Barack Obama to host six-episode Audible podcast on books that shaped his worldview, starting September 24

Podcast announcement

Barack Obama will host "A Great Book with Barack Obama," a six-episode podcast premiering September 24, 2026 on Audible. The series is produced by Audible, the Amazon-owned audio platform, in collaboration with Higher Ground, the production company founded by Barack and Michelle Obama. Each episode will focus on one book that the former president says has "profoundly shaped his worldview and our society," with Obama discussing the work alongside a guest. The six guests, described as "thinkers, writers and artists," have not yet been announced.

The six selected books

The titles Obama chose span American and British literature: "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin, "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison, "All the Pretty Horses" by Cormac McCarthy, "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson, "All the King's Men" by Robert Penn Warren, and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" by John le Carré. All were published in the 20th century except Robinson's "Gilead," which appeared in 2004. Robinson's inclusion carries a personal dimension: she and Obama struck up a correspondence after he invited her to dinner at the White House, and in 2012 he awarded her the National Humanities Medal. In 2015, while still president, Obama interviewed Robinson about "Gilead" for the New York Review of Books during a visit to Des Moines, where Robinson was teaching at the University of Iowa.

Obama's statement

Obama described the project as an extension of his lifelong reading habit.

“Great books have always helped me figure out who I am and what I believe. The six books featured in this series have stayed with me throughout my life, and each one has something to teach us about the human experience.”

He added that he invited friends to explore why the books resonate and "why literature matters now more than ever," expressing hope that listeners would be inspired to discover or rediscover books that change how they see themselves and the world.

Higher Ground's growing Audible catalog

The podcast marks the sixth release under Audible and Higher Ground's exclusive first-look deal, signed in 2022 after the production company had previously been set up at Spotify. Earlier collaborations include "Michelle Obama: The Light Podcast," hosted by the former first lady; "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-winning "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 Barack Obama.

Rachel Ghiazza, Chief Content Officer at Audible, said Obama "has a remarkable ability to connect books to the questions of who we are and how we see the world" and that the series represents "connecting listeners with transformative storytelling through the intimacy of audio."

Summer reading list

The announcement comes a week after Obama published his latest summer reading list, which he posts annually alongside year-end roundups. His summer 2026 selections include "Kin" by Tayari Jones, "Vigil" by George Saunders, "The Things We Never Say" by Elizabeth Strout, "Transcription" by Ben Lerner, and "Cool Machine" by Colson Whitehead. Deadline also lists Michael Pollan's "A World Appears" among the summer picks. Unlike the podcast selections, which are concentrated on 20th-century works, the summer lists frequently feature recently published titles.