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For this week’s podcast, I worked hard to prepare because, quite frankly, I was intimidated. I did extra research on my subject, or as some might say, legal stalking, and I made sure I studied everything from her career to her style. My guest was veteran journalist Katie Couric, who has interviewed everyone from Barack Obama to Hillary Clinton and George H.W. Bush.

I figure, if you are going to get into the gym with Magic Johnson, you’ve got to make sure your game is sharp as iron. And if you are going to interview Couric, you better have all of your facts straight, questions ready and bring your intellectual A game. 

As a black man in this time of social unrest, I love that an outspoken white woman like Couric doesn’t mind making other people feel uncomfortable about the truth by talking about difficult subjects. I pay attention to that, so I was really looking forward to picking her brain. And of course, being the vet she is, Katie tossed every question back to me, which made for an insightful and fun discussion.

We talked about the divided state of the country today, how to seize career opportunities and wristwatches, where she buttered me up a bit by dropping one of my beloved Detroit hometown brands. 

But first, we delved into the meatier topics, like cancel culture, which both of us are firmly against.   

“We have to be more compassionate and less judgmental,” she told me. “I’m not a big fan of cancel culture. Fair-minded people are trying to learn . . . I feel like we need to help people along and, you know, maybe I am naive, but I think that’s part of the healing process to not attack . . . If we can approach it in a less-confrontational way, I think it’s easier to change hearts and minds.”

To me, cancel culture is flawed because I would rather hear where people stand and respect and appreciate their authenticity. We are too quick to muzzle others. I am in the communication business, so to me, it’s OK to disagree with someone without disrespecting them or their beliefs and culture. It’s what creates open dialogue and growth.

And growth is something Couric knows about. She talked about her career evolution from being a producer and reporter and how when she got her shot as a fill-in host of the “Today” show while Deborah Norville was on maternity leave in 1991, she was like a backup quarterback who knew the playbook in and out.

“I really paid my dues . . . I think I was ready. I was mature enough to handle the attention because it was pretty overwhelming. And I had the experience so I felt secure and comfortable in my own skin.”

She said she felt bad that Norville never came back and that for whatever reason, her pairing with Bryant Gumbel just didn’t work. She said Norville was put in a “tough position” coming after the beloved Jane Pauley.

Couric, who naturally embraced a mix of serious news and lighthearted stories, said she was “built for that job” and was a trailblazer because she wasn’t a leggy, dolled-up blonde, rather an approachable petite, girl next door.

“I was kind of a bit of a different breed when I came onto the scene because think I was the Everywoman. I wasn’t glamorous. I was this girl who could be your neighbor, your sister, your aunt. I represented the possibility of being a broadcaster who didn’t fit a particular mold.”

She’s still breaking the mold. After working for nearly every network in their most prestigious posts and for Yahoo, she is now her own boss, and her business card says “Katie Couric Media.” 

Being a fashion guy, I had to point out one of her trademark items. She always wears a watch, something going the way of the landline now that people can just look at their cellphones.

She always has a Chanel J12 watch on her wrist. She admitted that she isn’t a label person and the watch was a splurge, so maybe she is just getting her money’s worth. Then she executed a power move by saying she also loves her Shinola watch, which is one of Detroit’s greatest exports, and very close to my heart. She went to Detroit for a story a few years ago and visited the Shinola factory, loved their origin story and what they continue to do for the city.

And that, my friends, is what you call a charm offensive. That’s why she is in the GOAT conversation. 

Detroit native Jalen Rose is a member of the University of Michigan’s iconoclastic Fab Five, who shook up the college hoops world in the early ’90s. He played 13 seasons in the NBA, before transitioning into a media personality. Rose is currently an analyst for “NBA Countdown” and “Get Up,” and co-host of “Jalen & Jacoby.” He executive produced “The Fab Five” for ESPN’s “30 for 30” series, is the author of the best-selling book, “Got To Give the People What They Want,” a fashion tastemaker, and co-founded the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, a public charter school in his hometown.