Obsessed With Death

In Episode 19 of The Final Word, Rob and Jordan dive into the strange and unsettling rise of AI “dead relative” apps, debating whether digital avatars of loved ones are a helpful grief tool or a dystopian step too far. They also unpack the bizarre story of a man who disguised himself as his deceased mother to collect her pension and the even darker discovery that followed. Finally, they explore a 23andMe family bombshell involving a $28.8 million malpractice settlement awarded after the sisters’ father died from a misdiagnosed aneurysm and a newly discovered half-sister who later surfaced asking for a share.

In this episode, acclaimed cartoonist and author Anders Nilsen joins to talk about how death and loss have shaped both his life and creative work. He reflects on losing his fiancée, Cheryl Weaver, to cancer and how that experience led to his books Don’t Go Where I Can’t Follow and The End. Anders shares how grief evolved from something deeply personal to a universal artistic theme, how his views on death and the afterlife have shifted over 20 years, and the power of art and music in healing.

Learn more about Anders and his work here.

On the anniversary of Ted Bundy’s execution, Obsessed With Death revisits the moment veteran correspondent John Koch witnessed his first execution in 1989, the death of Ted Bundy. Koch reflects on covering Bundy’s crimes and the events leading up to that night, and how experiencing his first execution at the center of such a notorious case shaped his approach to journalism.

The Final Word returns from hiatus with a new co-host, Jordan. In their first episode together, Rob and Jordan dive into death-related stories, including Jesse Eisenberg donating a kidney to a stranger, Julia Fox’s Jackie Kennedy costume, and why millennials in America are dying at higher rates than their peers abroad, while exploring why talking openly about death can be both comforting and strangely fun.

In this episode of Obsessed With Death, Rob sits down with creator Sidney Raz for a deeply honest and often darkly funny conversation about grief, mortality, and survival. Sidney opens up about losing all three of his parents before turning 30, the devastating loss of his daughter, and how that tragedy ultimately led to the discovery of a genetic mutation and an early stomach cancer diagnosis that saved his life.