What are the Obamas doing now?
Barack makes a return to politics with his anti-gerrymandering campaign

Barack Obama has announced that he is backing a new initiative to reduce the influence of gerrymandering in the US.
The former president launched Redistricting U, a free training initiative to give volunteers the tools needed to impact redistricting in their state and make the process fairer, says CNN.
Redistricting is the process of drawing lines between electoral district boundaries in the US, similar to redrawing House of Commons constituency boundaries in the UK. Gerrymandering is the practice of drawing these lines in ways which advantage one party over another.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Obama said in a statement: “The movement for fair maps will determine the course of progress on every issue we care about for the next decade.
“And we can’t wait to begin organising when the redistricting process starts in 2021. We need to build this movement from the ground up – right now.”
The announcement represents a rare political intervention from Obama, who has kept a relatively low profile since Donald Trump took office, making only occasional public appearances and comments.
Since leaving the White House, he and wife Michelle, who still live in Washington D.C., have popped up in some unexpected places. Last year, the former president attended the annual Nelson Mandela Lecture in Johannesburg, South Africa, to deliver what he described as his “most important” speech since leaving the White House in January 2017.
Along with the odd public engagements, the couple have also signed book deals believed to total more than £30m. The former first lady’s memoir, Becoming, smashed sales records after being published in November 2018.
No date has been scheduled yet for the release of the eagerly anticipated memoir by her husband, who wrote two books before becoming president, Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope. But the New York Post reports that updates from publisher Penguin Random House suggests it may land during the 2020 presidential campaign.
The Obamas have indicated that they intend to donate a “significant portion” of the proceeds from their memoirs to charity, adds The Independent.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that they have also signed a contract with streaming service Spotify to produce a series of podcasts.
Variety reports that the couple are “set to develop, produce, and lend their voices to select podcasts on a wide range of topics” in a multiyear deal between their company Higher Ground Productions and the audio streaming platform.
“We’ve always believed in the value of entertaining, thought-provoking conversation,” the former president said in a statement. “It helps us build connections with each other and open ourselves up to new ideas... Podcasts offer an extraordinary opportunity to foster productive dialogue, make people smile and make people think, and, hopefully, bring us all a little closer together.”
The Obamas have a deal with Netflix as well, “to produce original scripted, unscripted and documentary series and films”, the entertainment news site adds.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
How will the new tax deductions on auto loans work?
the explainer Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act introduced a tax deduction on auto loan interest — but eligibility for the tax break is limited
-
Is Trump actually going to prosecute Obama for 'treason'?
Today's Big Question Or is this just a distraction from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal?
-
5 best movie sequels of all time
The Week Recommends The second time is only sometimes as good as the first
-
Will Trump actually prosecute Obama for 'treason'?
Today's Big Question Or is this just a distraction from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal?
-
'Spending is what card issuers are hoping you will do'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump attacks Obama as Epstein furor mounts
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the Obama administration of 'treasonous' behavior during the 2016 election
-
What difference will the 'historic' UK-Germany treaty make?
Today's Big Question Europe's two biggest economies sign first treaty since WWII, underscoring 'triangle alliance' with France amid growing Russian threat and US distance
-
'It's America that refuses to listen and learn'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
Is the G7 still relevant?
Talking Point Donald Trump's early departure cast a shadow over this week's meeting of the world's major democracies
-
Obamacare is under threat in Trump's tax bill
In the Spotlight Medicaid has been the main talking point, but Obamacare users could be at risk