Barack Obama will launch A Great Book with Barack Obama on September 24.
The six-episode podcast will stream exclusively on Audible, the online audio and podcast service.
Obama will explore six books that have “profoundly shaped [Obama’s] worldview and our society.”
Each episode will also feature a guest. Obama will discuss his chosen book with that guest.
The former US president has long shared his love of literature. His annual list of favourite books has also become a popular tradition on social media.
Mid-year summer reading list for followers
“Great books have always helped me figure out who I am and what I believe,” Obama said in a statement about the podcast.
Audible has not yet revealed the guests for each episode. However, listeners already know which books Obama selected.
Audible announced the series with Higher Ground, the Obamas’ production company. The announcement also revealed all six titles.
Obama will discuss:
- The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
- Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
- All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
- Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
- All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren
- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carré
Five of the six authors come from the United States.
British writer John Le Carré represents the only exception.
Identity, power, memory, and culture
The discussions of each book are expected to reflect on “identity, power, memory, and culture,” according to Audible.
Notably, the podcast has one “central question”: What do the stories we love tell us about the world we live in and the world we want to create?
“I hope listeners will be inspired to discover or rediscover books that change the way they see themselves and the world,” said Obama.
The six-episode project is not the first time an Obama has hosted a podcast on Audible.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama collaborated with the Amazon-owned company to produce Michelle Obama: The Light Podcast.
Featuring nine episodes, the podcast was released in March 2023, following the release of her 2022 book The Light We Carry: Overcoming Uncertain Times.
Each episode is a live recording of conversations between the former First Lady and guests, such as Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King, on her six-city book tour of the (then) new release.
Barack Obama is also featured in Audible’s The History Channel and Pushkin Industries, hosted by Malcolm Gladwell, released in June this year.
READ NEXT: BookTok backlash: Is performative reading a problem?
