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The Obit Project

The Obit Project

By: Jad Abumrad and Jule Banville
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Summary

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.

Social Sciences
Episodes
  • An Imperfect Parent
    May 14 2026

    Darrel Johnson was someone people thought they knew. Maybe they worked alongside him at a high school dance. Maybe they knew him from Boy Scouts or through the camp he ran for troubled boys. His son knew his dad was also involved in some grisly investigations because Darrel would develop crime-scene photos in the family bathroom. Darrel’s job and personality were darker than most knew and time has allowed for honest, nuanced reflection.

    Reported and narrated by Bayliss Flynn, current student at UM Journalism.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    34 mins
  • The Ghost Lady Is My Neighbor
    May 7 2026

    When she was in high school, Lotus Porte-Moyel interviewed her neighbor, Ellen Baumler, about being a successful woman. Ellen’s success was measured in history books – she wrote 13 of them about the people and places of Montana and was the historian when it came to its capital city of Helena. But really? She was possibly best known for her good work on ghosts and Montana’s many spooky spots.

    Reported and narrated by Lotus Porte-Moyel, current student at UM Journalism

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    23 mins
  • Vanished in Vietnam
    Apr 30 2026

    In 1965, Montanan pilot Dean Pogreba pulled up into the clouds over North Vietnam and was never heard from again. That left his wife and kids to always wonder: Was he still out there? Over the years, a few clues and stories gave his family hope. Maxine Pogreba lived her own full life before and after her husband died, but without someone to bury, she had to find her own path of grief and memory.

    Reported and narrated by Charles Bolte, alum of UM Journalism’s graduate program.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    25 mins
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