Obama Proclaims ‘We’re Not Cured’ of Racism on Podcast

By Sameer Rao Jun 23, 2015

The Internet and media is abuzz with news that President Obama used the n-word publicly when taping a very unexpected episode of "WTF with Marc Maron." Missing from a lot of that conversation is the core of Obama’s message on the show, which is the much larger highlight of his conversation with Maron—one of his first unbridled comments as president that racism runs deeper than the surface of what many Americans think: 

“We’re not cured of it. And it’s not just a matter of not being polite to say ‘nigger’ in public. That’s not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. It’s not just a matter of overt discrimination. Societies don’t overnight completely erase everything that happened 200 or 300 years prior.”

Obama’s appearance on "WTF" continues a trend of his appearing on non-mainstream and irreverent media programs (the most notable of which was his appearance on Zach Galifianakis’s "Between Two Ferns") as he pushes through the last two years of his presidency. While it remains to be seen if this is a turning point for his media engagement, or if he’ll use less watered-down language in his speeches, Maron’s candid hour-long conversation with the President (where he touches on more personal topics, like his relationship with the First Lady) is worth a listen

(h/t The Atlantic)