Join Legacy’s award-winning obituary reporters for our new podcast, “Immortalized.” In every episode, we’ll explore the fascinating ways people pay tribute to those we’ve lost — from famous celebrities to our everyday neighbors.
You can listen on this page to the episodes posted below, or on your favorite podcast app:
Where to Listen
- Immortalized on YouTube
- Immortalized on Apple Podcasts
- Immortalized on Spotify
- Immortalized on Google Podcasts
- Immortalized on Amazon/Audible
- Immortalized on Facebook
Episodes
Episode 1: How People React When Beloved Celebrities Die. Why do people care so much when a famous stranger dies? In our first episode, we explore the condolences that poured in for two very well-known, but very different, celebrities: Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, and civil rights icon Rosa Parks.
Episode 2: What Happened When Prince Died. Few people have ever planned their own legacy as obsessively as the superstar musician Prince did. “Immortalized” talks with two people who visited Prince’s mansion following his death: Legacy reporter Linnea Crowther and superfan critic Scott Woods.
Episode 3: The Civil War Widow Who Lived Until 2020. A surprising number of people live past 100 years old. In fact, half a million centenarians are alive in the world today. In this episode, Linnea and Stephen share the remarkable life stories of the 100-year-olds whose obituaries have made headlines over the past year – from the very last Civil War veterans’s widow to the very last stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
Episode 4: A Superhero’s Secret Origin Is Usually Grief. Batman’s parents, Spider-Man’s Uncle Ben, the Scarlet Witch’s family–why do almost all of the superhero myths have grief and death at their heart? We discuss what comic book heroes’ funeral traditions have in common with everyday families, with special guest Dr. William G. Hoy, contributor to the new book “Superhero Grief,” and Danielle Zimmerman, Legacy.com’s grief support coordinator.
Episode 5: 7 Obituaries People Loved in July 2021. When some obituaries are published, they receive not just dozens, but hundred—or even thousands—of condolences. In this episode, Linnea takes us through the seven obituaries from July 2021 whose Legacy.com guest books filled up with memories and messages from the largest number of well-wishers.
Episode 6: 10 WWII Heroes Who Died in 2021. Sixteen million Americans served in World War II–and in 2021, only two percent of them are still with us. Linnea and Stephen explore the memories of ten wartime heroes who have died recently, including the legendary fighter pilot Chuck Yeager; Dorothy Cole, the oldest living Marine; Joe Vandever, one of the brilliant Navajo code talkers, and the real woman whose life inspired the iconic figure of Rosie the Riveter.
Episode 7: How She Wrote an Unforgettable Obituary. This year’s National Newspaper Association award for best obituary went to Rachel Wagoner for her moving tribute to a much-loved Ohio dairy farmer. We talk with Rachel about how she captured an everyday life story in a memorable piece of writing—and how families everywhere might do the same.
Episode 8: How We Talk About Women When They Die. 50 percent of the people who die are women—so why do men account for 75 percent of obituary news headlines? Legacy correspondent Jessica Campbell joins Linnea and Stephen to unearth some recent women’s life stories that deserve to be remembered for all time.
Episode 9: 9/11: 20 Years of Grief and Healing. It was the most profound event of mass grief America had seen in generations. 20 years later, the legacy of Sept. 11 is still reverberating through the world. In this episode, we discuss what it took to establish online tributes to all 3,000 who died, and we look at the incredible memories and messages people have shared over the years.
Episode 10: The 10 Most Talked-About Obituaries in August 2021. Out of the people whose deaths made headlines in August, whose obituary guest books received the biggest outpouring of condolences? And what sorts of thoughts did people have to share about them? In this episode, Linnea takes us through the 10 obituaries from August 2021 whose Legacy.com guest books filled up with memories and messages from the largest number of well-wishers.
Episode 11: Surprisingly Funny Obituaries. More and more often, families are including humor in their loved ones’ obituaries: funny memories, inside jokes, and absurd tall tales. Does laughter make death easier to bear? In this episode, Linnea and Stephen share some of the funniest tributes they’ve come across, and break down the four different types of humor that keep creeping into people’s obituaries.
(The “Three Stooges gravestone” photo shown in this video is a real headstone marking the grave of James Bechtold, a firefighter in the town of Metuchen, NJ who died in 2007. Reportedly, his will specifically requested this kind of laughter-provoking memorial. Photo by Stu Segal for Legacy.com)
Episode 12: Mourning After the Pandemic. Throughout much of 2020, social distancing restrictions meant that thousands upon thousands of American families were unable to hold funeral services for loved ones who died. What did that do to our lives? And how do we move forward from that grief? In this video Linnea and Stephen look at how people in 2021 are honoring their losses with all different sorts of memorial practices.
Bonus Episode: 9 Unusual Facts About 2021 Celebrity Deaths. Is it strange that 4 actors from the same beloved TV show all died in 2021? We crunch the obituary numbers to find out which groups of celebrities died young, which lived the longest, and why so many Gen X music stars died in their 50s.
Sneak peek trailer: Welcome to “Immortalized,” where Legacy obituary journalists Linnea Crowther and Stephen Segal will explore the life stories that live on long after people die.
