As Columbia unveils official oral history of President Barack Obama, CC ’83, project leaders reflect on how they captured his ‘transformational presidency’ - Incite at Columbia University
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As Columbia unveils official oral history of President Barack Obama, CC ’83, project leaders reflect on how they captured his ‘transformational presidency’
Mar 1, 2026 - Author Joseph Zuloaga
Nearly a decade after former President Barack Obama, CC ’83, left the White House in 2017, the Incite Institute at Columbia unveiled another facet of his legacy, publishing the official oral history of his presidency on Feb. 17—Presidents’ Day.
The project, first announced in May 2019, spans Obama’s eight years in the White House, consisting of 462 interviews with policy experts, Obama administration officials, lawmakers, and everyday citizens and totaling roughly 1,100 hours of audio. Incite spearheaded the project in partnership with the Obama Foundation, the University of Hawaii, and the University of Chicago. The latter two institutions assisted Columbia in compiling information about Obama’s youth in Hawaii and his years in Chicago with former First Lady Michelle Obama, respectively.
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The New York Times spotlighted Incite Institute's Obama Presidency Oral History Project, an archive of more than 450 interviews offering behind-the-scenes perspectives on the Barack Obama administration.
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go to Presidents’ Days: From Obama to Trump
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The New Yorker reviews Incite's Obama Presidency Oral History through the lens of the current Trump administration, calling it a "stark and extensive reminder of the values and the principles that are being trampled."