The Obama Cinematic Universe Continues With New HBO Docuseries and Book

RENEGADES: Born in the USA, the book, will chronicle a series of candid conversations between the 44th president and music legend Bruce Springsteen.

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President Barack Obama as he returns to the White House following a trip to the Arctic Circle on September 3, 2015 in Washington, DC.
President Barack Obama as he returns to the White House following a trip to the Arctic Circle on September 3, 2015 in Washington, DC.
Photo: Chip Somodevilla (Getty Images)

I’m pretty sure if you looked up the phrase “booked and busy” in the dictionary, you’d see a picture of Barack and Michelle Obama.

Okay, so maybe you wouldn’t. But it’s clear as day that this former first couple is bent on staying beyond occupied in their time post-White House. And if you needed proof of that, look no further than his upcoming HBO docuseries, titled Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union.

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Per Rolling Stone, the three-part series will take a look at the personal and political life of the 44th president and will feature “archival interviews with Obama, as well as new interviews with an array of figures including the late John Lewis, Obama’s longtime advisor David Axelrod, Rev. Al Sharpton, Cornel West, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Jelani Cobb, David Remnick and Rev. Jeremiah Wright.”

Additionally, the 44th president and Bruce Springsteen will be partnering up for a new book expected to hit shelves soon, People reports. Titled after their podcast of the same name, RENEGADES: Born in the USA will include “rare and exclusive photographs from the authors’ personal collections and never-before-seen archival material, including Springsteen’s handwritten lyrics and Obama’s annotated speeches.” The fully illustrated book will also feature a myriad of intimate conversations between Obama and the “Born to Run” singer derived from their podcasts which touched on topics such as music, marriage, fatherhood, race and masculinity, and their most inspiring American heroes.

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“The conversations Bruce and I had in 2020 feel as urgent today as they did back then,” Obama writes in the opening pages. “They represent our ongoing effort to figure out how it is that we got here, and how we can tell a more unifying story that starts to close the gap between America’s ideals and its reality.”

Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union premieres August 3 on HBO and HBOMax. RENEGADES: Born in the USA drops October 26 everywhere books are sold.