Podcast Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: Work in Progress with Sophia Bush
Episode: Caterina Scorsone
Date: December 10, 2025
Host: Sophia Bush
Guest: Caterina Scorsone

This episode features a deep, vulnerable, and inspiring conversation between Sophia Bush and actress/advocate Caterina Scorsone (best known for playing Dr. Amelia Shepherd on Grey’s Anatomy). The episode explores Caterina’s evolution as an artist, her journey as a parent to a child with Down syndrome, her advocacy for disability inclusion, and her personal growth through career changes and major life events. Both women reflect on the intersection of personal story, societal expectations, privilege, and what it means to be a "work in progress".

Main Themes

• The realities of being a woman in Hollywood, then and now
• The importance of storytelling as a human necessity
• Navigating and questioning societal scripts around womanhood, marriage, and achievement
• Disability inclusion, ableism, and societal constructs
• Parenting and the transformation that comes from raising a child with Down syndrome
• Resilience through trauma and harnessing community
• Internal versus external validation and personal evolution

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Early Careers, Hollywood, and Context

• Navigating Early Hollywood as Women
  • Sophia and Caterina reflect on the harshness and toxicity of the early 2000s entertainment industry, contrasting it with today.
  • “A lot of the kind of younger people who are coming up now…truly can't understand the context that a lot of the specifically actresses were living through…when Weinstein was like running the town…” —Caterina (08:04)
  • They acknowledge the shift towards more safety and vocabulary for what is unacceptable behavior, but note it’s still a work in progress.

Childhood, Family & Early Dreams

• Both Caterina and Sophia had aspirations to be doctors as children.
• Caterina describes her upbringing in a large, creative, academic family that also had roots in service and social work:
  • “I was kind of always looking and I was like, looking, looking, looking and trying to, like, gather information to understand how things were. And I think that…remains.” —Caterina (10:21)
• Acting started not from ambition, but as a means to pay for her future education after her sister’s audition led both into the business.

The Value of Storytelling & Empathy

• Both women reflect on the way narrative, storytelling, and empathy are at the core of human life.
• Caterina discusses leaving acting to study philosophy, literary studies, and comparative religions, which crystallized her understanding of storytelling’s importance:
  • “The reason we feed people and…house people is because we're all engaged in this miracle, which is life. And that…conscious attention…is why we eat, you know. So they're both important. You feed the people so that they can have this experience of consciousness through narratives.” —Caterina (21:58)
• Sophia adds:
  • “The root of that is empathy. And the quickest way to get in touch with or create empathy is to learn someone's story.” (23:43)

Grey’s Anatomy – Art that Informs

• Caterina was a fan before joining the cast, even taking a real-life medical lecture course inspired by the show before deciding acting was her real path:
  • “I think I just want to be on Grey's Anatomy.” —Caterina, on an “aha” moment (28:48)
• Both praise the show for its role in reflecting and stimulating cultural conversations, especially around issues like COVID-19, medical advocacy, intersectionality, and representation.
• Caterina notes the archetypical nature of the show’s characters and its unique unifying effect:
  • “All the different characters seem to serve this Jungian function…it’s like you’re negotiating your own inner journeys…” (30:41)
• Reflection on the evolution and broadening of topics the show covers, from sexuality to marginalized identities.

Personal Evolution: Motherhood, Divorce, Growth

• The hosts discuss how lived experience and evolving roles (on and off-screen) have shaped their sense of self.
• Sophia talks about societal conditioning and the journey of realizing she hadn’t made true choices for herself:
  • “I don't think women are reared to choose. We are reared to be chosen…I'm kind of heartbroken for myself and other people, and on the other hand, I'm like, that's just so funny.” (41:07)
• Caterina reflects on questioning the scripts society imposes, especially around femininity and achievement:
  • “We kind of had this prescribed assumption about how life is supposed to go…but when you start to kind of investigate…you understand that that doctor was a society that does not have the best interests of most of us in mind.” (40:44)
• Both relate this questioning and rewiring to their experiences of divorce and midlife transformation.

Disability & Advocacy

• The conversation deepens around Caterina’s parenting journey with her daughter Pippa, who has Down syndrome.
• At first, Caterina’s fear arose from the unknown and from society’s invisibility of disability:
  • “The fear was because…there was no visibility in my life…I didn't know what the assignment was…” (49:19)
• She realized her job was not to fit her child into ableist standards, but to question the whole system that excludes:
  • “There's nothing wrong with this child's iteration…she is born perfectly individual, just like the rest of us…Disability has to do with how much society has decided to include people who have different abilities…” (51:02)
• A powerful framework shift:
  • “Disability is not about your kid…it’s about how much does society want to include you in a conversation?” (51:44)
  • She credits disability activist Imani Barberin for the insight that “if the people in power want you excluded, they will disable you.” (53:47)
• Caterina's advice for new parents:
  • “I would never, ever, ever want to go back to the person I was before Pippa was born…My community has expanded so exponentially, it shattered a paradigm…” (61:52)

Navigating Trauma and Community

• Caterina shares reflections on losing her home to a fire and the realization of her own privilege during that trauma due to access to resources (insurance, support):
  • “Our society is not structured to take care of us in a crisis…there are so many families that did not have the infrastructure that I had.” (64:43)
• She emphasizes the growing awareness of community responsibility as faith in the government’s social safety net wanes.

Current Life, Self-Validation, and “Work in Progress”

• Discusses her involvement with Moto Yoga LA and its role as a community hub post-disasters.
• Caterina’s current work in progress:
  • “Outsourcing your sense of validity, fulfillment, okayness…to an observer outside the self…and that actually, there is a community inside the self…” (68:03)
  • “All of those versions of self are the voices…once you’ve made that community of self the ultimate arbiter…then you're more free to engage in all of your interpersonal relationships and…social relationships in a non transactional way. Because everything is already provided.” (69:19)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “We can keep going with kind of a deeper understanding of what's happening.” —Caterina, on industry progress (09:42)
• “What you have been able to do as an actor through the character of Amelia…such a complex specialty…I mean, the field of neuroscience is…it’s like almost sci fi.” —Sophia (29:01)
• “I feel like I graduated.” —Caterina, on living through divorce (40:42)
• “Is that authentic femininity and masculinity or is that imposed?” —Caterina (43:07)
• “When you realize that disability is not about your kid…it’s about how much does society want to include you in a conversation?” —Caterina (51:44)
• “The staircase to the second and third floor is an accommodation…We just decide who is worthy of being accommodated.” —Caterina (52:04)
• “If the people in power want you excluded, they will disable you.” —Caterina quoting Imani Barberin (53:47)
• “I would never, ever, ever, ever want to go back to the person that I was before Pippa was born.” —Caterina (61:52)
• “Once you’ve made that community of self the ultimate arbiter…you’re more free to engage in all your interpersonal relationships in a non-transactional way.” —Caterina (69:19)
• “You, my friend, are a poet.” —Sophia (70:25)

Important Timestamps

• 08:04–09:42: Reflections on Hollywood’s treatment of women, pre and post-#MeToo
• 10:21–14:09: Childhood, family roots, and how Caterina got into acting
• 21:58–24:57: Storytelling, empathy, and why narratives matter to humanity
• 25:01–28:48: Grey’s Anatomy, influence, and choosing acting over medicine
• 31:35–34:28: Grey’s as a unifier, archetype exploration, and boundary breaking
• 40:42–43:31: Divorce, societal scripts, and questioning what’s authentic
• 49:19–54:43: Parenting a child with Down syndrome, reframing disability, and activism
• 61:52–62:39: Advice for new parents of children with Down syndrome
• 63:51–65:02: Navigating trauma and privilege after her house fire
• 68:03–69:19: Internal community, self-validation, and current “work in progress”
• 70:25–71:10: On writing a future book

Tone & Language

The tone throughout is heartfelt, direct, empathetic, and sometimes deeply philosophical. Both Sophia and Caterina are open about their vulnerabilities and the ongoing, non-linear nature of personal growth. The conversation is sprinkled with warmth, humor, and a spirit of mutual admiration.

Conclusion

This episode delivers a profound look at what it means to evolve as a human in all dimensions—career, advocacy, parenthood, community, and self. Through honesty and curiosity, Caterina Scorsone and Sophia Bush invite listeners to question societal scripts, find the strength to redefine their own paths, and build inclusion and empathy at every level of life.