Politics and music might not be an obvious combination, but when it brings together former US president Barack Obama and rock legend Bruce Springsteen, it has to be truly exceptional. Obama and Springsteen announced that they are collaborating to produce a podcast, ‘Renegades: Born in the USA’, with the first two episodes available immediately.
Obama shared a small snippet of him talking to his close, but unlikely, friend of many years. “On the surface, Bruce and I don’t have a lot in common,” Obama is heard saying in the clip. “He’s a white guy, from a small town in Jersey. I’m a Black guy of mixed race, born in Hawaii. He’s a rock’n’roll icon. I’m … not as cool.” He goes on to say that despite their very different backgrounds, they found common ground in the idea of America.
“What we discovered during these conversations was that we still share a fundamental belief in the American idea. Not as an act of nostalgia, but as a compass for the hard work that lies before us,” Obama said in the video.
Bruce Springsteen and Barack Obama. Credit: google.com
The duo will be co-hosting the podcast on the audio platform Spotify. “The longtime friends discuss their hometowns and role models, explore modern manhood, and confront the painfully divided state of the country today—and offer a vision of how we can all move forward together,” Spotify said in a press release announcing the show. The first season will contain eight episodes total, with six subsequent episodes released weekly.
Spotify had signed Barack and Michelle Obama to produce podcasts in 2019, with family’s production company, Higher Ground. The inaugural series called ‘The Michelle Obama Podcast’ was launched in 2020, quickly became Spotify’s most listened to podcast in summer 2020.
