Michelle Obama: ‘It’s Always Been Important to Me to Use Style as a Language’
Former first lady to launch a six-part podcast series on her forthcoming book ‘The Look.’
In anticipation of Michelle Obama’s forthcoming book, The Look, the former first lady on Thursday announced that its release slated for Nov. 4 will be accompanied by a special six-part podcast series: IMO: The Look.
The limited series podcast is produced by Higher Ground, the media company founded by former President Barack Obama and the former first lady, and is a companion program to Obama’s popular podcast IMO With Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, an ongoing series she hosts with her brother.
The new podcast series will debut on Nov. 5, a day after the book release by Crown Publishing Group. IMO: The Look podcast takes a deeper look into Michelle Obama’s journey as a defining force in style—both within and beyond the White House, the publisher stated in a press release.
“Writing my new book, The Look, gave me the chance to reflect on my lifelong journey with fashion, hair, and beauty—from growing up on the South Side to serving as First Lady in the White House to what I wear today. While the looks have changed, it’s always been important to me to use style as a language to share who I am and what I believe,” the former first lady said in her announcement on social media Thursday.
Listeners can expect to hear candid and intimate conversations with the people behind Mrs. Obama’s hair, makeup, and wardrobe, along with fashion insiders and influential voices such as Jane Fonda, Nina Garcia, Bethann Hardison, Elaine Welteroth and Jenna Lyons. The former first lady, according to the press release, reveals how she and her team transformed the scrutiny of her public image into a celebration of self-expression, inclusion, and impact.
As a companion to her book The Look, the series discusses how Mrs. Obama defined her approach to style and how she continues shaping the social and political conversation about who gets to be seen—and how. Themes explored will include the importance of representation and inclusivity.
In a preview of the book The Look, Farah Jasmine Griffin writes in the foreword that while serving as first lady, Mrs. Obama engaged in “expanding the Democratic Imagination,” encouraging citizens, especially those who may have felt most disenfranchised, to actively practice their citizenship and the use of “fashion was one of many languages she used.”
Griffin goes on to affirm that those who feared bestowing a Black woman with the status of first lady were right that she would change the role, but that Mrs. Obama changed it for the better—expanding it and elevating it just as other first ladies including Eleanor Roosevelt, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Hillary Clinton had before her.
“She was welcoming and accessible: her cardigans, skirts, and slacks inspired countless work outfits. And fashionistas began to anticipate which young, up-and-coming Black, Asian, or Latina designer she would wear to a State Dinner or a date night. The clothing choices lent style to her substance, for always she was a woman of substance—a highly educated woman of ideas and opinions, a woman who reads, listens to music, dances, and has a sense of what our country could be and how to help it get there,” Griffin writes.
In two live tapings of the new podcast, Mrs. Obama will be joined on stage in conversation by actor Tracee Ellis Ross on Wednesday, November 5, at 8 p.m. at Brooklyn Academy of Music and by Wesley Morris on Wednesday, November 12, at 7:30 pm at Sixth & I in Washington, DC. Tickets will be available for purchase on Monday, October 20, at 1 p.m. EST via michelleobamabooks.com.
Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries Opens 2025-2026 Grant Application
The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries has opened the application for grants to help school libraries update and diversify their book collections. Since its inception in 2002, the Laura Bush Foundation has awarded $23 million to over 4,000 schools across the country.
Grant applications are accessible to public schools, including charter and magnet schools, as well as private, and parochial schools that have a school library. Public schools must hold a Title I designation, and private schools must have at least 50% of their student body qualifying for financial aid to be eligible. The application period will remain open until December 31, 2025. For further information and to submit an application, please visit www.bushcenter.org/lbf.
In the 2024-2025 grant cycle, the Laura Bush Foundation awarded over $1 million in grants to 220 school libraries across 38 states. Grant-awarded librarians have utilized the funds to enhance their library collections by incorporating additional in-demand books, including e-books and Spanish-language publications.
The Weekly Wrap
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