Grassroots & Hope: Campaigning for Obama – An Oral History Podcast

By Anne Cardenas

The 2008 Obama campaign was hailed as a monumental grassroots movement. With over 700 field offices, the campaign employed thousands of staffers and volunteers, and inspired millions of voters. ‘Grassroots & Hope: Campaigning for Obama’ is an oral history podcast featuring the voices of those staffers and volunteers. The series shares their remarkable stories, from their backgrounds and political origins, to their time on the campaign and their reflections 10+ years later. As part of this master’s thesis, ‘Episode 2: The Campaign’ was produced completely, and a series proposal included. Additionally, the intersection of oral history and journalism is explored in the written thesis statement.

 

Anne Cardenas is an Oral Historian and Audio Producer. Her master’s thesis is a podcast titled “Grassroots & Hope: Campaigning for Obama” based on the interviews she conducted with 2008 Obama campaign staff. Other areas of interest are family histories, folklore and American history. Anne is a proud Obama Administration alum, having worked at the White House & DHS, before moving to New York and working for VICE Media and the UNDP. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Florida State University in 2011 and completed her Master of Arts in Oral History from Columbia University in 2020.