Charlie Gibson to Host ABC News Podcast About Books

Charles Gibson

D Dipasupil/Getty Images; Courtesy of ABC NEWS

Thirteen years after he retired from ABC News, former Good Morning America and World News anchor Charlie Gibson is returning to the news division, where he will co-host a new podcast with his daughter Kate Gibson.

The duo will host a literary podcast called The Book Case for ABC Audio. The first episode will debut May 2, and will feature an interview with Oprah Winfrey, who will discuss the impact of her book club, how she makes her picks, and her personal reading habits.

“Kate and I share tremendous regard for those who succeed in the craft of writing,” says Charlie Gibson. “Add to that the fact that almost without exception, I found in the years at Good Morning America that authors are wonderful talkers and that makes for a good podcast. In each podcast episode we hope listeners will get insights into the minds of accomplished writers and that they or their book club might consider our recommendations for their next read.”

Future episodes will include authors, book industry insiders and others, including Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, and novelists John Irving and Sue Miller. Each episode will also highlight a local independent bookstore discussing what books are selling in their region. The podcast will be available for free on all major audio platforms (listen to the trailer here), with new episodes set to debut weekly. It will also be featured on the GMA channel within Apple Podcasts. Liz Alesse is the director and executive producer for ABC Audio.

According to Kate Gibson, the idea for the podcast came from her husband.

“I quit my job in public television in the fall of 2019, not knowing the bottom was about to drop out of, well, everything,” she says. “I was desperately looking for a job, I was taking care of two kids who were suddenly at home, reading every book I could to keep from going stir crazy and I missed spending time with my mom and dad. My husband, David Canada, who is also our producer, pointed out that my father and I were always talking about books, and that our conversations were compelling. ‘How about I put together some gear and we make a podcast?,’ he said. I spent a couple of months blowing off his suggestion as completely bonkers. But he was persistent, we made a pilot and here we are.”

Kate Gibson previously worked as an executive in public television and as a producer and director for a number of Food Network shows. She is working on a master’s degree in library and information sciences.

Her father had been a 35-year veteran of ABC News before his retirement in 2009, working as White House correspondent and congressional correspondent before joining Good Morning America as co-anchor in 1987. He would become the permanent anchor of World News in 2006.

“Choosing your next book is an investment of 10 or 12 hours or even longer. No small deal,” the former anchor added. “We want to build a solid core of listeners who not only come to trust our recommendations of writers and their books, but also learn more about how the gift of good writing engages readers and book clubs and is worth that investment of time.”

“We’re so happy to welcome Charlie back home to ABC News,” Alesse says. “This podcast is really a labor of love for him and Kate, and it fits beautifully into our growing library of lifestyle and culture shows.”