For a world reeling from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Washington-based BBC News anchor Katty Kay brings a sorely-needed fresh perspective on the state of American politics, the economy, and global affairs. Katty’s insights reflect a global mindset that is a natural offshoot of having grown up in the Middle East and her work as a journalist in Europe, Africa, and Asia before coming to Washington in 1996.
The award-winning journalist is an anchor for BBC World News where her weekday evening broadcasts provide an update on Washington politics and global affairs to an enormous audience worldwide. Her podcast with Carlos Watson, When Katty Met Carlos, shares fresh perspectives on America and the world. Katty is also a regular guest and substitute co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe program. When she’s not busy making sense of the news from Washington and around the globe, Katty writes on the art and science of women and self-assurance – helping them turn thoughts into action to master a more confident mindset. She is co-author of four New York Times bestsellers (The Confidence Code; The Confidence Code for Girls; Womenomics; and Living the Confidence Code) and The Confidence Code for Girls Journal.
Katty Kay has reported on six U.S. presidential elections, financial crashes, wars, sex scandals, and much more. Katty is proud of the fact that the day after the Brexit vote in the U.K., she wrote an article on the five reasons Trump would win the Presidency. She is less proud of the fact that the day he declared his candidacy in June 2015, she said that would be the high point of his campaign. Katty is co-author of two New York Times bestsellers about women, success, and work. The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance — What Women Should Know inspired women to understand that confidence – the lynchpin of success – is a choice; and Womenomics: Write Your Own Rules for Success examined the workplace revolution and inspired women to take control, dream big and discover a different way of weaving work into their lives – and in the process create more profitable companies with happier and more productive employees. After The Confidence Code was released, parents everywhere asked Katty and her co-author, Claire Shipman, about confidence and girls. That led to three more books co-authored by Katty with Claire Shipman and Jill Ellyn Riley. The Confidence Code for Girls: Taking Risks, Messing Up, and Becoming Your Amazingly Imperfect, Totally Powerful Self, was released in April 2018 and debuted at the #1 spot on the New York Times bestseller list. The empowering, entertaining guide gives girls the essential yet elusive code to becoming bold, brave, and fearless. The follow-up, The Confidence Code for Girls Journal: A Guide to Embracing Your Amazingly Imperfect, Totally Powerful Self, is based on their in-depth research and helps teens and tweens tackle any challenge. Their most recent book, Living the Confidence Code: Real Girls, Real Stories, Real Confidence, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list (Children’s Middle Grade) and is a collection of 30 true stories of real girls, pursuing their passions, struggling and stumbling, but along the way figuring out how to build their own special brand of confidence.
On the fun side, Katty had the distinction of being immortalized in pop culture in 2018 when her name was the answer to a question on the Jeopardy game show. In the same week, she was portrayed in a skit on the legendary Saturday Night Live show which satirized a moment from MSNBC’s Morning Joe program.
Katty Kay settled in Washington, DC in the mid-90s where she lives with her husband, four children, two cats, and a dog.
America has been rocked by COVID-19, the economic shock it created, and political polarization so deep it’s hard to imagine coming together on a way forward. The Biden administration will have a decidedly different approach to these challenges than Donald Trump. What are the odds President Biden will bridge the gap and make progress on the most important issues: jobs, the environment, trade, immigration, healthcare, and more? Will traditional allies consider America to be trustworthy after four years of foreign policy uncertainty? Can Congress and the new administration find a way to work together for the common good of America? As a British journalist living in Washington, DC since 1996, Katty Kay instinctively looks at these stories through a different lens than her American counterparts. The insights she provides audiences are fresh and impartial – in keeping with the standards of the BBC World News organization where she’s an anchor.
