As a woman, it’s impossible not to be a fan of your own tribe. Their achievements give us reasons to celebrate, and their losses, can be equally heartbreaking. Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton, both former US First ladies, have been personal favourites—Michelle more so, especially after we read her affecting memoir, Becoming, and watched her Netflix documentary, which goes by the same name as her book. Hillary, on the other hand, is peerless. Her political acumen has won her both, brickbats and love, but she continues unfaltering. What we most like about these Chicago women is their strong sense of self-worth, which makes them such wonderful role models for all. It’s what got us tuned into their latest podcasts.

Michelle’s show, unimaginatively titled, The Michelle Obama Podcast, released last year, a few months after the pandemic broke out. We only happened to include it on our must-listen list recently, when we made sunset walks a compulsory addition to our daily routine. It meant that we were now on the go, and with Michelle. Sounded exciting, and fortunately, never once disappointing. Unlike Hillary’s podcast, Michelle’s show is more intimate and personal. In most of her episodes, she interviews family members and very dear friends, and these conversations if anything make the Obamas more real, and ordinary, like you and me. Our favourite is the one, where she invites former US President Barack Obama; their open, no-holds-barred conversations about the toll American politics often took on their relationship, and how they negotiated it, was enlightening. Needless to say, their repartee is endearing. “One of the reasons I fell in love with you…,” Michelle shares early on in the interview. “It was just because of my looks,” Obama interrupts. “No,” she responds immediately, adding, “I mean, you’re cute, but no. One of the reasons I fell in love with you is [that] you’re guided by the principle that we are our brother’s and sister’s keepers. And that’s how I was raised.” We even loved the chat with her brother Craig Robinson—how he was once the more popular of the two siblings, and understanding now, what it means to be on the other side. Our favourite, though, is the conversation Obama has with comedian friend Conan O’Brien, where the  two discuss their respective marriages and the former First Lady doling out important advice, “You must know who you are, to know who you are looking for.”