MAKING

Making Obama

The story of former President Barack Obama’s journey from Chicago to the national stage — from advisers, rivals, and Obama himself.

  • Obama 1: The Man In The Background

    Former President Barack Obama — along with key advisers, mentors, and rivals — tells the story of his climb from Chicago to the national stage. In the first episode of this six-part podcast from …

  • Obama 2: Chicago Politics Ain’t Beanbag

    The fall of Chicago’s “machine” politics, the rise of Mayor Harold Washington, and what a young Barack Obama learned from watching it all.

  • Obama 3: You Don’t Say No To Barack

    Former President Barack Obama won his first political seat in 1996. Hear what he had to learn, and the conflicts he faced, to get there.

  • Obama 4: Wait Your Turn

    In 2000, Barack Obama ran for Congress against a Chicago political legend. It became a contest about race and identity.

  • Obama 5: Up Or Out

    Former president Barack Obama has only lost one election. It was in 2000, and that defeat set him on the course for his U.S. Senate run.

  • Obama 6: Yes We Can!

    Barack Obama burst onto the national stage during his U.S. Senate run. Hear how ambition and luck propelled him to Washington.

  • Obama BONUS: The Decision

    In 2007, Barack Obama announced his presidential run. Hear how he came to that decision in this ‘Making Obama’ extra.