Podcast host, actor, humorist, history buff, journalist, panelist for NPR’s Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me and correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning, Mo Rocca is a true Renaissance man. His sharp wit, love for trivia and signature dry humor is in full display in his new book, Mobituaries, a companion piece to his podcast of the same name which is now in season 2. I spoke with Mo Rocca ahead of his NYC book tour (go see him on March 11 at JCC!) about how he thinks obits will evolve, the lessons he learned when working on Mobituaries, and whose obituary he’d like to write…
To what do you attribute the rising popularity of the obituary?
The rising oceans.
Between the 24 hour news cycle, social media and advances in AI…how do you think obituaries will continue to evolve? Do you think technology will ever render them obsolete?
Social media, with its penchant for killing people off when they’re still alive, might actually create a whole new market for obits: an obit for people when they’ve been cancelled, then another when they stop breathing. If technology allows us to live forever, I suppose obits would be rendered obsolete. But that’s a really depressing prospect – the living forever part.
In a TED talk from 2017, tech startup founder Lux Narayan analyzed a variety of data from 2,000 obituaries. One of his findings was that the common descriptor in the word cloud for both the famous and non-famous obituary subjects was “Help.” The individuals made a positive impact on society. Was there a bigger, philosophical lesson you learned from writing this book and doing the podcast?
We’ll all be forgotten – and much sooner than we realize. Once we accept this, we’re more likely to live in the moment … and do better. Bring back memento mori (reminders of death). Having a skull on your shelf will keep you from getting a big head.
The stories in your book are often imbued with personal elements from your own life. The last Mobituary is actually dedicated to your father whom you say is the source of your love for obituaries and the compassionate lens with which you viewed your subjects. What’s more important in an obituary: conveying the unvarnished truth of a life, or telling the most compelling story?
Too often “conveying the unvarnished truth” translates to fixating on flaws. There are so many ways to tell someone’s story. I prefer to read an obituary that describes what animated that person and kept her going despite the inevitable setbacks. And the mundane details that might bring the reader closer to understanding him. I prefer a more generous approach to remembering a life. (And no, I’m not including Hitler or Pol Pot here. So back off, social media!)
If you could write anyone’s official obituary, whose would it be and why?
Well I’m not going to fall into the trap of naming someone who is alive. So thinking about the past … maybe Seth? From the Book of Genesis. Cain and Abel suck up all the oxygen. Seth, their other brother, kept his head down, didn’t make the tabloids. But without him, we wouldn’t be here, right?
Meet Mo Rocca at various book signing events in the coming week in NYC, like the one this Wednesday night at JCC for the Person Place Thing interview show with Randy Cohen. Details here.