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.

  • Julianna Smoot

    Campaign Finance Director

  • Libby Garvey

    Arlington County Politician

  • Henry Paulson

    Secretary of the Treasury

  • Raul Salinas

    Mayor of Laredo

  • Sylvia Burwell

    OMB Director and HHS Secretary

  • Sybrina Fulton

    Social Justice Activist

  • Cleopatra Cowley

    Advocate Against Gun Violence

  • Michael Minor

    Pastor and Healthcare Advocate

  • Ben Rhodes

    Speechwriter and Foreign Policy Official

  • Jeremy Bash

    Intelligence and Defense Official

  • Michael Botticelli

    Drug Policy Official

  • Ursula Burns

    CEO of Xerox

  • Reggie Love

    Personal Aide to Obama

  • Pal Eldredge

    President Obama's Fifth-Grade Teacher

  • Jane Chu

    NEA Chair

  • Bess Evans

    Policy Advisor

  • Krish Vignarajah

    East Wing Policy Director

  • Nathan Law

    Hong Kong Democracy Activist

  • Austan Goolsbee

    Council of Economic Advisers Chair

  • Leah Katz-Hernandez

    White House Staff and Inclusion Advocate

Julianna Smoot
Campaign Finance Director
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Interviews

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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.

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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
    Reflections on the excitement of starting work at the White House Lauren Vrazilek
    01:06
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    Involvement in the New START Treaty and views on nuclear arms control John Podesta
    02:20
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    LGBTQ advocacy and engagement with the Obama administration on marriage equality and other issues Nadine Smith
    02:27
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    Obama's early Senate experience and the story of replacing Alice Palmer John Cullerton
    02:52
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    President Obama's hands-on approach during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill discussions John Holdren
    05:28
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    Challenges of managing Special Operations Forces' mission scope post-bin Laden raid William McRaven
    01:27
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    Healthcare reform ideas project and the role of academic evidence in policy development Jeanne Lambrew
    01:13
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    Reaction to Supreme Court decision on pay discrimination and the Ledbetter case Jocelyn Frye
    06:22
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    Bridging divisions at the Democratic National Convention with Colleen Hanabusa's role Andrew Winer
    03:13
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    Involvement in the Leap Day Deal negotiations with North Korea Jerome Sauvage
    03:30
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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.

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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
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Discover

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

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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
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