Things got a little morbid at SXSW London‘s headline Michelle Obama session on Tuesday.
The former first lady was speaking with her brother, Craig Robinson, at a live recording of their podcast, IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson. The year-old podcast usually involves a guest, but Obama kicked off the session by declaring they’d be “flipping the script” and, sans guest, would be interviewing each other.
The conversation was dappled with sibling banter, of course, as Obama teased her older brother over being a “finance bro” and his marriages, prompting audience laughter. It also featured moments of touching sincerity, such as when Robinson said his little sister “has been this personality since she was three or four years old.” They discussed how their mother’s death has made them reflect on the time they have left and what they want to do with it.
The conversation centered on Obama and Robinson’s respective professional journeys and the decisions that would shape their careers, from their parents to relationships and crucial life lessons learned along the way. On recently joining the podcast space, Obama, author of the best-selling memoir Becoming, told attendees: “It’s that courageous thing, right? The feeling that, ‘Okay, I guess we can do this, because we did all these other things.’ Bravery makes you try anything at any age. And I think, for me, I’ve just gotten used to, ‘Okay, we’re going to do this. I live in the White House!’ First Lady, that wasn’t my plan!” she declared, as the audience applauded, “but I think staying courageous and curious and open, and vulnerable and willing to share.”
