The Book Case Podcast: Joan Lunden Says Good Morning Book Case! ABC News | Charlie Gibson, Kate Gibson | March 12, 2026

Episode Overview

In this engaging episode of The Book Case, hosts Charlie Gibson and Kate Gibson welcome their longtime friend and former co-host Joan Lunden to discuss her memoir, Joan. The conversation weaves personal anecdotes, trailblazing moments in morning television, stories of resilience, and reflections on breaking barriers for women in media. Joan candidly shares her inspirations for the memoir, the process of owning her story, and the creative ways she connects readers to her extraordinary life. Listeners are treated to both laughter and insight, deepening appreciation for how Lunden changed not only television, but the possibilities for women in the public eye.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Making of Joan’s Memoir

• Origins of the Book & Title

  • Joan shares how the memoir's title, Joan, came about: “She had to struggle to come up with that title, I think—and she was able to do it.” (Kate, 01:27)
  • The memoir spans her life story, including significant challenges: “She’s lived a wonderfully star crossed life, has gone through some tough times. A battle with cancer, for instance. She lost her dad at a very young age, et cetera, et cetera.” (Charlie, 02:57)

• Intent & Audience

  • Joan wrote primarily for women, but with universal appeal: “I hope that moms might buy it, especially for young women… I hope that it’s motivational and inspirational.” (Joan, 12:17)

• Innovative Elements: QR Codes

  • Lunden wanted to bring her life on television alive for readers by including scannable QR codes linking to pivotal video moments:
    “All these different moments in my life, I was able to tell the story and then let you open it up and see the story.” (Joan, 11:02)
    • First moment highlighted: her emergency in a U2 spy plane at 75,000 feet.
    • This was her own idea, merging memoir with multimedia storytelling: “I hadn’t never seen it in a book before… I figured it out with the QR codes, and as soon as I got the go ahead, I said, all right, I’m going to do something that nobody else has done.” (Joan, 11:27)

2. Breaking Barriers for Women in Broadcasting

• Trailblazing at Good Morning America

  • Joan was among the first morning show hosts to be open about motherhood on television:

    “Barbara [Walters] was not a mom on the air... Whereas Joan, I think, was the first woman to say, ‘This is my daughter, and guess what? I’m pregnant, and we’re gonna talk about breastfeeding.’” (Charlie, 06:10)

  • Joan describes the shift:

    “You put your pregnant stomach above the desk, not below it. You used... you talked about breastfeeding on the air when you couldn’t say breastfeeding on television in 1979.” (Kate, 14:09)

    • She reflects on how this changed TV and corporate culture for women.

  • The story of getting the anchor job and learning she was pregnant:

    “One of the most vivid moments in the book for me is when you get the call… from GMA saying we’re going to put you in the anchor chair and five or ten minutes later you get a call from your gynecologist that says you’re pregnant. I mean, this is a time in our culture where you had to sort of choose between the two.” (Charlie, 15:27)

• Negotiating for Motherhood at Work

  • Joan describes convincing ABC to let her bring her baby to work:

    “I called my agent and I said, would you go in and ask them if I can bring my baby with me because I’m breastfeeding? … Lo and behold, and I have to give kudos to ABC for saying yes. I do not think they knew what they were saying yes to.” (Joan, 17:17)

3. Memoir as Self-Reflection and Inspiration

• Owning Her Story

  • On the memoir’s philosophy, Joan is asked how much is self-reflection versus inspiration for others:

    “I think it’s total self reflection and a hundred percent sharing the story of your life. But at the same time, I always hope that it will always inspire others, maybe give them hope.” (Joan, 08:59)

• Choosing What to Share

  • Joan deliberately starts the memoir with a compelling adult moment, not childhood, inspired by her reaction to other memoirs:

    “I decided to start with something compelling that would take them into a moment in my life that’s kind of extraordinary… Since I was 23… almost all my life has been captured on videotape... So then I got the idea of putting QR codes all throughout the book.” (Joan, 09:33–10:00)

• Encouraging Women and Young People

  • Lunden’s message: “believing in yourself… you can do something bigger than maybe even you think you can do, of saying yes... whenever someone asks you if you can do something, just say yes and then go figure out how to do it.” (Joan, 13:01)

4. On-Set & Industry Anecdotes

• GMA Stories: The Realities Behind the Glamour

  • Kate and Charlie recall the travel and long hours that made life as correspondents less glamorous than it seemed:

    “We did a week of shows in the Netherlands and we lived right next to the Rijksmuseum, and I never got in it. You’re working all the time… The audience would see more of the country that we were featuring than we did.” (Kate, 04:01)

  • Joan and Kate share memorable mishaps:

    • Breastfeeding incidents (“when all of a sudden I experienced inflation and trickle down personally… I was fortunately wearing a silk print blouse so you couldn’t see it.” – Joan, 26:33)
    • Wardrobe malfunctions (“I jumped off the stage to go to the next set and my pants split right up the back…we were doing a fashion piece…she ran over and gave me a sheep herder’s coat to wear for the rest of the show.” – Kate, 27:28)

  • High adrenaline adventures, like bungee jumping in New Zealand:

    “We went to the top of a bridge that we bungee jumped off of… your wife was so angry at me.” (Joan, 28:17–29:20)

• Workplace Dynamics & Gender Roles

  • The tension of co-host equality vs. network expectations:

    “Let’s show America that a man and a woman can work together as equals. I didn’t get a speech like that. I got…” (Kate quoting Charlie, 18:34)

    • The network told Charlie: “The show needs an alpha host and it has to be the male… you’re going to have to exhibit... dominance wasn’t the word…” (Charlie, 19:05)

• MeToo Moments & Early Workplace Harassment

  • Joan recounts facing sexual harassment and how she confronted a mentor at Eyewitness News who retaliated after she rebuffed his advances:

    “I told him that I had met with my attorneys and we had put together a suit, sexual discrimination against WABC and against him... I’m going to give you this one opportunity to apologize and to never do this again… He realized then and he apologized and he just said, I’m sorry and it won’t happen again.” (Joan, 23:07)

    • Joan confesses to bluffing about the legal action, but standing her ground changed the workplace dynamic. (25:59)

5. Reflections on Partnership, Legacy, and Saying Goodbye

• Selecting Her Co-Host

  • Joan pushed for Charlie as her GMA partner, citing his relatable, humble style:

    “Charlie was just like a normal guy who happened to be incredibly bright… and had this wonderful little kind of self deprecating humor… that was what was really going to be the perfect guy to sit there.” (Joan, 33:18)

• Memorable Farewell Quote

  • Joan shares a favorite quote from the memoir’s final chapter:

    “Chapter 36 in this book is called Finding the Good in Goodbye…The quote is actually by Winnie the Pooh: ‘How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.’” (Joan, 36:11)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Showing Her Whole Self on TV
  “You put your pregnant stomach above the desk, not below it... you talked about breastfeeding on the air when you couldn’t say breastfeeding on Television in 1979.” (Kate, 14:09)

• On Facing Workplace Harassment
  “I told him that I had met with my attorneys and we had put together a suit, sexual discrimination… I’m going to give you this one opportunity to apologize and to never do this again… and he apologized.” (Joan, 23:07)

• On the Serendipity of Her Name
  “This all happened like I... literally on the third day on the job... drop the B. It’s easy. And I left. That’s how fast my name changed from Blunden to London.” (Joan, 08:39)

• Farewell Philosophy
  “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” (Winnie the Pooh, quoted by Joan, 36:11)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction & Memoir Background: 00:37–03:33
• Planning the Memoir/Writing for Women: 08:41–13:52
• Innovative Use of Multimedia (QR Codes): 10:00–12:11
• Breaking Barriers at GMA & Pregnancy Story: 14:09–17:44
• Co-Host Dynamics & Industry Expectations: 18:10–19:23
• MeToo Moments & Sexism in the Industry: 21:37–25:59
• Behind-the-Scenes Stories & Bloopers: 26:25–31:00
• Choosing Charlie as Co-Host: 32:01–34:21
• Final Reflections & Farewell: 34:35–36:11

Summary

This episode offers a warm, revealing, and often hilarious look at Joan Lunden’s journey—from her rise as one of the most recognizable morning show hosts to her forthright engagement with the challenges facing women in television. Through unique storytelling methods like in-memoir QR codes, candid talk of workplace sexism, and her legacy of integrating motherhood and professional ambition, Joan’s memoir (and this conversation) becomes both guide and inspiration for those who follow. As Charlie, Kate, and Joan reminisce, listeners get a vivid window into American broadcast history—and how one woman’s “ordinary” life helped change it.

Recommended for: Fans of memoir, cultural history, women's empowerment, or anyone curious about the real-life stories behind iconic television moments.