Plus, Marie explains how her young daughters have changed her approach to tidying and divulges the unneces...

As the chief official White House photographer for President Obama, Pete Souza spent eight years in the "room where it happens." He has the stories — and the pictures— to show for it: from playing cards with POTUS on Air Force One to photographing the Situation Room during the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. No one, with the possible exception of the First Lady, spent more time with Barack Obama...

Surprise! Katie offers up a bonus takeover episode from The Longest Shortest Time, another podcast in the Stitcher network. Former Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift describes what it was like to be the first U.S. governor to give birth while in office. Plus, moms today share their own stories of discrimination in the workplace. This episode is the first in a four-part Longest Shortest Time series...

Longtime political analyst Norm Ornstein joins Katie and Brian to reflect on the upcoming anniversary of Donald Trump’s election. They discuss the “seeds of Trumpism,” the changing Republican Party and the future of American civic life. Plus, Ornstein opens up about his late son’s struggle with mental illness and his push for mental health policy reform. Learn more about your ad-choices at https:/...

Gretchen Carlson may have been fired last year from her job at Fox News, but it hasn't slowed her down one bit. After filing and settling a sexual harassment lawsuit against her former boss at Fox for a reported $20 million, Gretchen has transitioned from journalism to advocacy. She joins Katie and Brian to discuss her new book, the recent bombshell allegations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weins...

Martha Stewart has dominated all things domestic for nearly 35 years. But what about the woman behind the empire? Katie and Brian pay a visit to Martha's pristine office for a candid conversation over some apple-cranberry crisp. Martha recalls what it was like growing up in New Jersey as one of six kids, getting her first book deal, serving time in prison and what it was like to work on a TV show...

David Axelrod is a renowned Democratic political strategist, most notably for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. These days, he runs the nonpartisan Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago and hosts a hit podcast, The Axe Files, where he interviews major political figures. In this special crossover episode, Katie and Brian turn the tables on "Axe" and get his own story, including his early...

Dan Savage has dished out love and sex advice in his syndicated Savage Love column for over 25 years. He's blunt, hilarious and empathetic-- and not just in his writing! Dan joins Katie and Brian to discuss working at Ann Landers' desk, being "monogamish" and the sex questions he gets asked the most. He also recalls what it was like to come of age during the AIDS epidemic. Plus, two words that Kat...

Katie and Brian pay a visit to Disney's studios in Burbank, California to talk with the inimitable director of Selma and 13th about everything from A Wrinkle In Time to her relationship with Oprah. They also discuss #OscarsSoWhite, criminal justice and the Ava DuVernay Barbie doll. Plus, how Ava made the leap from publicizing movies to directing them.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://w...