Obama's Grin: Inside the Presidential Center's Progress and POTUS's Pop Culture Picks

Barack Obama BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.

Former President Barack Obama made a rare personal appearance this week at the Obama Presidential Center construction site in Chicago's Jackson Park, where he spent hours buzzing with excitement over the progress, according to the Obama Foundation's official update. He toured the museum exhibits with curators, marveled at massive public artwork for the first time, and raved about the stunning Chicago views visitors will get starting June 2026 when doors open. The Foundation revealed never-before-seen photos of Obama grinning amid the athletic center and one of the city's best panoramas, capping off a huge milestone: the 60,000-square-foot Home Court building is now complete, featuring an NBA-regulation basketball court emblazoned with his iconic phrases, multipurpose rooms, and youth leadership programs inspired by his and Michelle's love for sports and wellness. ABC7 Chicago reports the granite-clad eight-story museum is nearing finish, with an 83-foot stained glass piece by Julie Mehretu, a top-floor sky room for the public, and spaces like the Hadiya Pendleton atrium honoring a gun violence victim, plus a new library stocked with Obamas' book picks—all poised to draw a million tourists yearly to the South Side.

On the political front, Obama headlined a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee event in Los Angeles on Sunday, chatting with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries before House Dems including Nancy Pelosi, ABC News reports. He urged unity over ideological spats—think progressives like AOC versus moderates like Schumer—insisting the party laser-focus on flipping the Republican-held House in 2026 midterms. "Our differences aren't that big," he said, blaming social media hype, while touting 2025 wins on affordability and health care as a path forward to block White House "worst impulses." No public dust-ups, just Obama the elder statesman rallying the troops.

Culturally, the former prez dropped his signature 2025 favorites lists, Vice reveals an eclectic playlist blending pop like Chappell Roan and Lady Gaga, hip-hop from Kendrick Lamar and Chance the Rapper, Afrobeats, and indie gems from Bruce Springsteen to Rosalia—personally vetted, he insists, no intern shortcuts. Books-wise, The Bookseller notes shoutouts to Zadie Smith's Dead and Alive and Ian McEwan's What We Can Know, plus a biased nod to Michelle's photo collection The Look. No major business moves or scandals, but these drops keep Obama culturally omnipresent as his legacy hub rises.

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