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Herman Melville – “Call me Ishmael,”
“It is better to fail in originality, than to succeed in imitation,”
“We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men”.
Moby Dick used to be required reading in school back in the day. Is it still? The Great White Whale that haunted Captain Ahab, becoming a tale of obsession for revenge on his leg. Of course Moby Dick has a much deeper context than I am paraphrasing, so go read it.
As you can surmise I am no Herman Melville, but I do get to have a conversation with his Great-great-great Grandson today. Meet Michael Osborne, a fellow podcaster and yep, the Gx3 grandson of Mr. Melville.
While at Podfest Expo 2026 I happened to mistake Micheal for someone I had met Friday night out at the cigar get-together. When I approached and mentioned the Friday night cigar club he replied, sorry, no I’m some other bald guy.
Yet somehow we started chatting about Podfest and podcasting. When I told him about Relatively Famous he shyly said he was related to Herman Melville, but due to the lineage he assumed I would not be interested. How could I not be interested? His great-great-great grandfather wrote Moby Dick and beside, Micheal hosts a podcast called Famous & Gravy that I find extremely interesting.
Michael lives in Austin, TX and is a semi-OG in the podcasting world. He’s been at it for a while and has had several successful podcasts. He still hosts a couple besides Famous & Gravy. Oh yeah, that’s gravy as in “They’re dead”.
Heck, I’m just going to give you the bio he provided…
Michael Osborne is the award-winning host of Famous & Gravy, and a veteran podcast producer and consultant based in Austin, Texas. He’s created three independent shows, all of which led to major media partnerships. He launched his first show, Generation Anthropocene, in 2011 during his PhD studies in earth science at Stanford University. The podcast later partnered with Smithsonian Magazine. After finishing his PhD, Michael developed Raw Data, in 2015, a narrative podcast that collaborated with PRX/PRI. In 2021, he launched Famous & Gravy, a dead celebrity biography podcast that partnered with Wondery in 2024. His work has earned multiple Webby and Signal Awards, including for Famous & Gravy, Black Women of Amherst College, and Stanford’s From Our Neurons to Yours. Michael has also delivered two TEDx talks. He operates 14th Street Studios where he manages production for multiple clients, and he also leads training and workshops. His clients include brands, universities, independent producers, and mission-driven organizations.
Bio aside, we have a fantastic conversation about LIFE and other subjects. So be sure to check out this episode with Michael Osborne, the great, great, great grandson of Herman Melville!
You can also find Michael and I having a lengthy conversation on an episode of Famous & Gravy after April 2026.
Generation Anthropocene
Raw Data
Famous & Gravy
#mobydick #hermanmelville #podfest #deadcelebrities #captianahab