Barack Obama

1. Snapshot

Former two-term U.S. President (2009-2017), now running the Obama Foundation with Michelle. Post-presidency he has built a serious media, publishing, and civic-leadership platform out of Chicago, with a strong through-line of ocean conservation, reading, and next-generation leadership development.

2. Public Footprint

Writing. Annual books/movies/music lists on Medium remain his signature public ritual. His 2025 year-end list, published December 2025, continues a tradition he started in the White House of sharing favorite books, movies, and music . 2025 book picks included Paper Girl (Beth Macy), Flashlight (Susan Choi), We the People (Jill Lepore), The Wilderness (Angela Flournoy), There is No Place for Us (Brian Goldstone), North Sun (Ethan Rutherford), and 1929 (Andrew Ross Sorkin) .

Audio. Higher Ground (his and Michelle's production company) continues releasing Audible originals. A recent one is "Fela Kuti: Fear No Man," a 2025 Audible Original from Higher Ground drawing on 200+ interviews including Obama himself .

News (last few weeks). On June 18, 2026, the Obama Presidential Center was officially unveiled in Chicago, with Obama speaking about shared American values and collective responsibility to strengthen democracy . All three other living former presidents attended (Clinton, Bush, Biden) .

Links: Medium · Obama Foundation · barackobamabooks.com · X/Twitter @BarackObama · Instagram @BarackObama

3. Organizational Context (Obama Foundation)

• Center opened to the public on Juneteenth 2026 on Chicago's South Side, more than a decade after Obama chose his hometown for the project . Campus includes a full-size basketball court, a Chicago Public Library branch, green space, and a museum .
• The 2025-2026 Leaders class welcomes 206 changemakers from 70 nations across four regional programs (Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, U.S.), with more than 100 from the U.S.
• CEO Valerie Jarrett drew scrutiny earlier this year over compensation disclosures ($755,862 in 2024), a live governance conversation .

4. Conversation Hooks

• The ocean. He has attributed his calm to being born in Hawaii and "knowing what it's like to jump into the ocean and understanding what it means when you see a sea turtle in the face of a wave" . In September 2016 he snorkeled off Midway to showcase Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, which his administration expanded into the world's largest protected area at the time, more than twice the size of France .
• Reading obsession. The annual lists are curated personally and skew heavily to literary fiction and long-form nonfiction. Good tone for a dinner opener.
• Music taste is real. 2025 picks featured Burna Boy ft. Travis Scott, Everything is Recorded ft. Sampha & Florence Welch, and Jay Som ft. Jim Adkins .
• Basketball. A full court on the new Center's campus is not incidental.

5. Common Ground

• The ocean (strongest hook). You have 110+ dives across 11 countries and a serious interest in marine and coral conservation. He grew up in Hawaii, snorkels Hanauma Bay on repeat, and used executive authority to create the largest marine protected area in the world at the time. Ask him about Midway and Papahānaumokuākea. Bring up Raja Ampat or the wrecks in Malta.
• Chicago. He taught at University of Chicago Law School for 11 years and the new Center is on the South Side. You are moving through Anderson toward tech PM roles, but the U.S. Midwest civic story is his ground.
• Next-generation leadership and social impact. Your 15+ years of community service, Net Impact VP role, Board Fellow at Survivor Justice Center, and Dharavi interview-English coaching map cleanly onto the Foundation's Leaders program thesis of turning "hope into action."
• Reading. You are currently reading Heinerth's Into the Planet. He will have opinions.