Meet the Moment: Hoda Kotb says ‘the best part of my life started at 50’

Meet the Press

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3.8 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 31 August 2025

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Former “Today” co-anchor Hoda Kotb joins Kristen Welker for a Meet the Moment conversation about landing her dream job later in life and adopting children in her fifties.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome back. For decades, Hoda Kotby has been a force on your television screen,
0:05.8	reporting from war zones with Dateline to toasting life's lighter moments with Kathy Lee on today.
0:12.3	At 53 years old, Hoda shattered barriers, making history alongside Savannah Guthrie as the first
0:19.2	all-female anchor duo in the show's history.
0:22.8	But earlier this year, after 26 years at NBC News, Hoda shocked the world with her decision to step
0:29.5	away from the anchor desk. I caught up with Hoda for a Meet the Moment conversation about
0:34.7	why she left and what she's discovered about embracing change
0:38.6	in every season of life.
0:41.2	Hoda Copy, welcome to Meet the Press.
0:43.1	Oh, my God.
0:43.7	Wait, do you know I don't think I've ever been on Meet the Press?
0:45.9	Well, this is a big moment for us to have you.
0:48.9	It's an honor.
0:49.7	Thank you.
0:50.3	Thanks, Kristen.
0:51.0	Thank you for being here and for taking this time to have this conversation. And I just want to get caught up with you. Thanks, Kristen. Thank you for being here and for taking this time to have this conversation.
0:56.1	And I just want to get caught up with you. You made this monumental decision to step away from
1:02.3	the Today Show, one of the most coveted roles in all of broadcast news. You've been at NBC for 26 years.
1:10.6	How are you doing? What is life like right now?
1:13.1	First of all, my time at NBC like lives in me. You know, certain things you carry for the rest of your
1:19.4	life. And I get to carry that. So for 26 years, I did similar things every single day.
1:26.3	And one day, Kristen, in January, I woke up and my alarm
	...

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