unPAUSED with Dr. Mary Claire Haver Katie Couric on Truth, Trust, and Women's Health
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Mar 3, 2026 
Katie Couric, award-winning journalist and founder of Katie Couric Media, reflects on breaking barriers in network news and turning personal tragedy into public health advocacy. She discusses her live colonoscopy, cancer advocacy after losing her husband, gaps in women's health research and training, hormone therapy debates, and the challenge of restoring trust in journalism.
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Live Colonoscopy Sparked National Screening Shift
- Katie Couric turned her personal tragedy (husband Jay's stage IV colon cancer and death) into lifelong cancer advocacy that led to public screening campaigns.
- She famously had a live televised colonoscopy to destigmatize the procedure and increase screening uptake nationwide.
How WHI Stopped Nuanced Hormone Research
- The Women's Health Initiative panic halted nuanced HRT research and created a generation-wide fear of hormone therapy.
- The original study cohort was older with baseline cardiovascular risk, so results were overgeneralized to all menopausal women.
Medical System Was Built For Men Creating Hidden Risks For Women
- Sex and gender bias pervade medical research, creating gaps like later diagnoses and poorer outcomes for women across conditions.
- Katie cites examples from crash test dummies to Alzheimer’s funding to show systems were built largely for white men.
