Michelle Obama accepts Conan O’Brien’s friendship, talks life in the public eye

Former First Lady Michelle Obama was a guest on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend where she covered a wide range of topics on the podcast.

Conan O’Brien is still relatively new at this whole podcasting thing. He’s only done 18 episode of “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.” Despite that, he’s rolled out one of the most impressive lineups of guests in all of podcasting. This week topped them all as he welcomed Michelle Obama to the podcast.

It certainly helps that O’Brien and former First Lady Obama already have a friendly relationship if not outright friends. O’Brien has hosted the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2013, visited troops in Qatar with Mrs. Obama, and helped promote her health initiatives.

Still, Michelle Obama remains a very busy woman and popping up on a late night comedian’s podcast isn’t exactly expected from a former first lady. But Mrs. Obama has made a habit of doing things her own way, even recently appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to get some things off her chest.

Her interview on “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” was less a reflection on her time in the White House and more a commentary on life outside of it. Topics ranged from the challenges of raising her two daughters, her loss of anonymity, and the process of writing her memoir Becoming.

As Conan O’Brien tells his assistant/co-host Sona Movsesian and producer Matt Gourley prior to the interview, he wanted this podcast be a bit more professional that past episodes. Episodes with guests like

Kristen Bell

and

Stephen Colbert

have certainly touched on more serious topics but also featured a heavy dose of silliness. O’Brien’s interview with Michelle Obama has just enough of that to make it a Conan production while also demonstrating a different, yet equally entertaining, side of O’Brien the podcaster.

One thing that really stood out was Mrs. Obama’s thoughts on what it takes to truly understand someone. She dismisses typical questions about college or job title for more personal questions that aren’t too probing but are still revealing. It was refreshing to hear this from someone whose background, career, and title have been used so often to define her.

What did you think of Conan O’Brien’s interview with Michelle Obama? Share your thoughts in the comment section below. You can hear new episodes of “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” every Monday and catch highlights from all things Conan right here at Last Night On.