Melissa Etheridge has written two memoirs now–her new one is Talking to My Angels. For many people, writing more than one memoir might seem excessive, but Etheridge has lived a lot. She’s reflective on just how much she’s learned between 40, when she wrote her first memoir, and about 60 where she’s writing from now, especially how a definitive spiritual experience (thanks to what she calls a hero dose of cannabis) really separated her life into “before” and “after.” 

On the other side, Melissa finds herself happier and more centered than ever. She’s articulate and sure about how she found that peace, and seems to have an amazing capacity to learn from and process the not-so-peaceful events in her life. 

And of course music is the thrumming throughline underpinning everything from her career to her memories of childhood, to what drives her now after so many challenges that could have broken many. But Melissa seems to ground herself even deeper in times of trial, and has a lot to teach anyone about resilience, grit, and grace.

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The new film May December stars Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman, and Charles Melton, was directed by Todd Haynes, and written for the screen by Samy Burch’s–her first screenplay! Julianne Moore’s Gracie began her relationship with the much-younger Joe (Charles Melton) when he was a young teen, and paid the price for this hard-to-understand liaison. Elizabeth, played by Portman, is an actress who arrives at their home to do research for her role portraying Gracie in an upcoming biopic. Critics are calling it a “booby trap” of a movie, because it’s so hard to decide just who to root for.

In this wide-ranging interview, Katie Couric sits down with the cast to delve into how the actors approached these complicated characters, where Haynes drew inspiration from as he directed (there’s a very interesting story to the music in this film), and what excited them about the fresh take Burch brought to her screenplay. This isn’t a movie that invites easy answers, but it’s clear the team had great fun bringing us this story, and we hope you enjoy the peek behind the curtain!

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A recent bombshell report in the New York Times reveals that Israel knew about Hamas’s attack plan for October 7th, 2023, codenamed “Jericho Wall,” more than a year before it happened. On this episode of Next Question, the journalists who broke the story, Ronen Bergman and Adam Goldman, detail how this intelligence failure came about, including the dismissal of a female Israeli intelligence analyst’s urgent warnings that Hamas had devised a “plan to start a war” as “imaginary.” 

We now know that Hamas’s intentions as laid out in the Jericho Wall document were deadly serious, and Bergman and Goldman note that the attack followed the plan with “shocking precision.” They give insightful analysis of how a threat like Jericho Wall could be dismissed and what this grave misstep means for not only this conflict, but also for Israel's broader idea of itself in the world and for the trust in its powerful intelligence service at home and abroad.

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Today is the anniversary of Open AI’s launch of Chat GPT, a tool which brought AI out of the realm of sci-fi and right to our fingertips. AI seems to have crept into every facet of our lives in that one year, and it’s hard to know if that’s a good or bad thing–especially in light of the chaos wrought by Open AI’s recent firing and rehiring of their co-founder Sam Altman.

Sometimes it feels like the battle lines are drawn–you can be for or against AI–and the stakes are high. So in this episode of Next Question, Katie is joined by her plus one, Vivian Schiller, in conversation with data scientists and AI ambassadors Chris Wiggins and Vilas Dhar, to sort through some of the noise. 

The panel covers a lot of ground, but remains grounded in real-world examples (and there are several acronyms defined!), to rationally consider what AI can and should do for us now, what risks we should keep an eye on, and who needs to be involved in the conversation shaping AI’s next chapter.

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Have you achieved the American Dream? Actually–how do you even define the American Dream? Sometimes it can feel like that phrase is meaningless and politicized but that idea is such a cornerstone of what makes us the United States. It’s foundational, but it can sometimes feel like it’s falling apart.

Enter David Leonhardt’s new book–he’s a columnist at the New York Times and heads their The Morning newsletter. In the book, Ours Was the Shining Future, he sets out to quantify the American Dream and tell a story of how it’s changed over the last few decades. And for those who might feel intimidated by economics, Leonhardt’s book might just be the perfect entry point: the personal narratives of the people who shaped our history bring this book from the theoretical to the concrete. 

This insightful, comprehensive, human book provides a perfect jumping off point to examine the long, imperfect story of our ongoing project as Americans, striving to realize the promises of democracy and capitalism–and all the successes and failures along the way so far. We can learn from the past, and David, armed with data but also with compassion and optimism, is an excellent guide.

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Over the course of their careers, Katie Couric and Kara Swisher have weathered (and thrived amongst) massive sea changes in the news industry–from network TV to streaming; the rise of mobile viewing; Twitter as the global newsroom water cooler; and now AI, polarization, and a serious crisis of truth. This makes Kara the perfect plus one for a discussion with Instagram founder Kevin Systrom. Kevin was the architect of some of those sea changes Kara and Katie documented, and with his new venture Artifact, a “fully machine learning driven, personalized newsreader,” he’s aiming to remedy some of the problems facing news and information today.

Katie, Kara, and Kevin go back to Kevin’s roots at Instagram and draw out what made that app great–its ability to evoke delight; its sense of discovery and community-building. They also discuss how those features, combined with a leadership ethos of responsibility and proactivity makes Artifact something beyond the headline aggregators you might think of when you hear “newsreader.” Can conscientious design create an app that genuinely informs you? Could it even solve the problem of social media echo chambers? Kevin Systrom thinks so! 

So come along on a little trip to how we got here, where we’re headed, and what we can do to make sure that the content we see online is vetted and true. Because facts we can rely on are crucial to our entire world.

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Adam Kinzinger and Mary Trump don’t have a lot in common on the surface:but in a moment where politics are dividing more people than ever before, Kinzinger and Trump find they have more and more in common. January 6th was a watershed moment for them both: Kinzinger’s departure from the current GOP was basically assured with his participation in the Congressional hearings on the matter, and a worst-fears-realized anguish after the discord crystalized a drive for activism in Mary Trump. 

As Katie’s plus one, Mary Trump digs deep with Kinzinger on their shared fight for the future of democracy and how the country may find a path forward. Plus, Kinzinger is full of insider, behind-the-scenes explainers from his time in Congress, from what exactly is meant by “military aid” to the impact on history of  Kevin McCarthy’s visits to Mar a Lago.

You’ll find yourself walking away from this conversation convinced there’s a way forward from the current state of political division and dysfunction, and gratitude that Mary Trump and Adam Kinzinger are on the case.

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Smart people know things; wise people know people. For Next Question guest today, David Brooks, knowing people has been a lifelong endeavor. Katie Couric and her + 1 today, Kelly Corrigan, dig deep into David’s new book, How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen, which is all about how we connect–empathy, curiosity, vulnerability–and how we can build these skills in ourselves. There’s even an empathy test you can take along with us in the episode! Incisive and wide-ranging, this conversation is one of the funniest episodes Next Question has ever presented. Join Katie, Kelly, and David in asking yourself about the role empathy and connection plays in your life, and discover with them new ways to build and use those skills to have a more “lit up” existence.

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In our first Katie Plus One, Katie is bringing in backup: Kelly Rizzo, the host of the Comfort Food podcast and the widow of Bob Saget. Their guest today is John Stamos, Saget’s Full House co-star and longtime friend of Bob and Kelly. Together, Katie, Kelly, and John cover a ton of ground – from memories of Bob, to John’s deep love of Disney, to an incredible story about Sammy Davis Junior and General Hospital. This season is all about FUN and great conversations! Enjoy!

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Katie Couric is back with a new season of Next Question, this time with a new format: Katie + 1! While the good ol’ classic Katie Couric interview isn’t going anywhere, Season 8 boasts a variety of co-hosts, who bring their own style and new perspective to the conversations.

In the season premiere, Katie is joined by Bob Saget’s widow, Kelly Rizzo, to interview John Stamos, Saget’s “Full House” co-star and close friend, for a conversation that’s intimate and poignant while also irreverent and a lot of fun.

Future conversations include Katie and Kara Swisher’s interview with Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom for a deep dive on the past, present, and figure of social media. In another, Katie and author Kelly Corrigan are joined by David Brooks to discuss the growing social disconnect in our culture and the surprisingly simple (but not necessarily easy) ways we can bring people closer together.

This season is more relaxed, a little more conversational, a little more spontaneous, and quite frankly, a little more fun. So join us for season 8 of Next Question!

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