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.

  • Angella Reid

    White House Usher

  • Jeh Johnson

    Secretary of Homeland Security

  • Eric Waldo

    Education Policy Advisor

  • Pranav Shetty

    Physician and Global Health Practitioner

  • Tina Tchen

    Chief of Staff to the First Lady

  • Muriel Finegold

    Political and Environmental Activist

  • Daryl Johnson

    Counterterrorism Official

  • Fiona Reeves

    Director of Presidential Correspondence

  • Henry Paulson

    Secretary of the Treasury

  • Mark Lippert

    Ambassador and Defense Policy Official

  • Omezzine Khelifa

    Tunisian Government Official

  • John and Teresa Palmer

    Miner and Labor Leader

  • Hadi Pir

    Human Rights Activist

  • Jeff Flake

    US Senator from Arizona

  • Rafaai M. Hamo

    Engineer and Professor

  • Andrew Stern

    Labor Leader

  • Judy and Dennis Shepard

    Hate Crimes Legislation Advocates

  • Ron Kirk

    US Trade Representative

  • Claudia Rankine

    Poet

  • Julius Genachowski

    FCC Chair

Angella Reid
White House Usher
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
    State of local journalism in the mid-2000s before the financial crisis Gary Pruitt
    06:00
  • go to the interview
    Preparation of executive orders and judicial appointments during presidential transition Gregory Craig
    02:06
  • go to the interview
    Advocating for the role of principals and teacher collaboration in education Rebecca Mieliwocki
    05:45
  • go to the interview
    Efforts to legislate the Young African Leaders Initiative during and after the Obama administration Johnnie Carson
    02:52
  • go to the interview
    Goals and initiatives as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers Jason Furman
    04:12
  • go to the interview
    Obama's discussion on race with Marc Maron and the benefits of long-form interviews Shailagh Murray
    02:59
  • go to the interview
    Discussion on the shared responsibility for troops with President Obama Robert Gates
    02:01
  • go to the interview
    Leveraging federal funding for primary care and substance abuse services at Detroit Recovery Project Andre Johnson
    03:02
  • go to the interview
    Ownership and editorial direction of The New Republic magazine Chris Hughes
    04:40
  • go to the interview
    Reflections on birtherism and racial tensions during the Obama administration Ta-Nehisi Coates
    01:20
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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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