The podcast, the first in a partnership signed between the Obamas' production company Higher Ground and streaming service Spotify, comes at a time of ongoing civil unrest. Barack Obama is the first guest on July 29.
Image: Getty Images/J. Bachman
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Speaking in the introduction to her podcast "about community, the love that powers our relationships," Michelle Obama set out its wider social and political context before beginning a conversation with former US president and husband, Barack Obama.
"Given everything that’s going on right now, from the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and the ongoing protests and conversations that are testing our patience—and our consciences," she says, "not to mention all the challenges we’re experiencing due to the pandemic, I think that these days, a lot of people are questioning just where and how they can fit into a community."
Also featuring intimate interviews with family and friends like Conan O'Brien and mentor Valerie Jarrett, The Michelle Obama Podcast will try and keep its focus on the personal and community bonds as opposed to politics.
"My mother and brother stop by," she wrote in an Instagram post. "You’ll also hear from many of my girlfriends, the women who’ve always been there with a shoulder to lean on, a perspective to think about, or simply an open line to vent to."
Michelle Obama's commitment to create "a place for you all to dig deeper inside your own lives and relationships" also reflects her ambivalence about politics: As she wrote in her best-selling 2018 memoir, Becoming, which sold nearly 1.5 million copies in the first week and was the namesake for her top-rating Netflix documentary released in May: "I've never been a fan of politics. And my experience over the last 10 years has done little to change that."
Yet despite such political disavowal, she is doubly committed to getting the vote out in the upcoming November presidential election, as shown in her tweet on July 26 - 100 days before the US elections.
Obama Inc.
The liberal media appear to look to the Obamas' rising celebrity, with a Netflix series also in the works and more books and podcasts to come, as a sign that the current leadership of Republican President Donald Trump has failed to create the same kind of iconic brand as the Obamas during their eight years at the White House – despite Trump's best efforts.
"The eternal and karmic irony is that the Obamas have wound up with the media and celebrity currency; the fame and global adulation that has been @realDonaldTrump’s life dream, while his brand has been permanently destroyed by his presidency," tweeted MSNBC host Joy Reid.
Under the current partnership with Spotify, the Obamas will “develop, produce and lend their voices” to select podcasts that will be distributed worldwide, Spotify and the Obamas' production company, Higher Ground, said in a joint statement in June.
The announcement followed an agreement between Higher Ground and Netflix that was announced in 2018, and will see the former White House couple produce films, documentaries and other series formats.
The Obamas: 8 years in the White House
After two terms in the White House the Obamas are moving out, making room for the Trump family. Here are some of the highlights of the first family's life in their prominent home.
Image: Getty Images/P. Marovich
Married ... with children
When the Obamas moved to the White House in 2009, their daughters Malia (left) and Sasha were 10 and 7. Personable and friendly, they were the epitome of the ordinary American family.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Hands-on president
Barack Obama comes across as approachable and down-to-earth. During a family visit at the Oval Office, he readily bowed his head so the little boy of a White House employee could touch his hair: "I want to know if your hair is like mine."
Image: picture alliance/dpa/Pete Souza
Super Bowl superlatives
The president and the first lady donned 3-D glasses to watch the Super Bowl at a party at the White House - in their very own movie theater.
Image: Getty Images/White House/P. Souza
Family time
The United States played Japan in the final match of the Women's World Cup soccer tournament in 2011 - a match that had the Obamas on the edge of their seats as they watched on TV. Pete Souza, the official White House photographer, captured this private family moment.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
First dog
A gift from Senator Edward Kennedy, Bo the Portuguese Water Dog joined the Obama family in 2009. Four years later, Sunny, a female of the same breed, made the family complete.
Image: Getty Images/W. McNamee
Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man
Caught in Spider-Man's sticky web - oh no! The most powerful man in the world, always a good sport, plays along with the child of a White House staffer in 2012, just before Halloween.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/Pete Souza
Behind every strong man ...
... there's a great woman, as we all know. Who stands behind whom in the Obama family? America's first lady is more popular than her husband - her ratings are almost constantly at 70 percent, while the president's dropped to 40 percent at one point. The Obamas are regarded as a dream couple.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Loeb
Mom-in-chief
Many Americans adore Michelle Obama for juggling her role as "mom-in-chief" and the more political role of first lady. Above, she and a group of students are harvesting sweet potatoes in the carefully tended White House kitchen garden - a pet project.
Image: Getty Images/C. Somodevilla
Not scared to mess around
The world follows her political engagement just as attentively as her choice of clothes. Always in the limelight, Michelle Obama manages to show style even sitting next to Elmo (left) and Rosalita. "What I have never been afraid of is to be a little silly, and you can engage people that way," she once told "Variety" magazine.
Image: Getty Images/W. McNamee
'This Is For My Girls'
The first lady demonstrated this again in a clip for the cult series "Carpool Karaoke," which has received more than 50 million views on YouTube. While James Corden's car circled the White House grounds, Michelle Obama and Missy Elliott belt out "This Is For My Girls" for the cameras.
Image: YouTube/The Late Late Show with James Corden
Inauguration selfie
With such cool parents, Sasha and Malia sometimes display a little public coolness themselves. While their father was inaugurated for the second time as president in 2013, they posed for a joint selfie.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Klamar
Passionate family man
Malia celebrated her 18th birthday while still living in the White House. The outgoing US president used the occasion to show a less statesman-like side. "Just because it's the job of a father to embarrass his daughters, I've got one last job," he explained at the end of a speech - and launched into "Happy Birthday."
Image: Getty Images/A. Guerrucci-Pool
Bye-bye, Obamas ...
Barack, Michelle, Malia and Sasha Obama, now 15, are now moving out of the White House. But they are not yet turning their backs on the US capital; Sasha will still be attending school in the city. In the fall, Malia intends to begin studying at the prestigious Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
