Barack Obama Makes a New Move With Six-Part Podcast Exploring Books That Shaped His Worldview

Former President Barack Obama has returned to the public conversation with a new media project, launching a six-part podcast centered on books that influenced his thinking, identity and understanding of society.

The project, titled “A Great Book with Barack Obama,” was developed through a partnership between Audible and Higher Ground, the production company founded by Barack and Michelle Obama.

Unlike a traditional political program, the series focuses on literature and personal reflection. Each episode brings Obama together with a prominent guest to examine a book with lasting significance.

Audible announced the project in August, describing it as a six-episode original series. The company said Obama would discuss six books that profoundly influenced his worldview and perspectives on society.

The podcast officially debuted on Audible on September 24, 2026. It is also expected to become available through YouTube and other podcast platforms later this year.

The six selected works span several decades and genres, including novels and influential works of American literature. Together, they provide the framework for conversations about identity, power, memory, culture and human experience.

Among the selections is “The Fire Next Time” by James Baldwin, a landmark work that examines race, religion and American society through Baldwin’s personal observations and arguments.

Obama also selected Toni Morrison’s “Song of Solomon,” a novel exploring family history, identity and the complicated relationship between personal experience and broader social forces.

Another selection is Cormac McCarthy’s “All the Pretty Horses,” which gives the series an opportunity to examine themes surrounding adolescence, responsibility, violence and changing ideas of the American experience.

The lineup also includes Marilynne Robinson’s “Gilead,” Robert Penn Warren’s “All the King’s Men,” and John le Carré’s espionage novel “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.”

The guest lineup adds another layer to the project. Actor Tom Hanks, author Ta-Nehisi Coates, historian Jill Lepore, former Obama adviser Ben Rhodes, novelist Percival Everett and writer Lauren Groff participate across the six episodes.

The opening episode features Tom Hanks discussing Robinson’s “Gilead” with Obama. Their conversation explores family, fatherhood and the emotional questions raised by the novel.

Ta-Nehisi Coates appears in another episode focused on Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time.” Their discussion connects literature with questions surrounding race, identity and the American experience.

Ben Rhodes, who served as one of Obama’s senior foreign-policy advisers, joins him to discuss le Carré’s “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” bringing personal experience from government into the literary discussion.

The project also continues a long-running pattern in Obama’s public life: sharing books and discussing reading. Since leaving office, he has regularly published reading recommendations and spoken about literature’s influence.

The former president has described books as important to understanding who he is and what he believes. The podcast expands that interest into longer conversations with writers, artists, historians and other public figures.

The timing is also notable because the series arrives after the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago earlier this year, giving Obama another major public-facing project beyond traditional political activity.

Early attention to the podcast has been significant. Associated Press reported that “A Great Book with Barack Obama” topped Audible’s nonfiction audiobook list for the week ending September 25.

The project therefore represents something different from a conventional political announcement. Rather than signaling a new campaign, it places Obama in the role of host, reader and conversationalist.

For listeners, the central attraction may be less about Obama's political career and more about how a former president interprets books that have remained important throughout his life.

With six episodes and an unusually prominent guest lineup, “A Great Book with Barack Obama” gives the former president another platform to discuss literature, culture and the ideas that continue to shape his public voice.