In this day and age, everybody has a podcast.
But in an oversaturated market rife with hundreds of thousands of shows that either go unheralded or unheard, I think it’s safe to say that The Michelle Obama Podcast won’t have any problems whatsoever standing out. And in its premiere episode, our Forever First Lady is joined by the man who should’ve never left office: our Forever President, Barack Obama.
The coronavirus has completely upended our way of life, from our health to our financial stability to even how we interact as human beings, so it’s only fitting that the Obamas discuss our responsibility to our country and our communities during this perilous time.
“Sometimes this relationship might be a source of fulfillment or meaning or joy,” Michelle says. “Other times, it might provoke questions that we don’t quite know the answer to. What we’re really talking about is our place in this world. How we feel about it and what we can do with the power we have.”
Throughout the course of the 49-minute episode, Barack and Michelle explore their upbringings and how those surroundings inspired them to become more actively involved in their communities.
“It wasn’t the classic nuclear family. It was a tight-knit family,” Barack says. “We felt loved and supported. And that’s obviously where a community starts.
“Your values always start with those closest to you, right? So, my mom deeply believed in everybody being worthy of love, praise, and support.”
“At the core of everything you have done politically, what I know about you as a person and one of the reasons why I fell in love with you is [...] because you are guided by the principle that we are each other’s brother’s and sister’s keepers,” Michelle says. “And that’s how I was raised!”
As easy as it is to enjoy their banter, you already know the Obamas are good for inspiring us to be our best selves as well.
“I know a lot of you are hurting out there right now and are confused and that’s OK,” Michelle says. “But as I’ve seen, as Barack has seen, we can take that anger, that disappointment and turn it into something useful. Perhaps, even something hopeful. But we just have to keep having those conversations because once we start the conversation there is no telling where it will go.”
The Michelle Obama Podcast is available now on Spotify.
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DISCUSSION
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I’m just trying to do my small part to defeat American fascism.