In this week's episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia debate the legacy of departing First Lady Michelle Obama.
Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:
- As her time as First Lady comes to a close, Michelle Obama recently sat down for an interview with Oprah Winfrey. You can watch the interview here.
- Natalia noted a 2014 New Republic profile of Michelle Obama had criticized her for having exacting standards and an unambitious agenda as First Lady.
- Natalia observed the therapeutic features of Oprah’s interview with Michelle Obama which Neil contrasted with interviews of other First Ladies, such as Jackie Kennedy in 1962, which focused on their role as hostesses and caretakers of the White House. Natalia remembered Betty Ford’s 60 Minutes interview that bucked this trend because of Ford’s outspoken views. Niki commented that Barbara Walters’ interview of Ford had famously removed clips that would have shown the First Lady was drunk.
- Neil recommended Blanche Wiesen Cook’s biography of Eleanor Roosevelt.