Obama Announces New Podcast Just Months Before Midterms
Former President Barack Obama is preparing to return behind the microphone with another media project as he and former first lady Michelle Obama continue expanding their work outside politics.
The former president says the new venture is intended to address something he believes Americans are increasingly struggling to find the time to do, while exploring ideas that have influenced his own worldview.
Obama announced Monday that he will host a six-episode podcast titled “A Great Book With Barack Obama,” which will debut next month and examine six books that influenced his thinking about politics, faith, race and American life.
“At a time when fewer people are able to sit down with a book, it’s important to remember the joy and power that can come from reading,” Obama wrote in announcing the project on social media.
“And some books don’t just tell a story — they change the way we see the world,” he added.
Each episode will focus on a different work selected by Obama and include conversations examining why the book remains meaningful and what readers can take from it today.
The six selections are James Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time,” Toni Morrison’s “Song of Solomon,” Cormac McCarthy’s “All the Pretty Horses,” Marilynne Robinson’s “Gilead,” Robert Penn Warren’s “All the King’s Men” and John le Carré’s “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.”
Obama said he will be joined by guests for conversations about the books, although the full lineup of participants has not yet been announced.
“I invited some friends to explore why these books resonate, how they can shape our understanding of ourselves and each other, and why literature matters now more than ever,” Obama said.
Several of the authors have connections to subjects Obama frequently discussed during and after his presidency, including American history, race, morality, political power and national identity.
Obama also had a personal relationship with Morrison, whom he awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.
The former president later described the Nobel Prize-winning novelist as a “good friend” following her death in 2019.
“A Great Book With Barack Obama” will be distributed through Audible and produced in collaboration with Higher Ground, the media company Barack and Michelle Obama founded in 2018.
The project is the latest addition to a growing collection of podcasts, films, documentaries and other programming produced under the Higher Ground banner.
Higher Ground previously partnered with Audible on “Michelle Obama: The Light Podcast,” an 11-episode series released between March 2023 and February 2024.
Barack Obama also recently teamed with author Malcolm Gladwell for “Reconstruction: The Unfinished Promise,” an eight-part Higher Ground series examining the period following the Civil War and its continuing influence on the United States.
Higher Ground has expanded well beyond podcasting since its creation, producing projects including the Academy Award-winning documentary “American Factory,” the Netflix thriller “Leave the World Behind” and “Rustin,” a biographical drama about civil rights leader Bayard Rustin.
The Obamas’ growing media portfolio follows years of work building a post-White House presence that extends beyond traditional political speeches, campaigning and memoir writing.
Books have remained a particularly visible part of Barack Obama’s public identity since he left office in January 2017.
Obama regularly releases reading recommendations, including an annual summer reading list, along with year-end selections highlighting books, movies and music that caught his attention.
The new podcast effectively expands that tradition by giving Obama an opportunity to spend an entire episode discussing individual works instead of simply recommending them to his followers.
The former president’s selections also span decades and genres, ranging from Baldwin’s examination of race in America and Warren’s political novel to McCarthy’s Western fiction and le Carré’s Cold War espionage story, The New York Post reported.
With the six-episode series scheduled to begin next month, the remaining major detail is Obama’s guest list, which has yet to be revealed.
BREAKING: Dolly Parton’s Cause Of Death Revealed: ‘Brief Battle’
Dolly Parton’s death came after a brief battle with cancer, her representatives revealed Tuesday.
The country music legend died Aug. 25 at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. She was 80.
Parton had been admitted to the cancer center Friday, four days before her death. Her representatives confirmed the cancer diagnosis in a statement to PEOPLE but did not disclose what type she had.
“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand,” the statement read.
“Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact. After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” the statement concluded.
The “Jolene” singer had also been dealing with kidney and autoimmune issues before her death, PEOPLE previously reported.
Just days earlier, Dolly Parton opened up about her declining health and acknowledged that she had put off addressing some medical issues while caring for her husband, Carl.
“As I’ve shared in video messages throughout the past year, I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over [my husband] Carl. You know, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to manage something like this. Back in the early ’80s, I was down for several months with female issues, and I was struggling with my weight at the time too, so it’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” Parton told PEOPLE.
Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death in an Instagram video Tuesday on behalf of the Parton and Owens family.
“My name is Bryan Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next,” he says in the video.
Seaver, who served as Parton’s head of security for more than two decades, said she had asked him years earlier to deliver the announcement.
“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” he continued. “As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.”
Seaver said the moment brought immense pride and heartbreak, but he took comfort in his faith that Parton had been reunited with Carl and other loved ones.
Seaver added: “It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless othe
Shocking 'truth' behind Prince Harry's decision to quit major role
Prince Harry should have "resigned in disgrace" from the board of a controversial African wildlife charity, a commentator says. James Walker makes the bombshell remark in Wednesday's episode of this publication's podcast, Daily Expresso.
He and the show's host, JJ Anisiobi, delve into the Duke of Sussex's dramatic decision to step down from African Parks. James, commenting on the controversy, said: "When you hear about this stuff and how long it's been going on for, you should be resigning in disgrace. [Harry] should be saying: 'I'm not touching that with a barge pole. That is a failed entity. We're going nowhere near it'.
"But no. He's still saying he's going to 'support their mission'. And again this Caroline Pearce, executive director of Survival International, goes on to say: 'His departure doesn't undo that record'.
"She alleged that African Parks was aware of the abuses for years, but it was only after Survival complained to Harry that the charity finally commissioned an investigation."
James added: "Well, she's got a point."
It emerged on Monday (August 24) that Harry was no longer a board member of the wildlife charity.
The conservation organisation has admitted that human rights abuses were committed by its rangers against members of the semi-nomadic Baka group in Congo-Brazzaville.
African Parks has said since that it has improved its safeguarding processes both in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park and institutionally.
Its admission followed an independent human rights investigation into allegations guards managed and paid by the charity had beaten, raped and tortured indigenous people in Odzala-Kokoua National Park.
Harry was president of the charity for six years before he became a member of its board of directors in 2023.
A spokesman for the Duke said he remains an active and avid supporter of African Parks. He added: "The Duke is proud of his 10 years with African Parks and fully supports the ongoing strengthening of its board.
"His commitment to conservation in Africa continues and he remains a supporter of African Parks’ mission."
Human rights organisation, Survival International, said it had been calling on Harry to step down from African Parks for years.
The group's director, Caroline Pearce, said in a statement: "It’s outrageous that for 10 years Prince Harry has served African Parks while the organisation has been responsible for abuse and violence against Indigenous people.
"His departure doesn't undo that record — African Parks itself must now be held accountable, and must abandon this model of fortress conservation for good."
Survival International said indigenous peoples know how best to manage their land and the idea outsiders know better is racist and colonial.
