The Obamas’ first podcast produced as part of its partnership with Acast is now available across all podcast platforms, following the end of its exclusivity period on Audible.
Produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company Higher Ground, Your Mama’s Kitchen is a weekly culinary podcast hosted by Peabody and Emmy award-winning journalist Michele Norris, who speaks to guests about the culinary experiences that shaped their personal and professional lives.
The podcast launched earlier this month exclusively on Audible but has now been distributed widely as part of Higher Ground’s ad sales and content distribution deal with Acast. The podcast is also monetised through Acast with brands and agencies being allowed to advertise directly on Higher Ground productions by purchasing ads either programmatically or directly, and creating brand integrations and sponsored content by working with the Acast Creative team.
“For me, recipes are like a time capsule,” said Norris. “Our favourite food and drinks can take us back to some of the biggest and smallest moments that end up shaping our lives.”
“Acast captured that essence that I’m bringing to Your Mama’s Kitchen with this initial ad campaign work. Each ad spot is a thoughtful, carefully designed piece of creative that further tells a story for listeners.”
Guests on the podcast include former First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama, author and queer activist Glennon Doyle, retired professional soccer player Abby Wambach, Golden-globe nominated actor Matthew Broderick, DJ and record producer D-Nice, and chef and restaurateur José Andrés.
“Michelle is one of the most well-known voices in podcasting, so we were eager to work with Higher Ground to help make these stories available to listeners everywhere,” said Acast interim US managing director Tiffany Ashitey. “In bringing Your Mama’s Kitchen to Acast, we have also been working with Michelle and the Higher Ground team on creative brand campaigns that reflect the spirit of the show and the already incredible lineup of guests.”
Acast announced its partnership with Higher Ground in April, nearly a year after the company signed with Audible following its decision not to renew its previous exclusive content deal with Spotify in order to make its content more accessible to wider audiences.
Higher Ground’s podcast portfolio includes shows such as conversational shows like The Michelle Obama Podcast and Renegades: Born in the USA with president Barack Obama and musician Bruce Springsteen, documentary podcast The Big Hit Show, and The Sum Of Us podcast, based on the New York Times best-selling book of the same name.
