The Indicator from Planet Money

Podbit · The Indicator from Planet Money

Obama's new Presidential Center and his tricky relationship with the South Side

Explore episode Jul 3, 2026
Arts
The Obamalisk: Architecture Reviews from Two Angles

Obama's new Presidential Center and his tricky relationship… · Jul 3, 2026 Arts

Critics call it the Obamalisk. Architectural reviews of the Obama Center note that the building reads entirely differently depending on your vantage point — a gleaming beacon in the sun for tourists, a foreboding monolith for students across the street. Natalie Moore says the campus itself is beautiful, and draws a comparison to Chicago's Picasso statue, which was hated when it debuted.

1m 50s

Where this was said

Geography and Tension: Where the Obama Center Actually Sits

At 15:00 · chapter starts 13:40

The conversation turns to geography, and the guests make clear that 'South Side' is not a monolith. The Obama Center sits at a fault line: on one side, the relatively wealthy neighborhood of Hyde Park; on the other, lower-income Woodlawn, where affordable housing is under threat and tenant unions have been organizing. Natalie Moore's mother grew up in West Woodlawn; the neighborhood is where Lorraine Hansberry's father bought the house that inspired 'A Raisin in the Sun.' Myra Kwadja zeroes in on a claim that has stuck with her: Obama adviser David Axelrod argued that nobody uses Jackson Park when advocating for the center's location there, a statement she finds refuted every time she bikes through for the cherry blossoms or the house music picnic. Gene Demby cuts to the point: when Axelrod said 'nobody,' he meant certain nobodies — tourists, specifically. The chapter closes as Natalie Moore describes the finished campus as beautiful — winding paths, a lagoon, a public library branch — while drawing a comparison to Chicago's Picasso statue, which was reviled on arrival and is now beloved, suggesting that opinions on the Obamalisk may yet evolve.

Similar podbits

Arts
Howard Ashman and the Broadway Formula That Made Disney Billions

Disney: The Renaissance and the Empire · Aug 10, 2026 Arts

Howard Ashman had one insight nobody else had: animated Disney films should be Broadway musicals. The third song of every great musical is the character sitting alone explaining what they want. That's 'Part of Your World.' That structure — combined with Alan Menken's compositions — generated Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King, and turned Disney Animation into the most profitable creative engine in entertainment history.

4m 32s
Arts
Lion King: The Musical Is the Highest-Grossing Entertainment Product in History

Disney: The Renaissance and the Empire · Aug 10, 2026 Arts

The Lion King musical has been running for 30 years across Broadway, London's West End, and global touring companies. It has grossed over $11 billion in total revenue — more than Avatar, more than Avengers: Endgame, more than any album, more than any video game. It generates an average of $350 million in revenue every single year. Disney owns it outright.

2m 50s