Breathing New Life into the Obituary

A new podcast uses one of journalism’s oldest forms to explore universal truths.

One day in the fall of 2022, Izaak Opatz, a musician in Montana, was scanning the obituaries posted on the websites of local funeral homes when he encountered a striking photo: a man in his late fifties or early sixties with long, wavy hair who somewhat resembled The Dude, from The Big Lebowski. His name was Terry Holo; he died on March 6, 2022, at the age of seventy-one. From the accompanying obituary, by Bob Holo, Terry’s brother, Opatz learned that Terry had been obsessed with cars, basketball, and weightlifting. As a kid, he once sneaked onto a movie set. Later, he had troubles with drunk driving, served as a surrogate father to several kids, and once persuaded Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie to autograph his joint. “He just seemed really approachable, even though I knew he was gone,” Opatz told me.