Grasping Mortality [Archive Spotlight]

We're revisiting some of our favorite conversations from the past as part of our holiday Archive Spotlight series while Obsessed With Death takes a short break for the holidays.In this episode from 2024, Rob sits down with social psychologist Sheldon Solomon to explore how our awareness of death influences the way we think, behave, and experience the world. From our deepest fears to the ways we find meaning in life, Sheldon shares fascinating insights from decades of research into human mortality.

Rob is joined by David Zarco, creator of Dead Greg's, a social media cooking series that started with a Ziploc bag of handwritten recipes left behind by his roommate's late uncle. David shares how a darkly funny idea turned into a growing community of people preserving the memories of loved ones through food. They discuss David's personal experiences with loss, finding humor in grief, the unexpected things we leave behind, and how something as simple as a recipe can keep someone's legacy alive.

Rob sits down with Patrick from We the Grievers to talk about how losing his mom completely changed his relationship with death and ultimately led him to leave his career and start talking openly about grief online. They discuss complicated grief, the small things that can help someone after a loss, why people are so uncomfortable talking about death, and how sharing grief openly can make it feel a little less isolating.

Rob and Jordan react to the first teaser for Season 3 of The Pitt before diving into the wild story of a father who drove his family off a 250-foot cliff...survived, completed treatment, and was ultimately welcomed back by his wife. They debate whether you could ever forgive a spouse after something so horrific, then reflect on the heartbreaking deaths of Sydney Towle and Hayden Panettiere and the strange experience of grieving someone you only knew through a screen.

Following his appearance as Mort from Bob’s Burgers, Andy Kindler sticks around to talk death. Andy opens up about his lifelong fear of dying, how his beliefs about God and the afterlife have changed with age, near-death experiences, OCD, and the strange comfort he’s found in thinking about mortality. Plus, Rob makes one request: find a way to get Mort to say “I’m obsessed with death” on Bob’s Burgers.

This week, Rob is joined by Mort, funeral director and owner of It’s Your Funeral Home & Crematorium. Mort talks about life in the funeral business, finding humor in death, his thoughts on the paranormal, and the challenges of dating as a funeral director. Plus, Rob pitches Mort a few new business ideas that could change the funeral industry forever. Make sure you support our sponsor: Cre-Mates.net

In this episode of The Final Word, Rob and Jordan discuss the latest Obsessed with Death giveaway with Shampoooty, open up about health anxiety and the mental tricks that come with it and react to some of the week’s strangest stories..including cancer-detecting pigeons and an actress who claims Dennis Hopper’s ghost visited her.

Shampoooty returns to Obsessed With Death one year after his first appearance to catch up on everything that's happened since. Rob and Shampoooty revisit the unexpected impact of their custom urn giveaway, share stories from listeners who found comfort through the project, brainstorm new ideas for future collaborations, and dive into the launch of Shampoooty Medical, his satirical line of medical-inspired collectibles.Be sure to follow us on Instagram so you don't miss details about our next giveaway!

In this episode of The Final Word, Rob and Jordan discuss a tarot card influencer who falsely accused a University of Idaho professor of murder and was hit with a multi-million-dollar defamation verdict. They also react to a hantavirus outbreak linked to a research cruise ship, leading to an absurd and dark conversation about cruise culture and how they would handle a floating public health crisis. 

In this episode, Rob speaks with writer and editor Charley Burlock about the rise of AI-powered grief bots. The conversation examines the emotional complexity of using AI as a tool for mourning, the ethical risks of monetizing grief, and the ways this technology could reshape or potentially isolate the human experience of loss. Read the full article here.