meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Next Question with Katie Couric

The Movement is Not Dead: Bryan Stevenson on 2020, Backlash, and What Comes Next

Next Question with Katie Couric

Katie Couric Media

News, Health, Society & Culture, Commentary, Documentary,, Health & Fitness

4.44.7K Ratings

🗓️ 25 September 2025

⏱️ 97 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The murder of George Floyd and the protests of 2020 sparked a nationwide movement for racial justice and reckoning. Just a few years later, many of those hard-won conversations are being rolled back. Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, joins Katie to ask: is the movement truly over, or are we now in the midst of the harder, but essential, struggle to make it endure? He shares why learning is itself an act of resistance, what each of us can do to push back against false narratives, and how history can inspire courage for the battles ahead.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This is an IHeart podcast.

0:04.1

The NFL is rolling.

0:06.3

That's right.

0:07.1

And you should be listening to NFL Daily as we march along to Super Bowl 60.

0:11.7

It's in the name, NFL Daily.

0:13.8

So you'll have fresh content in your feed all season long.

0:16.6

Join me, Greg Rosenthal, in an all-star cast of co-hosts for previews and recaps of every single game.

0:23.0

NFL Daily will keep you up to date with everything you need to know so you can sound smarter than all your friends.

0:28.6

Listen to NFL Daily on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

0:37.2

If in this moment of crisis, in this moment of conflict and controversy, in this

0:41.6

moment where democracy is being threatened, we remain silent. I don't think it's just

0:46.6

apathetic. I don't think it's just cowardly. I think it's dishonorable. And so if we are Americans

0:53.2

committed to a future, if we are Americans who believe

0:56.4

in freedom, equality, and justice, we have to now speak out. We have to do things. And we have to be

1:02.4

prepared. That may mean things get uncomfortable. But we have behind us generations who did those

1:09.0

uncomfortable things to make this nation the nation that it is

1:13.1

in hopes that we would continue that struggle. And so that's what I'm embracing in this moment.

1:18.4

Hi, everyone. I'm Katie Couric, and this is Next Question.

1:24.7

I've probably interviewed thousands of people over the years, but whenever anyone asks me who my favorite is, I don't even have to think about it. It's Brian Stevenson. He has an extraordinary presence in a way of taking the most painful and confounding issues we face as a country and helping us see them with clarity, perspective, and even a sense of hope.

1:46.5

Brian is the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, where he has spent decades taking on

1:51.6

some of the hardest work imaginable, challenging racial injustice, mass incarceration,

1:57.5

and the death penalty. His work has given voice and dignity to people who are too often forgotten.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Katie Couric Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Katie Couric Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.