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.

  • Josh Earnest

    White House Press Secretary

  • Denise O'Brien

    Farmer and Agriculture Policy Advisor

  • Naureen Shah

    Civil Rights Advocate

  • Lee Bollinger

    University President

  • Janet Murguía

    Civil Rights Advocate

  • Samuel Locklear

    Military Official

  • Rumana Ahmed

    Public Engagement Official

  • Timothy Geithner

    Secretary of the Treasury

  • Sarah Bloom Raskin

    Economic and Monetary Policy Official

  • Kimberly Teehee

    Native American Affairs Policy Advisor

  • Fiona Reeves

    Director of Presidential Correspondence

  • Raffi Freedman-Gurspan

    Transgender Activist and LGBTQ Liaison

  • Tyler Swanson

    Voting Rights Activist

  • Michael Botticelli

    Drug Policy Official

  • Debra Eschmeyer

    Let's Move! Director

  • Tiffiniy Cheng

    Digital Rights Activist

  • Jennifer Palmieri

    White House Communications Director

  • Josh DuBois

    Public Engagement Official

  • Marielena Hincapié

    Immigration Justice

  • Nathan Law

    Hong Kong Democracy Activist

Josh Earnest
White House Press Secretary
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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
    2012 election strategy and regrets regarding voter registration in Arizona Jim Messina
    02:31
  • go to the interview
    Reflections on EPA community engagement from prior experience with the Superfund program Lisa Jackson
    02:52
  • go to the interview
    Receiving news of the San Bernardino shooting and subsequent information flow Jeh Johnson
    02:41
  • go to the interview
    Integrating climate change into US domestic and military national security strategy John Podesta
    07:00
  • go to the interview
    Coordination and communication during the BP oil spill response efforts John Holdren
    02:28
  • go to the interview
    Shaping USAID's vision and role during the Obama administration Gayle Smith
    02:02
  • go to the interview
    Supporting Obama's campaign with talking points and policy analysis Michelle Gavin
    02:31
  • go to the interview
    Involvement with Let's Move! and Let's Move Faith and Communities initiatives Michael Minor
    04:48
  • go to the interview
    Coordination between the administration and oil companies during oil spill responses Courtney Hight
    02:34
  • go to the interview
    Impact of Harold Washington's election and Fred Hampton's assassination on Black political empowerment in Chicago Bobby Rush
    04:41
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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

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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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