The former first lady explained how her family fends off “negative energy” while taping a live episode of her new podcast with brother Craig Robinson at SXSW
Michelle Obama admits that living with “rumors” about her family since husband Barack Obama ran for president in 2008 hasn’t always been easy — but they have found a way to get past the “negative energy.”
The former first lady and her older brother, Craig Robinson, made an appearance at SXSW on Thursday, March 13, for a live taping of their new podcast, IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson.
The brother-sister pair are early in their podcast team-up — their first episode was released on Wednesday, March 12 — but they showed off the dynamic of their new show, which features the duo exploring life’s everyday questions in conversation with each other, famous friends and knowledgeable guests.
“With everything going on in the world, we’re all looking for answers and people to turn to,” Obama said while announcing the show. “My brother Craig and I launched the IMO podcast to create a space for people to come as they are, ask honest questions, give their opinions, and have thoughtful conversations about life.”
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One of the conversations that Obama, 61, and Robinson, 62, had with the SXSW crowd involved how they stay positive when current events feel isolating and negativity enters the room.
“I don’t think Craig and I are feeling any different than anyone out there,” Obama shared. “We’re dealing with a lot of uncertainties. I, for one, feel for folks who are struggling and will continue to struggle in these uncertainties.”
“I worry about folks being out of work. I worry about how we think about diversity and inclusion. I think about how we treat one another and the voices that we hear and what that does, what models that that’s setting for the next generation. Who do we want to be as a country?” she continued. “All of that keeps me up at night… But I find, in those moments, that it is better not to try to figure that stuff out alone.”
“For me and Craig and our families, you know, we always try to step outside of our loneliness and talk as a family and as a community to share those concerns,” she said, adding that she hopes their podcast listeners take the same approach.
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After eight years in the White House and several more in the spotlight since, Obama has plenty of experience tuning out bad energy. She told the SXSW audience one of her top strategies for not letting dark times take over.
“People always ask me and Barack, how did we stay hopeful in, not just the eight years that we were in the White House, but beyond?” the former first lady shared. “Because, let me tell you, there was a lot of negative energy flipping our way — a lot of rumors, a lot of gossip, a lot of, you know, my husband wasn’t born in this country … we weren’t patriotic, he didn’t get into Harvard.”
“But through it all, what kept us sane — and we tried to instill this in our daughters — is, you cannot live through social media,” she explained. “I don’t think I have ever once looked at a comment section, period.”
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Obama noted the generational differences between herself and young people today who have grown up with social media, but she still “implored” everyone to keep a healthy distance.
“Don’t let that negative energy enter into your space. These are people who don’t know you. A lot of this stuff is made up, and it does not feed you,” she shared. “That doesn’t mean you don’t stay informed, but staying informed has nothing to do with the comment section. It has everything to do with the content of the stories that you take in.”
She continued: “I think we cannot get so trapped by social media that we feel so caught up into the one way we get information. We’ve got to broaden our spectrum, and we have to get off the phone.”
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In addition to sharing their experience and learning from each other, Obama and Robinson explained, IMO is also an important step in their journey as siblings.
“This last year was pretty… I won’t say completely rough, but we lost our mom this year,” Obama noted. “Our parents were some amazing people, and I think as a result of that loss, Craig and I… It brought us even closer together. We were already close, but there is just something about losing what was our last parent.”
The siblings’ mother, Marian Robinson, died on May 31, 2024, at the age of 86.
“You think you’re going to be ready for it as an adult,” Obama admitted. “But I think part of losing Mom, it kind of puts us in the position — we’re the wise ones in the family.”
“Hard to believe,” Robinson added.
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“Even at this age, it’s a little daunting to think that now we kind of have to step up in our family and be that wisdom,” Obama said. “We’re always doing it at home with our families and answering questions. So we’re going to be doing that with our listeners.”
“We need each other, and we need to step out of our loneliness and start talking to each other,” she added of the relationships she hopes to foster with the new venture.
“Hopefully this podcast will spark some conversation, but more importantly, I hope it leads people to seek out their own communities of trust and conversation, so we’re not sitting alone in these feelings. That’s my hope.”
IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson is available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever podcasts are available.
