About Dead Man Talking

It started almost 35 years ago at a small college in northern Wisconsin. These five guys met, built a friendship through life, ministry, marriage, failure, and loss—and somehow never let go of each other. They didn’t just share good times. They walked through funerals, broken relationships, unanswered questions, and the slow grind of real life. Over time, that kind of shared experience forged something rare: a friendship deep enough to handle the hard times.

Then everything changed. Bob was diagnosed with stage four cancer.

Bob invited his friends into it, but then said he wanted to take it further. Instead of withdrawing, he invited his closest friends into the process—unfiltered, unscripted, and in real time. The goal wasn’t to explain suffering or tie it up neatly. It was to face it honestly, together, and to ask the deeper questions most people avoid:

This podcast exists at the intersection of those questions. Each episode is a raw conversation about suffering, friendship, faith, grief, and the tension between them. There are no polished answers. No clichés. Just real people trying to hold onto what’s true while everything else feels uncertain.

It’s about learning how to suffer honestly, love deeply, and hold onto hope—even when it costs something. And maybe, in the process, helping others do the same. So, join in and meet Bob Roberts, Josh Darnell, Jason Janz, Ellis Murphree, and Will Galkin as they talk about life and death.