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Culture > Entertainment

Start Your Mornings with the Michelle Obama Podcast

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Cal Poly chapter.

Start Your Mornings with the Michelle Obama Podcast!

Michelle Obama does it all- whether it’s teaching kids around the globe on Disney Channel about healthy living, being a mom to her two beautiful daughters (shoutout to Malia and Sasha), serving as First Lady of the United State, giving loving advice to her husband Barack Obama, or even writing her own book, “Becoming,” through it all. Much can be learned from this inspirational woman and lucky for us, she has now started her very own podcast! 

 

The “Michelle Obama Podcast,” is produced by Higher Ground and can be found on the Spotify app or online website, at this link here: The Michelle Obama Podcast. According to Spotify, the podcast “features the former First Lady diving deep into conversations with loved ones- family, friends, and colleagues- on the relationships in our lives that make us who we are.”

 

Michelle Obama makes her podcast feel as if you are sitting down with your best friend, casually sipping wine while exchanging advice from experiences you have come across. Each episode opens with some funky jazz music, making you want to dance a little as well. As a black woman in America, she understands what it is like to be a minority and feel like you are in the background of society. This issue is so paramount to Michelle Obama that the theme of her podcast is inclusiveness and empathy. In every episode, she urges all listeners to have empathy for others and love all people, as we are all humans. 

 

Currently, Michelle Obama has eleven published podcasts and there will be more to come each week as she posts one episode every Wednesday. So far, there have already been so many heartfelt moments and life advice to take away from. 

 

Michelle Obama begins her podcast by sharing her life at the White House, saying how “for eight years [her life] was full of crazy schedules, [she] was always juggling big initiatives, speeches, steak dinners, not to mention trying to raise two daughters and just trying to keep her head above water,” appreciating all she has accomplished, but finally having “some time to breathe” now. (Season 1, Episode 1, “Hi, I’m Michelle Obama”)

 

In another interesting moment- albeit more romantic- Michelle Obama gushes to her husband, “one of the reasons I fell in love with you is because you are guided by the principle that we are each other’s brother’s and sister’s keepers. And that’s how I was raised!” (Season 1, Episode 2, “President Barack Obama”)

 

In the fourth episode, “Protests and the Pandemic with Michelle Norris,” Michelle breaks the fifth wall and urges listeners to “[take care of yourselves].”  She stresses how important it is to “[listen] to your spirits” during this time. She relates the pandemic to a “relay race and [how] we gotta pass the baton off to each other so that we can keep up the momentum and the enthusiasm that we’re going to need to make sure this change is ultimately implemented…”

 

Later episodes include advice on women’s health, relationships with your family and friends, empowering women, marriage, raising kids, and tips for young people who are perhaps interns/mentees finding their career path. 

 

When addressing young people, she advises, “young people [to] do the work that you don’t want to do, [and] the thankless work that’s not so fun” because it will show that “[you are] ready to be pushed, that [you] want to do more.” (Season 1, Episode 9, “Across Generations: Michelle Obama and Her Mentees”)

 

This podcast is worth listening to, as Michelle Obama gives advice to people of all ages, from different walks of life. It is especially comforting to listen to her encouraging words during this national pandemic due to COVID-19. Each episode is calming and ends on a positive note, tying in its theme so that you learn another valuable lesson. During this time and throughout the rest of your life, Michelle Obama stresses “when in doubt, rely on hope… it is much more hopeful, much more gratifying, much more effective, to live this life as a ‘we’…. [and] building lives that are selfless. It is more fun!” (Season 1, Episode 2, “President Barack Obama”)

My name is Emily Quesada and I am a junior at Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo. I am a member of Alpha Omicron Pi and I have a passion for writing, playing guitar, singing, reading, and working out. I am a Political Science major with a concentration in Pre-Law and Journalism and my dream is to become a lawyer in the future and defend women's rights. In my free time, I love to play softball and tennis, blog, go hiking, surf, listen to Taylor Swift songs, go to the beach, and hang out with my friends. I am also a proud Starbucks barista with a strong addiction to coffee. My catch phrase: "Everything happens for a reason!"