- Former First Lady Michelle Obama recently announced her first podcast, The Michelle Obama Podcast, will air exclusively on Spotify.
- Through candid conversations with friends, family members, and former colleagues, Obama will explore the relationships that shape us.
Michelle Obama isn't done letting her voice be heard—or amplifying the voices of others.
On July 29, the former First Lady will launch her first podcast, The Michelle Obama Podcast, on Spotify. Through candid conversations with friends, family members, and former colleagues—including her brother, Craig Robinson; her mother, Marian Robinson; late-night host Conan O'Brien; Washington Post columnist Michele Norris; obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Sharon Malone; former senior advisor to President Barack Obama, Valerie Jarrett; and yes, even President Barack Obama himself—the bestselling author will explore the relationships that shape people into who they are.
"What I love about these conversations is that they're issues we’re all dealing with every day—and they can take on new meaning when we’re going through a global pandemic or seeking out long-overdue racial justice in our communities.” she said in an Instagram post Thursday. “I hope this podcast will help you open up new conversations—and hard conversations—with the people who matter most to you. That’s how we can build more understanding and empathy for one another—especially during times like this."
The first season of The Michelle Obama Podcast will kick off with the former President. During the intimate conversation, the pair will discuss their post-White House life, as well as our relationships to our communities.
"What we’re really talking about is our place in this worlds—how we feel about it and what we can do with the power we have," she says in the first episode. "I asked a special someone to join me for this conversation because he’s navigated these questions throughout the course of his entire life."
From there, new episodes will be released weekly and cover connections, "as personal as our relationship with ourselves, how we navigate our health and our bodies at various points in our lives...the challenges and joys of being a parent or a spouse, the friendships that help us through the toughest times, or the growth we experience when we lean on the colleagues and mentors around us," she said in an introduction to the podcast, which will be available to free and premium Spotify users.
If you're looking to find out how to listen to the show—which had previously been code-named "Project Renaissance," according to NBC News—you can go to its dedicated page here or you can access it via the Higher Ground hub, which also includes a variety of playlists curated by the Obamas. If you have the Spotify app, you can also search for the podcast by name. (Make sure to tap follow on the podcast's landing page, so new episodes will automatically be downloaded to your library.)
The podcast follows the premiere of Becoming—the Netflix documentary about her post-White House life and work—and is the first in a multiyear partnership between the music streaming giant and Higher Ground, the production company that she and former President Barack Obama established after leaving office.
“We’ve always believed in the value of entertaining, thought-provoking conversation,” the former President said when the partnership was announced. “It helps us build connections with each other and open ourselves up to new ideas."
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