Barack Obama to host six-episode podcast exploring books that shaped him

Former President of USA Barack Obama at a book reading. PIC COURTESY/OPRAHDAILY ON INSTAGRAM

At the end of every year, former President of the United States, Barack Obama, shares a list of his favourite books. This year, on September 24, the President will also launch a six-episode podcast - A Great Book with Barack Obama - powered by Audible and Higher Ground, the media company owned by the Obamas. He will invite six luminaries and offer insight into the books that have left a deep impact on him. According to Audible, the President revealed that he plans to explore why the books he selected resonate with him, "how they can shape our understanding of ourselves and each other, and why literature matters now more than ever." The list includes modern classics like The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin, Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, Tinker, Tailor, Spider, Spy by John le Carre, among others.

Here are some of our favourite literary podcasts

PICS COURTESY/ YOUTUBE

The Reading List by Bahrisons Booksellers: An initiative by the New Delhi-based legacy bookstore Bahrisons Booksellers, the podcast hosted by Aashna Malhotra invites Indian authors. They discuss various stages of putting together their new releases as well as key questions that their books ask. In the new season, look out for ‘Who Gets Written into History', featuring Tarana Husain Khan and her book The Courtesan, Her Lover and I (Hachette Books). In it, the speakers discuss the writing spaces that can be claimed by women writers and how women poets are remembered in history.

Riz Ahmed

Inklings Bookclub: Host Jack Ben Edwards invites authors and several film personalities who have been a part of new adaptations of classics for an engaging conversation on several books. In the past, guests have included American poet and novelist Ocean Vuong and British writer and author of Hamnet, Maggie O' Farrell, filmmakers Guillermo del Toro, and Steven Spielberg as well as actors like Lupita Nyong'o, Cillian Murphy, Anne Hathaway, to name a few. We recommend watching the episode featuring British actor Riz Ahmed who will feature as Hamlet in a new film adaptation of the play.

Maggie Smith

The Slowdown: This one is for poetry lovers. Listen to a new poem every day and the speakers' reflections on it. The podcast is led by poet Maggie Smith and allows listeners to immerse themselves for about five-eight minutes in poetry from around the world. One of our favourite episodes is the reading of Are You Not Tired Yet? written by the Palestinian poet Mohammed al-Khatib, translated by Tayseer Abu Odeh and Sherah Bloor. It is read by guest host Myka Kielbon.

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