Obama, Springsteen Launch 'Born in the USA' Podcast

'In many ways, Bruce and I have been on parallel journeys'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 22, 2021 3:25 PM CST
Obama, Springsteen Launch 'Born in the USA' Podcast
Bruce Springsteen appears with Barack Obama during their podcast of conversations recorded at Springsteen's home studio in New Jersey.   (Rob DeMartin/Spotify via AP)

"In many ways, Bruce and I have been on parallel journeys," Barack Obama says in the first episode of "Renegades: Born in the USA," his new podcast with Bruce Springsteen. The podcast, which NBC calls the "highest-profile collaboration in the history of podcasting," launched with two episodes on Spotify Monday. Spotify says the eight-episode series, taken from conversations at Springsteen's New Jersey home between July and December last year, will feature the two friends discussing topics ranging from fatherhood and marriage to race and politics. In the first episode, the pair discuss the "unlikely friendship" that blossomed after they met on the campaign trail in 2008, reports USA Today.

Obama says they both wondered: "How could we find our way back to a more unifying American story?" "He's a white guy from a small town in Jersey. I'm a Black guy of mixed race born in Hawaii with a childhood that took me around the world. He's a rock 'n' roll icon. I'm a lawyer and politician, not as cool," Obama says in the podcast. "And as I like to remind Bruce every chance I get, he's more than a decade older than me. Although, he looks damn good." The podcast was produced by Higher Ground, the company founded by Barack and Michelle Obama in 2018. The New York Times reports that Higher Ground Audio chief Dan Fierman says Springsteen's DWI arrest did not change the company's plans to release the show and references to alcohol have not been removed. (More Barack Obama stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X