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.

  • Pranav Shetty

    Physician and Global Health Practitioner

  • Daryl Johnson

    Counterterrorism Official

  • Rafaai M. Hamo

    Engineer and Professor

  • Mark Lippert

    Ambassador and Defense Policy Official

  • Eric Waldo

    Education Policy Advisor

  • Jeh Johnson

    Secretary of Homeland Security

  • Omezzine Khelifa

    Tunisian Government Official

  • Henry Paulson

    Secretary of the Treasury

  • Ron Kirk

    US Trade Representative

  • Fiona Reeves

    Director of Presidential Correspondence

  • Julius Genachowski

    FCC Chair

  • Judy and Dennis Shepard

    Hate Crimes Legislation Advocates

  • Andrew Stern

    Labor Leader

  • John and Teresa Palmer

    Miner and Labor Leader

  • Jeff Flake

    US Senator from Arizona

  • Angella Reid

    White House Usher

  • Hadi Pir

    Human Rights Activist

  • Claudia Rankine

    Poet

  • Tina Tchen

    Chief of Staff to the First Lady

  • Muriel Finegold

    Political and Environmental Activist

Pranav Shetty
Physician and Global Health Practitioner
461

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
    Improving community engagement as New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection commissioner Lisa Jackson
    03:03
  • go to the interview
    Influence of grand challenges on scientific funding and research strategy Harold Varmus
    04:10
  • go to the interview
    Promotion and distribution of a documentary on the Department of Education and University of Hawaii websites Avelino Halagao
    01:00
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    Impact of symbolism in Trayvon Martin's death and the narrative of racial targeting Claudia Rankine
    02:18
  • go to the interview
    Impact of President Obama's speech at GW on reelection campaign messaging Jim Messina
    03:32
  • go to the interview
    Development of the Global Development Program at the Gates Foundation Rajiv Shah
    03:26
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    US relations with Colombia and Panama during the Obama administration Arturo Valenzuela
    09:02
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    Evaluation of the administration's response to the financial crisis Jason Furman
    01:13
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    Challenges and considerations in the rollout of HealthCare.gov Kathleen Sebelius
    09:26
  • go to the interview
    Communicating with the press during the BP oil spill crisis Ben LaBolt
    04:21
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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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