Winfrey, Letterman among moderators for Michelle Obama tour

NEW YORK (AP) — Oprah Winfrey, David Letterman and Ellen DeGeneres are among the celebrity moderators joining former first lady Michelle Obama on tour for her upcoming book, “The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times.”

Other guests include Conan O’Brien, Tracee Ellis Ross, journalists Gayle King and Michele Norris, “Today” show host Hoda Kotb, poet Elizabeth Alexander and advocate Heather McGhee.

“For me, ‘The Light We Carry’ book tour will be about starting important conversations and digging deeper into the questions that all of us are grappling with as we live through uncertain times,” Obama said in a statement released Wednesday by her publisher, Crown, and the tour’s producer, Live Nation. “I can’t wait to get back on the road and dive into it with such a thoughtful, impressive group of moderators.”

On Wednesday, Crown and Live Nation also announced that Obama has added seven stops to her monthlong, six-city tour, which begins at Washington’s Warner Theatre on Nov. 15, the book’s publication date. Additional appearances have been scheduled in Washington, along with Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago and San Francisco.

Some of the moderators, including Winfrey and Alexander, spoke with Obama when she promoted her 2018 memoir “Becoming.” For the current tour, DeGeneres will be on stage for the first two nights, in Washington, with Perry scheduled to interview her in Atlanta, Letterman in Chicago and Winfrey for the last stop, in Los Angeles’ YouTube Theater on Dec. 13.