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Michelle Obama’s first podcast is a Spotify-exclusive

Michelle Obama’s first podcast is a Spotify-exclusive

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The Michelle Obama Podcast debuts July 29th

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Former first lady Michelle Obama is the host of Spotify’s newest exclusive podcast: The Michelle Obama Podcast. The company announced the show today, making it the first podcast to come out of Spotify’s deal with the Obamas’ production company, Higher Ground Productions. The show premieres on July 29th, and new episodes will come out weekly for nine weeks.

The show will explore important personal relationships and how they shape people. Initial guests include fellow podcast host Conan O’Brien, Valerie Jarrett (a former adviser to President Barack Obama), and Marian and Craig Robinson (Michelle’s mother and brother). The show, while available to both free and Premium Spotify users, will feature ads from Tide, Dawn, and Salesforce.

This is just one of many splashy exclusive podcast deals Spotify has announced. This year alone, it’s locked down access to Joe Rogan’s show; a Kim Kardashian West podcast; and the entire DC Comics universe. On top of those deals, Spotify owns podcast networks Parcast, Gimlet, and The Ringer, which all come with valuable IP that Spotify can put behind its app.

Michelle’s show will likely be a popular one given that her memoir sold 10 million copies in the first five months alone. This could be a show that brings people over to Spotify specifically for podcasting because it’s a new voice in the space. Rogan, for example, might bring his dedicated listeners over, but Michelle will attract new ones to Spotify and potentially podcasting in general.