Learn how a former ICU nurse is transforming the end of life for the people she serves by creating a home for the dying, honoring grief with sacred tea ceremonies, and hosting Death Cafés. About the guest: My guest Christin Ament DNP is a hospice and palliative care provider with over 15 years at the… Continue reading Ep. 562 Reimagining What it Means to Die Well with Christin Ament
Learn from this memoir how a researcher maintained continuing bonds with her father after his death as part of her grieving process and managed to heal their relationship. About the guest: For this BONUS episode I’m talking with Corey McAuliffe, the author of 23 Dates with My Dead Dad, the reading selection for August 2026… Continue reading Ep. 561 BONUS Book Discussion: 23 Dates with My Dead Dad with Corey McAuliffe PhD
Learn about the benefits of natural burial for loved ones and for the environment and how to get more information to plan your own natural burial. About the guest: My guest Dr. Basil Eldadah is the founder and executive director of Reflection Park Natural Burial Ground in Silver Spring, Maryland. Basil’s professional training is in… Continue reading Ep. 560 Natural Burial as a Vehicle for Connection and Healing with Basil Eldadah MD
Learn about the grief experienced by homicide survivors and how some have found comfort through after-death communication with their loved ones. About the guest: My guest Dr. Jan Canty is a psychologist, author, former podcaster, and a homicide survivor. She has written three books related to homicide and grief including her latest book: Rekindled: Healing… Continue reading Ep. 559 Healing Grief After Homicide Through After-Death Communication with Jan Canty PhD
Learn about the need for more education around death, dying, and grief to help us create more compassionate communities that are better prepared for the end of life. About the guest: My return guest Suzanne O’Brien is the founder and CEO of Doulagivers Institute and a pioneer in the global Death Doula movement. She is… Continue reading Ep. 558 Filling the Gaps in End-of-Life Education, Support, and Community with Suzanne B. O’Brien RN
Learn about the impact of grief on the physical body and how the stress of grief and loss can lead to healing. About the guest: My special guest Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor is a professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, where she directs the Grief, Loss and Social Stress (GLASS) Lab, investigating the effects… Continue reading Ep. 557 The Grieving Body: Loss as a Healing Opportunity with Mary-Frances O’Connor PhD
Learn about mindfulness and compassion-based tools to nurture and empower caregivers as they serve the needs of others. About the guest: Roy Remer is the executive director of the Zen Caregiving Project in San Francisco and the lead creator of the Mindful Caregiving Education curriculum. He is an educator and end-of-life caregiver since 1997 and… Continue reading Ep. 556 Zen Caregiving: A Mindful Approach to Caring for Others with Roy Remer
Learn about the value of preserving photographic memories of funeral services for grief and bereavement. About my guest: Today’s guest is Nell Aburto, a portrait photographer based in Minneapolis MN who offers funeral and memorial photography, which is largely unheard of in this industry. She discusses why people might want to consider hiring a photographer… Continue reading Ep. 555 Funeral Photography as an Act of Service and Love with Nell Aburto
Learn how a near-death experience and after-death communication with her mother led to increased spiritual awareness and intuition for Purnima. About my guest: My guest Purnima Sinha has certificates in LifeStyle Medicine and Meditation & Psychotherapy for the Harvard School of Medicine. She taught meditation to patients for many years and has been researching consciousness… Continue reading Ep. 554 After-Death Communication and Developing Intuition with Purnima Sinha
Learn how the Compassionate Schools model can foster better support for children and young people experiencing grief, illness and loss.. About the guests: My guests Dr. Sally Paul and Bert Quintiens have developed a how-to guide for Compassionate Schools that we discuss in today’s conversation. Sally is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the… Continue reading Ep. 553 Compassionate Schools: Education on Illness, Dying, and Grief for Children with Dr. Sally Paul and Bert Quintiens
Learn how a childhood near-death experience sparked a lifelong search for spiritual meaning in life and death. About the guest: My guest Sally Dukes has been a small business owner, psychotherapist, editor, and middle school teacher and she is also the author of a newly published memoir titled drummer girl: A Story of Life After… Continue reading Ep. 552 Drummer Girl: How a Child’s Near-Death Experience Changed Her Life
Learn about a symposium on spiritual bypassing in situations of grief and bereavement and why it’s important to look at this. About the guest: My return guest this week is Dr. Terri Daniel who is an end-of-life educator, inter-spiritual hospice chaplain, and grief counselor. She is the founder of the Conference on Death, Grief and… Continue reading Ep. 551 Spiritual Bypassing and Complicated Grief with Dr. Terri Daniel
Learn how this doctor’s animated videos are helping to share information and create culture change around palliative care in medicine and in the public at large. About the Guest: My guest Dr. Jared Rubenstein is a pediatric palliative care doctor and medical educator. He uses metaphor, animation, and satire to help people get comfortable with… Continue reading Ep. 550 Changing the Culture Around Palliative Care with Jared Rubenstein MD
Learn about a compassionate, community-based approach to caring for someone at the end of life, including the use of medical assistance in dying. My special guest Anna Byrne is and end-of-life educator, speaker, and author who holds degrees in Gerontology, Psychology, Education, and Theology with a thesis on Medical Assistance in Dying. She is the… Continue reading Ep. 549 The “Dying Team”: Community-Supported Deathcare with Anna Byrne
Learn about facts and misconceptions around medical aid in dying and the ethical tensions that exist in medicine and society. My guest Professor Jeffrey Kahn is a bioethicist, researcher, author, and Director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. The institute’s award-winning podcast, playing god? explores ethics dilemmas that arise in medicine, science, law,… Continue reading Ep. 548 Choice at the End of Life: A Bioethics Conversation on MAID with Jeffrey Kahn PhD in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics
Learn how asking “What do you think happens when we die?” helped this podcast host deal with death anxiety. My guest Zach Ancell is the creator of When We Die Talks, a project around one question asked to anonymous callers: “What do you believe happens when we die?” He airs these fascinating conversations as a… Continue reading Ep. 547 When We Die Talks: Facing the Fear of Death with Zach Ancell
Learn about an end-of-life planner that helps people share joy and love as they prepare for their later days. My guest Sherry Richert Belul is the founder of Simply Celebrate and author of The Love List of a Lifetime. She helps people discover creative, heartfelt ways to celebrate life, deepen connection, and express love–while also… Continue reading Ep. 546 The Love List of a Lifetime: Uplifting End-of-Life Planning with Sherry Richert Belul
Learn about organ donation at the end of life and how to have conversations about it and other difficult topics. My guest Dr. Toby Campbell is a Professor of Medicine, Thoracic Oncologist, and Palliative Care Physician who is also a writer and podcaster. He is currently writing A Doctor’s Guide to Hard Conversations and created… Continue reading Ep. 545 Organ Donation and Extraordinary Conversations at the End of Life with Toby Campbell MD
Learn how to better serve the needs of the LGBTQ+ community in grief and at the end of life. My guest Jamie Thrower is a queer death doula, end-of-life educator and community grief tender serving the LGBTQ+ community in life and in death. She is the founder of Queer Grief Club and the co-creator of… Continue reading Ep. 544 The Queer Grief Club and Inclusive End-of-Life Care with Jamie Thrower
Learn how to experience and support a fantastic musical comedy about hospice care, grief, and finding meaning in life. My return guest Benjamin Kintisch is a trained chaplain, music teacher, and Cantor in the Jewish synagogue. He is the creator, lyricist and playwright of “Life Review: The Hospice Musical,” a musical comedy that focuses on… Continue reading Ep. 543 A Hospice Musical to Teach About Life’s Grief and Joy with Benjamin Kintisch
This Bonus post is a cross-over episode from the What Really Matters Podcast. In this episode I’m sharing research by Dr. Jonathan Haidt that demonstrates the ripple effects transmitted from each and every act of kindness. When other people see us being kind it changes them. And this moment in time–when people are feeling overwhelmed,… Continue reading Ep. 541 [BONUS] Kindness is Contagious and We Need it Now More Than Ever (from What Really Matters Podcast)
Learn about a software resource that helps people navigate estate planning and settlement and find greater peace at the end of life. My guest Dan Stickel is the Founder and CEO of EstateExec, a cloud-based software solution estate administration and settlement. If you’ve ever served as the executor for an estate you know how challenging… Continue reading Ep. 542 Estate Transition: An Important Part of End-of-Life Planning with Dan Stickel
Learn how to support a grieving person by choosing the best words to say that will actually make a difference. My guest Shelby Forsythia is a grief coach, author, podcast host, and the founder of Life After Loss Academy, an online course and community for grievers. She is the author of Your Grief Your Way,… Continue reading Ep. 540 Helpful Things to Say to Someone Grieving with Shelby Forsythia
Learn why “corpse pose” in yoga is a rehearsal for death and how yoga instructors are bringing Death Café into their studio. My guests Leslie Howard and Richard Rosen are both yoga instructors at Nest Yoga in Oakland CA and are co-authors of a new book titled Savasana: Between Breath and Death – a how-to… Continue reading Ep. 539 Yoga, Breath, and Death: Death Café at the Yoga Studio with Leslie Howard and Richard Rosen
Learn about the unusual work of a priest who experiences after-death communication with souls who have become “stuck” in their afterlife journey. My guest Father Nathan Castle is a Dominican priest known for his work in campus ministry and his unusual calling of helping souls who have died suddenly to find peace. He discusses his… Continue reading Ep. 538 Helping “Stuck Souls” Cross Over with Father Nathan Castle
