Skip to content
BN+: Sam Roberts, "Are They Dead Yet?" episode artwork

Oct 6, 2026 1 hr 10 min

BN+: Sam Roberts, "Are They Dead Yet?"

from C-SPAN Bookshelf Hosted by C-SPAN

The name of the book is "Are They Dead Yet?: The Art of the Obit." The author, Sam Roberts, is a 50-year veteran of New York journalism. He says in his book: "I've buried 1,600 or so people during my improbable decade writing obituaries for the New York Times." Reporters who do his kind of reporting are called obituarists. Sam Roberts, in his book's prologue, says he "learned more on the job about accuracy, context, and the distinction between cynicism and skepticism than I would have in any journalism school."

Episode details come from the podcast's RSS feed.

Embed this episode

Ready to play

BN+: Sam Roberts, "Are They Dead Yet?"

0:00 1:10:56

No transcript yet.

Requests help us decide what to transcribe next.

Frequently asked questions

How long is this episode of C-SPAN Bookshelf?

This episode is 1 hour and 10 minutes long.

When was this C-SPAN Bookshelf episode published?

This episode was published on October 6, 2026.

Can I download this C-SPAN Bookshelf episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.