Media Contacts
Higher Ground; HGLede@ledecompany.com
Color Of Change; media@colorofchange.org
HIGHER GROUND AND SPOTIFY TEAM UP WITH COLOR OF CHANGE
TO CREATE A COMPANION GUIDE TO HEATHER MCGHEE’S
“THE SUM OF US” PODCAST
Digital companion guide to the podcast launches on 10/24/2022 9:30AM ET
(October 24, 2022) – Higher Ground, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company, and Spotify announced today that they have teamed up with racial justice organization Color Of Change to create a digital companion guide to Heather McGhee’s “The Sum of Us” podcast. Launching on October 24th, 2022 at 9:30AM ET, this digital companion guide will take a deeper look at the people and movements featured in the series and provide tools to empower people to take action in their communities.
“The Sum of Us” podcast series, a follow up to Heather McGhee’s best-selling book, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, launched exclusively on Spotify on July 27th, and was released on all other platforms September 21st. A collaboration between the Pulitzer-Prize Winning Futuro Studios, President and Mrs. Obama’s Higher Ground Audio, Spotify, and NYT best-selling author and policy expert Heather McGhee, “The Sum of Us” is a moving, beautifully produced limited series about the power of cross-racial solidarity. As both a travel show recorded during the height of the pandemic and a docu-series that tackles topical issues from a uniquely human, character-driven point of view, it is a timely and hugely ambitious project.
Higher Ground, Spotify, and Invisible Hand worked with the nation’s largest online racial justice organization, Color Of Change, to create an online companion guide to the podcast. The site is an invitation to learn more about organizers and progressive movements featured in the series, and provides listeners with the tools to become organizers in their own communities. It was made for anyone who listens to an episode, gets inspired, wants to take action, but isn’t quite sure where to start.
“I’ve been humbled and inspired by the reception to both the book and the podcast, and now I’m thrilled to see this incredible companion to and extension of ‘The Sum of Us,’” said Heather McGhee, Chair of the Color Of Change Board of Directors. “Carefully built by so many talented individuals from Color Of Change, Invisible Hand, and Higher Ground, this digital companion guide will help better visualize what racial and economic justice actually means and to find ways to get involved in your own communities.”
Through her book The Sum of Us, McGhee embarked on a personal journey across the country tallying what we lose when we buy into the zero-sum paradigm—the idea that progress for some of us must come at the expense of others. Along the way she met people who confided in her about losing their homes, dreams, and their shot at better jobs. In unlikely places of worship and work, McGhee found proof of what she calls the Solidarity Dividend: the benefits we gain when people come together across racial lines to accomplish what we simply can’t do on our own. For “The Sum of Us” podcast, she went on the road again, mid-pandemic, in search of more signs of the America we’re becoming.
Beyond her writing, Heather McGhee is an expert in economic and social policy. The former president of the inequality-focused think tank Demos, McGhee has drafted legislation, testified before Congress and contributed regularly to news shows including NBC’s Meet the Press. She now chairs the board of Color of Change, the nation’s largest online racial justice organization.
She is represented by WME. The Sum of Us is published by One World / Penguin Random House
About Higher Ground
Higher Ground produces film and television exclusively with Netflix, and podcasts exclusively with Audible. The company’s first film release, American Factory, won the 2019 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and its first podcast, The Michelle Obama Podcast, was the most listened to Spotify Original. Higher Ground’s film releases include Becoming, directed by Nadia Hallgren, the Oscar-nominated documentary, Crip Camp, as well as the presentation of the feature films Fatherhood, starring Kevin Hart, which broke viewing records around the globe, and Worth, a drama that looks at what role government can play in the aftermath of a tragedy, and aims to depict the journey of Ken Feinberg, played by Michael Keaton in the film, and the 9/11 victim families. The company’s television series have received wide acclaim including Our Great National Parks, a docuseries that spotlights some of the planet’s most spectacular national parks; the hit show Waffles + Mochi, which will return to screens this fall; We The People, a groundbreaking short-form series from creator Chris Nee that uses music and animation to teach the basics of rights and citizenship with songs by artists like Janelle Monáe, H.E.R., Adam Lambert, Brandi Carlile and more; as well as two seasons of the widely acclaimed animated series Ada Twist, Scientist. The company produced the hit podcast Renegades: Born in the USA, a series of conversations between President Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen and released as a New York Times bestselling book based on the podcast. Higher Ground also released Tell Them, I Am, a podcast collection of universal stories from Muslim voices and The Big Hit Show, a series of audio documentaries hosted by Alex Pappademas that focus on pieces of popular culture that have defined and changed our culture. Upcoming projects include Rustin, a feature film that tells the story of civil rights and gay rights activist Bayard Rustin, directed by George C. Wolfe and starring Colman Domingo in the title role; the feature documentary Descendant, the story of the Clotilda, the last known ship to transport African citizens to the Americas to be enslaved, which was produced by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and received the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award: Creative Vision at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, Blackout, a film and TV event adapted from six different love stories; and an untitled comedy series from Regina Hicks.
About Spotify
Discover, manage, and share over 80 million tracks, including more than 4 million podcast titles, for free, or upgrade to Spotify Premium to access exclusive features for music including improved sound quality and an on-demand, offline, and ad-free listening experience.Today, we are the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service with a community of more than 433 million users, including 188 million Spotify Premium subscribers, across 183 markets.
About Color Of Change
Color Of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. We help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by 7 million members, we move decision-makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America.
About Invisible Hand
Invisible Hand is a social impact and culture change agency that harnesses the power of creativity and storytelling to propel the world forward. Through rapid-response consultation, program development and ongoing strategic counsel, Invisible Hand works collaboratively with partners to problem-solve through an intellectually rigorous approach that is inclusivity- and equity-focused, people-driven, and informed by data and research.