Savannah Guthrie used a line that echoed The Silence of the Lambs in a plea directed at the person or people who abducted her mother, meant to humanize her mother —

“She is full of kindness and knowledge. Talk to her and you’ll see.”

It was about empathy. About reminding someone that the person on the other end is fully human.

That phrasing mirrors a famous line in The Silence of the Lambs, where Senator Ruth Martin, speaking to Buffalo Bill about her daughter Catherine, says:

“Catherine is very gentle and kind. Talk to her and you’ll see.”