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

Explore oral histories in the collection.

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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.



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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