This week, guest-host Kristen Meinzer talks to Margalit Fox, a longtime writer of obituaries for the New York Times and now a full-time writer of nonfiction books, like The Confidence Men. In the interview, Margalit discusses the delicate art of documenting notable deaths, including the practice of pre-writing and continually updating the obituaries of living people. She also explains how her work as an obituary writer has influenced her work as a nonfiction author. 

After the interview, Kristen and co-host June Thomas talk about the terrifying work of cold-calling sources. 

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Margalit discusses why women and people of color have been underrepresented in the obituary section. 

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Podcast production by Cameron Drews.

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