Tag: President Barack Obama

Higher Ground and Spotify Announce ‘The Michelle Obama Podcast’ Debuting July 29

July 16, 2020

Last summer, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground, announced a partnership with Spotify to produce podcasts exclusive to the platform. Today, we are excited to announce the first title in the ongoing partnership, The Michelle Obama Podcast.

Hosted by Michelle Obama, the show will bring listeners the First Lady’s most candid, human, and personal conversations to show us what is possible when we dare to be vulnerable. The podcast will debut exclusively on Spotify on July 29, 2020. Like all podcasts on Spotify, it will be available to nearly 300 million Free and Premium users around the world. 

The Obamas formed Higher Ground to produce powerful stories to entertain, inform, inspire, and to lift up new, diverse voices in the entertainment industry. Mrs. Obama’s inaugural show is sure to do just that. 

“My hope is that this series can be a place to explore meaningful topics together and sort through so many of the questions we’re all trying to answer in our own lives,” Michelle Obama said. “Perhaps most of all, I hope this podcast will help listeners open up new conversations—and hard conversations—with the people who matter most to them. That’s how we can build more understanding and empathy for one another.”   

Tune in for episodes on topics ranging from sibling relationships and raising children to girlfriends, women’s health, mentorship, and marriage. An array of special guests, including Dr. Sharon Malone MD, Craig Robinson, Valerie Jarett, Conan O’Brien, and Michele Norris, will join the First Lady for each conversation.

“At Spotify we seek to connect listeners with the world’s most authentic and compelling voices,” said Spotify Chief Content and Advertising Business Officer, Dawn Ostroff. “We believe that audiences across the globe will be inspired by these most candid, most human and most personal conversations between First Lady Michelle Obama and her guests.”

Salesforce and Procter & Gamble brands Dawn and Tide will serve as the first season’s presenting sponsors.

For more on the The Michelle Obama Podcast, including a personal introduction from the host herself, please visit the Higher Ground hub.

Higher Ground Announces Partnership with Spotify to Produce Podcasts

June 6, 2019

President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground, today announced a partnership with Spotify to produce podcasts exclusive to the platform. The Obamas formed Higher Ground to produce powerful stories to entertain, inform and inspire, and to lift up new, diverse voices in the entertainment industry. Spotify, which recently surpassed 100 million Premium subscribers and has more than 217 million monthly active users, will distribute the podcasts to audiences across the globe.

Under the Higher Ground partnership, President and Mrs. Obama will develop, produce, and lend their voices to select podcasts, connecting them to listeners around the world on wide-ranging topics. The multi-year agreement will be with Higher Ground Audio, an expansion of the Higher Ground production company that will oversee the move into podcasts.

When President and Mrs. Obama launched Higher Ground in 2018 with an initial partnership with Netflix, their goal was to create compelling content that entertains and inspires viewers. Recognizing that content is consumed in many forms, this new partnership will give them the ability to expand the conversation, educating and engaging Spotify’s diverse and extensive audience.

“We’ve always believed in the value of entertaining, thought-provoking conversation,” President Obama said. “It helps us build connections with each other and open ourselves up to new ideas. We’re excited about Higher Ground Audio because podcasts offer an extraordinary opportunity to foster productive dialogue, make people smile and make people think, and, hopefully, bring us all a little closer together.”  

“We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to amplify voices that are too often ignored or silenced altogether, and through Spotify, we can share those stories with the world,” Michelle Obama said. “Our hope is that through compelling, inspirational storytelling, Higher Ground Audio will not only produce engaging podcasts, but help people connect emotionally and open up their minds—and their hearts.”

“President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are two of the world’s most important voices and it is a privilege to be working with them to identify and share stories that will inspire our global audience, which looks to Spotify for unique, breakthrough content,” said Spotify Chief Content Officer, Dawn Ostroff. “Connecting people with original and thoughtful creators — especially those with the ability to highlight underrepresented and indispensable narratives — is at the core of our mission and we are thrilled that not only will the Obamas be producing content, but that they will be lending their voices to this effort.”