Politics

Michelle Obama Hopes to 'Explore Meaningful Topics' as Host of New Spotify Podcast

The Michelle Obama Podcast will premiere exclusively on Spotify on July 29

Published on July 16, 2020 08:01 AM

Michelle Obama is heading into podcasting!

The former first lady, 56, is set to host a new podcast that will center around the various relationships that shape humanity, according to an announcement from Spotify and her and former President Barack Obama's production company, Higher Ground.

Titled The Michelle Obama Podcast, each episode of the show will bring listeners Mrs. Obama's most candid and personal conversations about the special bonds between people from all walks of life.

Mrs. Obama will be joined by an array of special guests, including mom Marian and brother Craig Robinson, Conan O’Brien, Valerie Jarrett, Michele Norris and Dr. Sharon Malone.

“My hope is that this series can be a place to explore meaningful topics together and sort through so many of the questions we’re all trying to answer in our own lives,” Mrs. Obama said in a statement. “Perhaps most of all, I hope this podcast will help listeners open up new conversations—and hard conversations—with the people who matter most to them. That’s how we can build more understanding and empathy for one another.”

The Michelle Obama Podcast will premiere exclusively on Spotify on July 29.

“At Spotify we seek to connect listeners with the world’s most authentic and compelling voices,” Dawn Ostroff, Spotify's chief content and advertising business officer, said in a statement. “We believe that audiences across the globe will be inspired by these most candid, most human and most personal conversations between First Lady Michelle Obama and her guests.”

Mrs. Obama's podcast comes just two months after the premiere of Becoming, her Netflix documentary about her post-White House life and work. The film, named after her smash hit 2018 memoir, followed the author on her her 34-city book tour and featured footage from her travels and her work during her tenure as the first lady.

Since leaving the White House in 2017, the Obamas have eschewed national politics in favor of social causes and their personal memoirs and projects.

In addition to their partnership with Spotify, the couple also inked a deal with Netflix to produce television shows and films for the streaming service.

Their production company's first feature release, American Factory, debuted on Netflix in 2019 and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.