Barack Obama: 'We are not cured of racism in the US'

This audio contains language that some may find disturbing.

US President Barack Obama has used the "n-word" during an interview to argue that the United States has yet to overcome its issues with racism.

"Racism, we are not cured of it," the president said. "And it's not just a matter of it not being polite to say nigger in public."

Mr Obama was being interviewed by comedian Marc Maron for a podcast that was published on Monday.

"It's not just a matter of overt discrimination," he said. "Societies don't, overnight, completely erase everything that happened 200 to 300 years prior."