President Clinton, Chelsea Clinton Launch Clinton Foundation Podcast, “Why Am I Telling You This?”

NEW YORK – President Bill Clinton and Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton announced the launch of the Clinton Foundation’s new podcast titled “Why Am I Telling You This?”  The series will feature conversations with President Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, Clinton Foundation staff, partners, and special guests. Drawing on their own experiences, they will share stories of the people, issues, and events that have shaped our world and the Clinton Foundation’s work - and why we should be optimistic about the future.

The series will cover issues related to the Foundation’s work such as the ongoing hurricane recovery needs in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the greater Caribbean region; how to combat climate change and the opioid crisis; and new ways to improve early childhood literacy. The series will also include conversations on global leadership, reflections on the Clinton Administration, and President Clinton’s wide range of interests and well-known intellectual curiosity.

Some of the guests for the initial episodes include humanitarian and founder of World Central Kitchen José Andrés; former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy; early childhood education experts including Managing Director of Campaign for Grade-Level Reading Ralph Smith; New York University Professor of Early Childhood and Literacy Development Dr. Susan Neuman; members of the Presidential Leadership Scholars program; Clinton Global Initiative University students; and senior members of the Clinton Administration as well as artists, authors and celebrities active in philanthropy.

“Growing up in Arkansas just after World War II in a family that didn't have a lot of money, most of our entertainment revolved around storytelling. Listening to my relatives and neighbors tell stories showed me that everyone has a story, and that everyone's story has value,” said President Clinton in the introduction to the series. “When I got into politics, I always thought that the main point of my work was to give people a chance to have better stories. And after I left office, that's the same purpose that led me to start the Clinton Foundation.”

The podcast will also draw from content the Foundation already produces, such as panels and conversations for the Presidential Leadership Scholars, a partnership among the presidential centers of George W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon B. Johnson; Clinton Global Initiative meetings; and the renowned speaker series and programs at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The podcast is a co-production of the Clinton Foundation and At Will Media. It will be published without commercials and will be available without a subscription fee starting today on Apple Podcasts and on other podcast platforms in the coming weeks.

“Launching a podcast is a natural extension of President Clinton’s mastery of using storytelling to explain complex issues and his belief that once you know someone’s story, you better understand them as a person and your differences become less important,” said Craig Minassian, chief communications and marketing officer at the Clinton Foundation. “President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton have always sought new ways to create a deeper understanding of how to make an impact which is particularly crucial and challenging in the current media environment.”

President Clinton, who won multiple Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word Album and resurrected the weekly presidential radio address including live audiences for the first time, has been at the forefront of using new platforms to engage audiences. This includes being the first presidential candidate to participate in televised town halls with MTV and interactive internet forums, to partnering with the entertainment industry to advance the Clinton Foundation’s early childhood literacy efforts and creating an Emmy-nominated virtual reality film to take audiences inside our rural development work in Africa. 

About the Clinton Foundation

Building on a lifetime of public service, President Clinton established the Clinton Foundation on the simple belief that everyone deserves a chance to succeed, everyone has a responsibility to act, and we all do better when we work together. For nearly two decades, that premise has energized the work of the Foundation in overcoming complex challenges and improving the lives of people across the United States and around the world.

As an operating foundation, we work on issues directly or with strategic partners from the business, government, and nonprofit sectors to create economic opportunity, improve public health, and inspire civic engagement and service. Our programs are designed to make a real difference today while serving as proven models for tomorrow. The goal of every effort is to use available resources to get better results faster – at the lowest possible cost.

We firmly believe that when diverse groups of people bring resources together in the spirit of true cooperation, transformative ideas will emerge to drive life-changing action.

About At Will Media

Founded in 2015 by CEO Will Malnati, At Will Media is a full-service media company based in Manhattan and Los Angeles. With over 50 years of combined experience, At Will Media sets the pace for the podcast industry as a partner for branded content and a hub for successful and critically acclaimed originals. From podcasts to custom Amazon Alexa Skills, At Will Media powers and produces shows for high-profile clients such as GQ, Morgan Stanley, Town & Country, WeWork, Viacom, 1 Hotels, and more.  The firm notably went on to produce the first daily audio product by L’Oréal and Hearst Beauty for Amazon’s Alexa. 2019 saw AWM receive a nomination in the category of “Best Branded Podcast” at the iHeartRadio Podcast Awards for The Atlantic Magazine’s podcast The Future According to Now, Season 2.  At Will Media' executive team is headed by entrepreneur Will Malnati, Glee actress and Emmy/Tony-award winner Jenna Ushkowitz, former Twitter exec Julie Martin and Audible alum Mitch Bluestein.