
Michelle Obama and her brother to launch a podcast with weekly guests
Other guests include filmmakers Seth and Lauren Rogan; soccer star
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The first two episodes — the first is an introductory one and the second features Rae — will premiere Wednesday. New episodes will be released weekly and will be available on all audio platforms and YouTube.
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'With everything going on in the world, we're all looking for answers and people to turn to,' Obama said in a statement. 'There is no single way to deal with the challenges we may be facing — whether it's family, faith, or our personal relationships — but taking the time to open up and talk about these issues can provide hope.'
Obama has had two other podcasts — 'The Michelle Obama Podcast' in 2020 and another in 2023, 'The Light We Carry.' Her husband, Barack Obama, offered a series of conversations about American life between him and Bruce Springsteen.
The new podcast is a production of Higher Ground, the media company founded in 2018 by the former president and first lady.
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- Business Insider
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Los Angeles Times
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- Boston Globe
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The US State Department became involved after the journalist's wife, who had heard the commotion over the phone, raised the alarm. American officials quickly identified the detaining authority and began negotiating for the team's release. After six days in custody, the team was unexpectedly told they were free to leave. No formal charges were filed and no official explanation for their detention was provided. They were lucky. The experience — deeply frightening but mercifully short — offered a glimpse into the world of indefinite detention in Libya. With no explanation from the government, fanfare by aid groups, nor coverage by domestic or foreign media, Al Mabani officially closed on January 13, 2022. In its roughly 12-month lifespan, the prison became emblematic of the unaccountable nature of Libya's broader detention system. The quiet shuttering of Al Mabani illustrates the ever-shifting nature of incarceration in Libya and how such transience makes protection of detainees nearly impossible. In the same month that Al Mabani was closed, the team behind the reporting presented details of their investigation to the European Parliament's human rights committee, and outlined the EU's extensive support for Libya's migration control apparatus. European Commission representatives took issue with the reporters' characterization of the crisis. 'We are not funding the war against migrants,' said Rosamaria Gili, the Libya country director at the European External Action Service. 'We are trying to instill a culture of human rights.' And yet, just a week later, Henrike Trautmann, a representative of the European Commission, told lawmakers that the EU was going to provide five more vessels to the Libyan Coast Guard to bolster its ability to intercept migrants on the high seas. 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