Obama Presidency Oral History

Incite at Columbia University
The Obama Presidency as told by 450+ officials, activists, organizers, and extraordinary people from all walks of life.

  • William Taylor

    Foreign Policy Official

  • Tawakkol Karman

    Human Rights Activist

  • Louvon Harris

    Hate Crimes Legislation

  • Jen Psaki

    White House Communications Director

  • Christy Goldfuss

    Environmental Policy Official

  • Melanie Bahnke

    Alaska Native and Arctic Issues Advocate

  • Charles Kupchan

    Foreign Policy Official

  • Kendrick Eagle

    Standing Rock Sioux Youth Leader

  • Neera Tanden

    Health Policy Advisor

  • Zeke Emanuel

    Health Policy Advisor

  • Gabriele Grossman

    Campaign Volunteer

  • Emil Jones

    Illinois State Senator

  • Anthony Fauci

    Public Health Official

  • Brian Mosteller

    Director of Oval Office Operations

  • Julius Genachowski

    FCC Chair

  • Chris Hughes

    Media Proprietor and Campaigner

  • Jim Steinberg

    Deputy Secretary of State

  • Leana Wen

    Public Health Official

  • Tina Tchen

    Chief of Staff to the First Lady

  • Doua Thor

    Public Engagement Official and Advocate

William Taylor
Foreign Policy Official
462

Interviews

Explore oral histories in the collection.

Explore all interviews

Between 2019 and 2023 Incite at Columbia University interviewed hundreds of people to produce the official oral history of the Obama presidency. These in-depth interviews, conducted with those inside and outside of the administration, represent roughly 1,100 hours of audio and video that together form a comprehensive record of the Obama years.

Learn more

Stories

Each oral history interview contains dozens of stories. Explore these stories through prepared playlists—or save stories to make your own.

  • go to the interview
    Internal debate on including undocumented immigrants in healthcare legislation Stephanie Valencia
    02:49
  • go to the interview
    Impact of LGBTQ rights advocacy on morale and future concerns during Obama's final year Raffi Freedman-Gurspan
    02:05
  • go to the interview
    Tunisian revolution and engagement with the Obama administration for tourism and finance Omezzine Khelifa
    04:08
  • go to the interview
    President Obama's support for teachers during economic recovery Rebecca Mieliwocki
    02:09
  • go to the interview
    Development of a close working relationship with Tom Perez Chris Lu
    02:50
  • go to the interview
    Handling of the Shirley Sherrod incident and the creation of the USDA StrikeForce program Tom Vilsack
    09:15
  • go to the interview
    Influence of father's technological innovation on career path Julius Genachowski
    01:23
  • go to the interview
    Strategies for communicating narratives during Obama's reelection campaign Shailagh Murray
    02:02
  • go to the interview
    Obama administration's approach to TPP and its impact on China relations Henry Paulson
    05:43
  • go to the interview
    Impact of the economic downturn on HBCUs and their students Beverly Daniel Tatum
    02:23
Explore all stories

Topics

From healthcare to the financial crisis to nuclear nonproliferation, each topic explored in this collection is brought to life by narrators from both inside and outside the Obama administration.

See more topics

Navigate

Navigate the interconnected events and places that make up this history, narrated by the stories of the people who lived it.



2009-17

Timeline
Map

Discover

Put thousands of stories in conversation with each other using our experimental collection visualizer.

Discover

News& Events

  • read full text: What a New Oral History Reveals About Obama, and the Tradeoffs He Made
    Peter Baker in The New York Times.
    NewsRead more
  • read full text: An Expansive View Into Obama’s Transformative Presidency
    Caroline Harting in Columbia News.
    NewsRead more
  • read full text: The Obama Presidency Inside-Out: A Conversation About Climate
    New York City
    On May 31, 2023, we gathered in New York City to celebrate the completion of the Obama Presidency Oral History project's fieldwork.
    EventRead more
See more news