In 'Citizen,' former President Clinton reflects on his post-White House years

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4.2 • 672 Ratings

🗓️ 20 November 2024

⏱️ 8 minutes

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Summary

Since leaving the White House more than two decades ago, Bill Clinton has remained a leader in the Democratic Party, but has mostly focused on philanthropy and public service. He has aimed to address the HIV/AIDS crisis globally and he worked to help free two American journalists incarcerated in North Korea. Clinton's new memoir, Citizen, takes stock of these post-presidential years – but also serves as a vehicle for the former president to address past controversies. In today's episode, Clinton joins NPR's Leila Fadel for a discussion that touches on how the Democratic Party should respond to this political moment, and how writing his new book has helped him let go of the past.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. Since the election, everyone and their
0:06.8	mother is offering their take on what the Democrats got wrong, what they missed, how they should
0:12.7	rebuild after a pretty brutal electoral loss. The guest on the pod today has some experience
0:18.9	with this. Former President Bill Clinton has a new book
0:22.0	out. It's titled Citizen, and it's a memoir of what he's been up to after being president.
0:27.3	Of course, we can't not ask him about the current state of the Democratic Party and what he thinks
0:33.3	the direction should be from here. And in this interview with NPR's Lila Fadol, he gets into all of that,
0:38.8	but he also talks about how writing this book was a way of looking back at some of the
0:44.4	controversies of his life and letting them go. That's coming up.
0:50.3	In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.
0:55.1	Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors.
0:59.5	On our new show, Sources and Methods.
1:01.6	NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people
1:04.9	helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.
1:09.2	Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:14.8	Former President Clinton is out with a new memoir today.
1:18.0	It's called Citizen, My Life After the White House, a title taken from his final address to the
1:23.6	nation as president.
1:24.5	I will never hold a position higher or a covenant more sacred than that of President of the United States.
1:32.7	But there is no title I will wear more proudly than that of citizens.
1:37.6	The book recounts how Clinton spent the year since doing philanthropic work across the globe,
1:42.6	from working with Nelson Mandela to get treatment to people with HIV,
	...

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