Hillary Clinton, the first woman to win a major party’s presidential nomination, launched her “You and Me Both” podcast with iHeartMedia in September. Now her husband Bill Clinton is teaming with iHeart to launch his new podcast “Why Am I Telling You This?” It builds off the limited-run podcast series of the same name that the former President co-hosted in 2019 with his daughter, Chelsea Clinton.
On his new podcast, Clinton will sit down with a wide range of people to talk about ideas and issues that go well beyond politics. The first episode is titled “How Jazz Explains Democracy.” In it, Clinton sits down with jazz great Wynton Marsalis. The conversation includes stories about Wynton’s life, how his recent music could be a blueprint to help decode and overcome the forces that divide us, and what he learned from his father, who he lost to COVID-19 early in the pandemic.
“Growing up in Arkansas just after World War II in a family that didn't have a lot of money, most of our entertainment revolved around storytelling. Listening to my relatives and neighbors tell stories showed me that everyone has a story, and that everyone's story has value,” said Clinton in a statement. “I always thought that the main point of my work was to give people a chance to have better stories. Once you’ve heard a person’s hopes and fears, where they’ve been and where they want to go, your differences slip away—you become people first. Now more than ever, we need those kinds of connections.”
The Clinton Foundation says its collaboration with iHeartMedia on the podcast benefits its mission to improve public health, create economic opportunity and empower the next generation of leaders, and builds on the former President’s history of bringing compelling, diverse voices together.
For a president who had a reputation for long speeches, the hardest part may be keeping his podcast conversations short. The first episode runs 46 minutes. But he is no stranger to the audio medium. Clinton previously produced weekly radio addresses during his time in the White House. He has won multiple Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word Album.
“We are excited and honored to partner with President Bill Clinton on his new podcast launch. He has the rare gift of having both a deep intellect and an innate ability to relate to people from all walks of life,” said John Sykes, President of Entertainment Enterprises for iHeartMedia. “He is a born storyteller and his curiosity about the people and ideas that make up our world is contagious.”
“Why Am I Telling You This?” is also a co-production of the audio production company At Will Media.
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