Falling temperatures, blowing snow and dangerous travel conditions

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support


President Obama talks about his own life, America's race relations and the trouble with politics during the much-anticipated new episode of the 

, in an interview that is making headlines for its candid discussion of race.
Like other episodes of Maron's popular podcast, the conversation between the commander-in-chief and a comedian took place in Maron's Los Angeles garage. Recorded Friday, the topics ranged from 

, to the character of the American people.
As Maron 

, in the wake of last week's violence, "I didn't know if he was going to come, which would have been completely understandable."


Maron also said that Obama had remarked on how they had simply dived into the conversation.

"He was concerned about my experience. I think maybe he thought it would be more fun," Maron said.

We've highlighted some portions below. If you want to listen to the full podcast, we'll tell you that President Obama enters Maron's garage/studio around the 4:20 mark. He first discusses the Charleston attack around 15:00 — and then discusses racism and America in comments that start around 45:00.

Language advisory: Quotes in this story contain potentially offensive language.

Maron asked Obama to discuss race in America in the wake of last week's killing of nine black church members in Charleston and after several recent instances of police officers killing unarmed black men.

Where are we, Maron asked, when it comes to race relations?

Obama went on to discuss the challenges faced by police, and the need to improve relationships between communities and law enforcement. He also stressed the importance of early education in closing the poverty gap.

The hourlong interview also includes Obama discussing how he views the person he was when he was 20 — a subject that arose early in their talk, because Obama went to Occidental College in Pasadena, Calif., not far from Maron's house.

, talking to the president brought many new logistical concerns. There was the sniper on the roof nearby, for instance. Also, his cats weren't happy.
Maron tells Terry Gross that after it was all over, "A crew of people came and they started disassembling the tents that were on my driveway and then all the Secret Service got their stuff and they just were gone, it was all gone. I let my cats out of the bedroom ... and they were like, 'Can we have our house back, please?' "  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Social Issues

In the wake of last week's killing of nine black church members in Charleston, S.C., President Obama talks about the status of race relations in a conversation on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast.

'We are not cured': Obama discusses racism in America with Marc Maron

Go Deeper.

Like this?