A new Barack Obama podcast is turning six books that shaped his thinking into conversations about culture, identity, race, faith, family, and the way literature can stay with us long after the final page.
Barack Obama will host “A Great Book,” a new six episode series from Audible and Higher Ground that is scheduled to premiere September 24. The project will bring Obama together “with six luminaries to discuss the books that have profoundly shaped his worldview and our society,” giving listeners something more personal than another celebrity book club.
Obama framed the idea around what reading can still offer in a culture where attention is constantly being pulled in different directions. In his announcement of the series, he wrote, “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.”
“And some books don’t just tell a story — they change the way we see the world,” Obama said.
That idea gives the podcast a lane that feels distinct from the interview driven shows that came before it. Obama identified six titles that made a lasting impression on him: 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.” According to Obama’s announcement, those works influenced how he thinks about subjects including family, faith, race, politics, and America.
Rather than simply reviewing the books, Obama said he “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.” That approach makes the series less about recommending what people should read and more about tracing how a book can become part of someone’s worldview.
“A Great Book” also marks Obama’s return to the podcast host chair after one of Higher Ground’s earliest high profile audio experiments. According to Spotify’s original announcement, Obama and Bruce Springsteen launched “Renegades: Born in the USA” in 2021 as an eight episode series of intimate conversations between the longtime friends. The pair discussed race, fatherhood, marriage, their personal histories, music, and their complicated relationship with America.
The new show takes that same interest in personal history and ideas but places books at the center. Instead of building each episode primarily around another person, “A Great Book” starts with a piece of literature and uses it to open a wider conversation about how people understand themselves and the world around them.
Michelle Obama, meanwhile, has built an even larger hosting résumé in audio. In 2020, Spotify announced “The Michelle Obama Podcast”, Higher Ground’s first podcast under its original Spotify partnership. Her conversations covered marriage, parenting, sibling relationships, women’s health, mentorship, friendship, and other personal subjects, with guests including Craig Robinson, Dr. Sharon Malone, Conan O’Brien, Valerie Jarrett, and Michele Norris. Spotify later reported that the show became one of the platform’s major podcast successes.
Michelle moved into a different format in 2023 with “Michelle Obama: The Light Podcast.” According to Audible, the eight episode series grew out of conversations recorded during her six city tour for “The Light We Carry.” The show featured discussions with figures including Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Gayle King, Conan O’Brien, and David Letterman while expanding on themes from the book involving relationships, race, gender, visibility, change, and resilience.
Then, in March 2025, Michelle teamed with her older brother for “IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson.” The weekly show was designed around the siblings tackling everyday questions with guests and experts. Higher Ground describes the series as a mix of candid opinions, practical advice, humor, and conversations drawn from the siblings’ experiences.
The Obamas’ audio projects also reflect Higher Ground’s changing distribution strategy. After its earlier work with Spotify, the company reached a “worldwide, multi-project, multi-year first look” agreement with Audible in 2022. In announcing that partnership, Audible said the projects would “reflect the companies’ shared mission to tell meaningful and entertaining stories that elevate diverse voices and experiences.”
That history makes “A Great Book” more than another addition to the Higher Ground catalog. The podcast is the clearest attempt yet to turn his well known relationship with books into a complete audio concept, moving beyond reading recommendations and into the stories behind why certain works endure. His selections stretch from Baldwin and Morrison to McCarthy and le Carré, but the connecting thread is personal: these are books Obama says helped shape how he understands people, power, community, and America.
For listeners who have followed the Obamas from intimate conversations about marriage and family to discussions of race, music, personal growth, and culture, “A Great Book” takes that formula somewhere new. This time, the conversation begins on the page.
