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.
Megan Torgerson reports and narrates an interview exploring the fading legacy of Dagmar, Montana, and its community's enduring spirit.
10 Jun 2026TRANSCRIPT
Climbing Out of the Dark Hole
Elinor Smith reports on Bea Burnham's remarkable life of resilience, independence, and advocacy, offering listeners a profound look at a woman who carved her own path.
4 Jun 2026TRANSCRIPT
Deciding to Say Goodbye
Sophia Marsolek, a UM Journalism student, reports on the profound decision a wife makes to let go of her husband, Clifford Marion, in this deeply personal interview.
28 May 2026TRANSCRIPT
The Farmer Who Never Left His Land
Kathleen Shannon narrates the life of Wayne Boyes, a farmer who dedicated his life to his land and cows, leaving a legacy of hard work and community.
21 May 2026TRANSCRIPT
Off the Grid by Choice
Paul Hamby reports on Stanley Littleboy's choice to live off the grid and his family's reconciliation with his unconventional life.
14 May 2026
An Imperfect Parent
Darrel Johnson (https://www.gardencityfh.com/obituaries/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 (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
7 May 2026
The Ghost Lady Is My Neighbor
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 JournalismSee omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
30 Apr 2026
Vanished in Vietnam
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 (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
23 Apr 2026
Friends Till the End
Brendon Galbreath (https://dailybruin.com/2021/09/18/friends-and-family-of-brendon-galbreath-remember-him-for-his-kindness-drive)’s death was covered by most major news stations in Montana. He died after being pulled over. At first, it wasn’t clear if a cop shot and killed a 21-year-old citizen of the Blackfeet Nation in Missoula or if he died by suicide in that moment. But this isn’t a story about that. It’s about the beautiful moments we share with our friends, the kind that never show up in news stories. Reported and narrated by JoVonne Wagner, alum of UM Journalism currently at Montana Free PressSee omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
16 Apr 2026
The Elephant Under Dillon
Everyone from Dillon knows about the elephant struck by lightning and buried on the spot (https://tphistoricalsociety.org/the-last-robinson-elephant) 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 thereSee omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
9 Apr 2026
For Ruth
The headline on Ruth Anderson’s obit (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/18/arts/music/ruth-anderson-dead.html) 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 RadioSee omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
2 Apr 2026
A Very Responsible Dude
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 (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
18 Mar 2026
The Obit Project - Coming April 02, 2026
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 (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
Inside a recent episode
Obituary for a Small Town
Published 18 Jun 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] The founders searched around before finding the right spot. They claimed it, then named it Dagmar after a former queen of Denmark. Over time, more and more settlers arrived to this colony on the northern Great Plains, lured by the government to start farming. My family came from Norway, Denmark, and Germany 115 years ago. Doug Smith's has been here for even longer. Our ancestors came in the early 1900s as the wave of homesteading spread from east to west. And so my ancestors came in 1903. Like many towns in the West, Dagmar went from boom to bust. Just after Doug's family arrived, Dagmar consisted of a post office in a one-room house. […]
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