Barack Obama talks Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and the impact of AI in exclusive clip of new podcast

Former President Barack Obama is set to discuss the books that have had the biggest impact on his worldview and our society in a new podcast for Audible – and now Radio Times has an exclusive first look.

Each instalment of the six-episode series, which is titled A Great Book with Barack Obama, will see Obama discuss a different book alongside a different guest, with the likes of actor Tom Hanks and historian and journalist Jill Lepore set to appear as part of the line-up.

Episode 4 will see Obama welcome former National Security Advisor and author, Ben Rhodes, with the pair set to discuss Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré.

The 1947 spy novel follows the endeavours of a retired spymaster who returns to hunt down a Russian mole who has infiltrated the British Intelligence Service.

In an exclusive clip shared with Radio Times, Obama and Rhodes can be heard discussing the challenges of interpreting ambiguity with the rise of AI.

“I have access to all the information in the world, but am I smarter?" Rhodes asks, before continuing: "Maybe when I had access to less information but I had to interrogate it more, and question it and interpret it, and look at it from different perspectives."

You can listen to the clip for yourself below:

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A Great Book with Barack Obama will “reflect on identity, power, memory and culture”, according to the official synopsis and “explore one central question: What do the stories we love tell us about the world we live in and the world we want to create?”

It will debut exclusively on Audible on 24 September 2026, before becoming available on YouTube and other major podcast platforms later this year.

The podcast comes from Audible and Higher Ground, the production company founded by Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama.

Hanks will be featuring to discuss Gilead by Marilynne Robinson with Obama, while Lepore will discuss All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren.

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Other guests making an appearance include journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates, who will discuss The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin, and author Percival Everett, who'll be looking at Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison.

Novelist Lauren Groff is also on the guest line-up, and she'll be delving into All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy.

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Authors

Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.