Dead Air

Ann Wroe, obits editor at the Economist magazine, joined me today on the radio for a discussion about the major deaths of the year.

To me, the best part of the talk was Ann's explanation of why she made England's best known carp the subject of an obit. I spoke a bit about why major public figures such as Teddy Kennedy and Michael Jackson are essentially unknowable because there are too many people protecting their legacies. It's hard to get to understand them intimately and basically not a lot of fun to write.

The host of the show was WAMU-FM's Kojo Nnamdi. You can listen here.