Advertise on podcast: The Obit Project

Rating

★★★★★

4.8

from

27 reviews

Description

Stories about the lives of real Montanans after they die. Co-hosted by old friends and colleagues Jad Abumrad (founder of Radiolab and creator of Dolly Parton’s America and 2025’s Fela Kuti: Fear No Man) and University of Montana professor and journalist Jule Banville (An Absurd Result). This 12-episode production of the Montana Media Lab at the UM School of Journalism started with a class of college students learning about the long tradition of obituary writing. It culminated with them and other journalists creating a new form that explores universal truths, legacies and reckoning with the memories of those we love. Hear the stories wherever you get your podcasts and on Montana Public Radio.

Podcast episodes

Check latest episodes from The Obit Project podcast

The Elephant Under Dillon

2026/04/16

Everyone from Dillon knows about the elephant struck by lightning and buried on the spot in what’s now the fairgrounds. But few are as obsessed with telling and remembering the story of Old Pit as Jack Kirkley, who taught for many years at the college there. He thought it would be a good idea to dig up the bones and display Dillon’s elephant in a history museum, but he found out others might dig him up one day if he tried that. Pit came by circus train to Dillon and never left. This is her story. Reported and narrated by Jacob Baynham, alum of UM Journalism and current Adjunct Professor there See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Ruth

2026/04/09

The headline on Ruth Anderson’s obit in the New York Times defines her as a pioneering electronic composer. In certain circles, she was a famous artist and professor. Her partner, Annea Lockwood, was famous in her own rite in those circles, too. But to each other, they were partners with inside jokes and shared memories, many of them based at Flathead Lake near where Ruth Anderson was born. In this unconventional obit, a different Ruth from Montana finds Ruth Anderson on late-night radio and then unpacks how we think about a loved one’s legacy. Reported and narrated by Ruth Eddy, alum of UM Journalism currently at Yellowstone Public Radio See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Very Responsible Dude

2026/04/02

In his obit picture, Terry Holo looked like The Dude from The Big Lebowski and, for a time, he kind of was that guy. But when reporter Izaak Opatz joined Terry’s brother, Bob, to clean up the house of his dead brother, he learned there was a lot more to Terry than he expected. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Obit Project - Coming April 02, 2026

2026/03/18

Stories about the lives of real Montanans after they die. Young journalists reinvent the obituary, creating a form that explores universal truths, legacies and reckoning with the memories of those we love. Coming April 2, 2026. Co-hosted by old friends and colleagues Jad Abumrad (founder of Radiolab and creator of Dolly Parton’s America and 2025’s Fela Kuti: Fear No Man) and University of Montana professor and journalist Jule Banville (An Absurd Result). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Podcast reviews

Read The Obit Project podcast reviews

4.8 out of 5

27 reviews

★★★★★

TaylorRNMR 2026/04/18

Thank you

Thank you for creating such an extraordinary project for these students and for sharing it with the world. It’s easy to get lost in the noise of “maki...

★★★★★

tree topper234 2026/04/16

Really love this one!

Very happy to have found this podcast. Really cool and interesting concept, so well written and produced. I look forward to each episode. Keep up the ...

★★★★★

fotovitamina 2026/04/16

Maybe my Mom’s recent death brought me here

Maybe this will be inspiration to write a great obit for the spreading of her ashes ceremony in June, by the Mediterranean Sea.

★★★★★

Wyoming traveller 2026/04/12

Very enjoyable

This new podcast is refreshingly different, creative, and engaging. I enjoy the regional connection, too.

★★★★★

Klig 2026/04/10

New insights

I love this new look at people’s lives. Bringing a view to people who we sometimes forget about. Thank you for this amazing podcast!