He’s Written 1600 Obituaries. What Has He Learned About Life?

Nayeema sits down with Sam Roberts, the New York Times obituary reporter who’s studied some 120,000 years of life while penning obits for everyone from Washington’s most powerful people to Hollywood’s most famed vet and … Jesus Christ? So what has Roberts learned studying this much life? Who even gets an NYT obit? How do they handle scandal, mistresses or secret babies? Which is the meanest obituary Sam’s ever drafted? And is 92 the new … 82? Fact Check: At some point Sam says he may be, at age 79, the oldest staff reporter at The New York Times. He is not in fact the oldest. Also at some point, Nayeema says Sam is a spring chicken. Sam is not, in fact, a chicken. Be sure to get Sam’s book, appropriately titled, “Are They Dead Yet?” ICYMI - last week’s SGDQ Episode was all about how **AI could kill us all** so today’s on how we’ll be remembered, and how we choose to live, is particularly timely…. Send us your “dumb questions” on IG/TikTok @smartgirldumbquestions or by calling 1-855-MyDumbQ. Make sure you’re following Nayeema and the show on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. And obvi: SHARE THE SHOW WITH YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR GROUP CHAT, YOUR MOM and YOUR MORTICIAN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices