Geena Rocero is known as a storyteller, a supermodel, and an activist, who decided after nearly a decade in the public eye that she could no longer live under the burden of her greatest secrets.  So she revealed them all. In her new memoir, Horse Barbie, Geena recounts her journey from extremely humble beginnings in the Philippines to headlining fashion runways all over the world - all while hiding her truth. She reveals to Katie the years-long terror she felt of being outed as a transwoman, and the fear that her career as a supermodel would be crushed if anyone were to find out. Geena discusses why support from the matriarchs in her life - from the mother who raised her to the drag mother who helped her flourish - are the reason she can now be a light for others, through her activism and community outreach work.  In this thought-provoking conversation, Geena illustrates why coming out about who you are can often be the only way to live a life that matters. Want to be a know-it-all? Subscribe to Wake Up Call, our jam-packed newsletter. Monday through Saturday, we break down the top news stories of the day, answer your pressing questions, and scour the internet for the best entertainment tidbits, streaming recommendations, recipes, and health and wellness tips. To sign up, go to katiecouric.com, or click here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For author Judy Blume, writing is about making connections. Her genius has always involved finding a path into the intimate spaces of her readers’ hearts; it’s the very thing that drove her to write. Now, at 85, she’s reaching her third generation of readers — and she’s connecting as powerfully as she did in the late 1960s when her first book was published. A new documentary, Judy Blume Forever, explores this phenomenon, and the deep cultural reach of her books. On this episode of Next Question, Katie chats with the incredibly energetic Judy Blume, as well as the doc’s directors, Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok, about the power of books as a force for transformation, identity, disruption, escape, and revolution. They discuss why Judy’s books have been embraced and feared, and why the connections she has made are just as strong as ever — even though there are people who would like to silence her altogether. Want to be a know-it-all? Subscribe to Wake Up Call, our jam-packed newsletter. Monday through Saturday, we break down the top news stories of the day, answer your pressing questions, and scour the internet for the best entertainment tidbits, streaming recommendations, recipes, and health and wellness tips. To sign up, go to katiecouric.com, or click here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Senator Amy Klobuchar believes that a certain amount of optimism is essential in overcoming obstacles, “Whether it’s through an illness, or whether it’s through trying to get a bill through congress.” And she’s had more than her share of experience with both. On this episode of Next Question, Katie and Senator Klobuchar talk about her getting-things-done mindset, and how it found its way into the pages of her new book, The Joy of Politics: Surviving Cancer, a Pandemic, a Campaign, an Insurrection, and Life’s Other Unexpected Curveballs. While the Senator has been through a lot the past few years, she’s well aware that she’s not alone. Now, she’s ready to rejoice in the comeback.  Want to be a know-it-all? Subscribe to Wake Up Call, our jam-packed newsletter. Monday through Saturday, we break down the top news stories of the day, answer your pressing questions, and scour the internet for the best entertainment tidbits, streaming recommendations, recipes, and health and wellness tips. To sign up, go to katiecouric.com, or click here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Academy-Award winning filmmaker Davis Guggenheim set out to make Still, a film about Michael J. Fox, he imagined he’d be making a hybrid documentary/80s movie. What he discovered along the way, however, was something deeper: his subject is far more than an iconic mega-star — Michael is an inspiration. After decades of living with the degenerative and debilitating effects of Parkinson’s disease, Michael J. Fox reveals his personal philosophy: “With gratitude, optimism is sustainable.” Katie’s conversation with Michael and Davis is funny and revealing, and traces the highs and lows of creating a film about an incurable optimist trying to overcome an incurable disease.  Want to be a know-it-all? Subscribe to Wake Up Call, our jam-packed newsletter. Monday through Saturday, we break down the top news stories of the day, answer your pressing questions, and scour the internet for the best entertainment tidbits, streaming recommendations, recipes, and health and wellness tips. To sign up, go to katiecouric.com, or click here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin has covered Some of the most notorious figures in U.S. history. Now, in his book “Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of RIght-Wing Extremism,” Toobin takes on the man behind the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Toobin puts the incident into historical context by tracing the roots of McVeigh’s actions from the standoff at Ruby Ridge, to President Clinton’s ban on assault weapons, and all the way through the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. In this episode of Next Question, he tells Katie, “That's why I wrote Homegrown to show that [McVeigh] was not an aberration. And that his legacy lives on in both people and ideas that are persistent to this day.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.