During this episode of The Write Question, host Lauren Korn speaks with University of Montana journalism professor Jule Banville and audio producer Jad Abumrad about The Obit Project, a podcast that combines the art of audio storytelling and the obituary form to spotlight the multi-dimensional lives of real Montanans. This conversation was recorded in advance of Jad’s Dean Stone Lecture and University of Montana Democracy Summit Keynote Lecture, which takes place on April 13, 2026.
The Obit Project is a collaborative podcast created by the University of Montana School of Journalism and the Montana Media Lab. The Obit Project has partnered with Montana Public Radio to broadcast episodes on occasional Sundays at 4 p.m.
Mary Auld is the showrunner and editor on The Obit Project, as well as the director of the Montana Media Lab. Erica Huang is the project’s sound designer, mix engineer, and composer. The podcast’s artwork was created by Max Mahn of Twin Home Prints.
This conversation has been lightly edited.
About Jule:
Jule Banville is a professor of journalism at the University of Montana, where she teaches writing, reporting and audio courses. For more than a decade, she asked her students to report obituaries and write beautiful features about someone’s life. Then Jad Abumrad came along and that became The Obit Project podcast. In previous lives, she and Jad worked as audio producers at WNYC in New York.
Jule reported, wrote and hosted An Absurd Result, a seven-part narrative podcast about prosecuting the sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl. She also produced and hosted Last Best Stories, a podcast featuring student and professional narratives set in Montana. She’s worked in daily newspapers that include the Erie Times-News in Pennsylvania; alternative newsweeklies that include the Washington City Paper in D.C.; and in public radio. She’s always read and loved obits and the craft of telling someone else’s story.
About Jad:
Jad Abumrad is a composer, artist and journalist and the creator of Radiolab, Dolly Parton’s America, Fela Kuti: Fear No Man, and many other podcasts, which collectively have been downloaded over a billion times. He’s been called a “master of the radio craft” for his unique ability to combine cutting edge sound-design, cinematic storytelling and a personal approach to explaining complex topics, from the stochasticity of tumor cells to the mathematics of morality.
Jad studied creative writing and music composition at Oberlin College in Ohio. He composed much of the music for Radiolab and has composed music for film, theater and dance. Jad has received three Peabody Awards, the highest honor in broadcasting and two DuPont Awards. And in 2011, he received the prestigious MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship. He’s currently a Distinguished Professor of Research at Vanderbilt University.
Mentioned in this episode:
Obit: Inspiring Stories of Ordinary People Who Led Extraordinary Lives by Jim Sheeler (Penguin Random House)
University of Montana School of Journalism
Elinor Smith, alum of UM Journalism, former Montana Public Radio All Things Considered host, and the reporter-narrator of Episode 11: “Climbing Out of the Dark Hole”
JoVonne Wagner, alum of UM Journalism currently at Montana Free Press and the reporter-narrator of Episode 04: “Friends Till the End”
Jacob Baynham, winner of a National Magazine Award, alum of UM Journalism, current Adjunct Professor, and reporter-narrator of Episode 03: “The Elephant Under Dillon”
Dagmar, Montana, the subject of Episode 12: “Obituary For a Small Town,” reported and narrated by Megan Torgerson, UM alum and creator and host of Reframing Rural
The Rocky Mountain News, a Colorado newspaper that folded in 2009
Lauren Korn recommends:
The Obit Project (UM School of Journalism, Montana Media Lab)
Reframing Rural, a podcast hosted and produced by Megan Torgerson
Obit (Copper Canyon Press) and Dear Memory: Letters on Writing, Silence, and Grief (Milkweed Editions) by Victoria Chang; listen to Lauren’s conversation with Victoria here!
Grief Sequence and Onement Won by Prageeta Sharma (Wave Poetry)
Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Alfred A. Knopf)
On Grief: Love, Loss, Memory by Jennifer Senior (Atlantic Editions)
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (Vintage Books)
Stay True by Hua Hsu (Vintage Books)
Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy (Scribner)
Mourning Diary by Roland Barthes (Hill and Wang)
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The Write Question team for this episode was Lauren Korn, host, co-producer, and editor; and Chris Moyles, co-producer, editor, and sound engineer. This episode is supported by Fact & Fiction, an independent bookstore located in the heart of downtown Missoula, Montana, providing books for all ages and supporting the literary community in Montana and beyond. More information can be found at factandfictionbooks.com.
The Write Question logo and brand (2022) was designed by Molly Russell. You can see more of her work at iamthemollruss.com and on Instagram @iamthemollruss.
Funding for The Write Question comes from Humanities Montana; members of Montana Public Radio; and from the Greater Montana Foundation—encouraging communication on issues, trends, and values of importance to Montanans.
The Write Question is a production of Montana Public Radio.
