We’re all going through this era of coronavirus—separately but together. I feel like humanity is taking one big existential breath; it’s a pause for us all to think about our previous normal lives, our currently abnormal lives, and how we want to reinvent life when this whole thing is over. And I know many of us have become confused by the different news outlets sharing different information. When it comes to deciding who is a reliable source, I know Katie Couric is always someone I can trust. I’m honored to have her chat with me for this week’s episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy.
Katie is an award-winning journalist, New York Times bestselling author and a co-founder of Stand Up To Cancer. Since its launch in 2008, Stand Up To Cancer has raised more than $600 million to support cutting-edge collaborative science and its research has contributed to six new FDA approved therapies. In 2017, she founded Katie Couric Media, which has developed a number of media projects, including a daily newsletter, a podcast, and digital video series. She has played a part in producing many documentaries, including Fed Up, which I was thrilled to be a part of. Couric was also the executive producer of Unbelievable on Netflix, is developing other scripted projects, and is currently writing her memoir.
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*For context, this conversation was recorded on 3/31/20.
Here are more of the details from our interview:
- The unprecedented nature of COVID-19 (6:16)
- Why now is not the time to turn to comfort foods (9:46)
- What Katie has been hearing from healthcare providers, psychologists, business leaders, and others she has been interviewing during the coronavirus crisis (12:03)
- The U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic (15:16)
- The devastating disruption to standard autopsy, grieving, and burial practices in COVID-19 deaths (21:26)
- Staying informed without obsessing over, or over-consuming, news updates (22:41)
- Finding power and a sense of control by focusing on where you can be of service (25:06)
- What our society will look like post-COVID-19 given our intense divisiveness, partisanship, current leadership, and media landscape (30:01)
- Practices to manage and cope with our current reality (41:32)
- Restoring national unity through leadership and empathy (48:42)
