A GREAT BOOK WITH BARACK OBAMA Podcast to Debut on Audible

A Great Book with Barack Obama, a new original podcast hosted by President Obama from Audible and Higher Ground, debuts today, Thursday, September 24, 2026, exclusively from Audible. In this intimate series, President Obama sits down with six luminaries to discuss the books that have profoundly shaped his worldview and society.

The guests in conversation with President Obama and book selections include:

Episodes

Episode 1: Tom Hanks, Academy, Emmy, and Golden Globe Award-winning actor, on Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Episode 2: Ta-Nehisi Coates, National Book Award-winning author, MacArthur Fellow, and journalist, on The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

Episode 3: Jill Lepore, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist, on All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren

Episode 4: Ben Rhodes, former National Security Advisor and author, on Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré

Episode 5: Percival Everett, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author, on Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Episode 6: Lauren Groff, three-time National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author, on All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

Some books change the way you see the world. In A Great Book with Barack Obama, President Obama is joined by six of the most compelling thinkers, writers, and artists of our time to revisit the books that shaped his life and perspective on the world. Reflecting on identity, power, memory, and culture, the conversations between President Obama and his guests explore one central question: what do the stories we love tell us about the world we live in and the world we want to create?

The sixth release born out of Audible and Higher Ground's longstanding relationship to produce limited series, A Great Book will also be available on YouTube and everywhere podcasts are available later this year.

Previous Audible and Higher Ground projects include Michelle Obama: The Light Podcast hosted by Michelle Obama, Your Mama's Kitchen: Conversations from the Heart of the Home hosted by Michele Norris, The Wonder of Stevie hosted by Wesley Morris, the Peabody Award-winner Fela Kuti: Fear No Man hosted by Jad Abumrad, and Reconstruction: The Unfinished Promise, a collaboration with The History Channel and Pushkin Industries hosted by Malcolm Gladwell and featuring President Barack Obama. Audible and Higher Ground's ongoing collaboration reinforces Higher Ground's commitment to audio. Since its inception, Higher Ground, an Academy Award and Emmy Award-winning media company, has brought powerful stories to life.