Death in the Afternoon

The author of history's most influential piece of animal mourning literature had been lost...until now. Learn the incredible true story behind The Rainbow Bridge. Episode Guest Paul Koudounaris is a founding member of The Order of the Good Death. He has a PhD in Art History and has written three books about the use of skeletal remains in sacred spaces, Empire of Death, Heavenly Bo

A court case in California could force death doulas to become licensed funeral directors. We talk to the doula and the lawyer taking on California's Funeral and Cemetery Bureau. Episode Guests Akhila Murphy is one of the original co-founders of Full Circle of Living and Dying, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit located in Grass Valley, CA. She is a trained End-of-Life Doula and After-Death car

Go behind the scenes with Cat Warren, who works with cadaver dogs to find the missing dead and locate Black and Indigenous burial grounds. Episode Guest Cat Warren is the author of the NYT bestseller What the Dog Knows, which explores how scent-detection dogs help find the missing and dead, sometimes even those missing for hundreds of years. She currently researches how best to

From viral trends to new options for your future corpse, Caitlin and Sarah review the best and worst of the past year in death, revealing how the death positive movement is making an impact on the way we do death. Episode Resources To access The Year in Death Project, sign up to become an Order member, or make a donation of $50 or more to our nonprofit! Episode Credits: Hoste

In a space of loss that is already difficult to exist in, we need to do more to understand how our language surrounding green burial can better acknowledge difficult histories and experiences. Episode Resources This episode is an audio version of the article “Whose Green Burial Is It Anyway?” by Corinne Elicona. Green Burial 101 Locate a Green Burial Ground So, You Want t

Mortuary schools began as embalming schools, sponsored by embalming chemical companies. Today, mortuary schools are designed to be more holistic, covering everything a new mortician may face in the industry. But what groups are being left out of this education? The last decade has brought hard discussions around serious gaps in what is taught to students and if they're ready for th

No matter how long you’ve been working with dead bodies, nothing can prepare you for working on someone you knew and loved. Episode Resources This episode is an audio version of the article “Washing Kathryn, Touching Death” by Nora Menkin for The Order of the Good Death. Helping to care for someone’s body in death can be a profound experience. Visit The Order website t

Where would you even start in opening your own green burial ground? After all, every cemetery is a unique snowflake, with its own confusing blend of regulations. We speak with one expert who will cut through the confusion, and one practitioner who made it all happen. Episode Guests Tanya Marsh, a professor at Wake Forest University School of Law focusing on laws regarding the st

Hot Take: We’re all afraid of death – whether it’s the actual state of being dead one day, the pain of dying, or how your remains will be treated. Death Positive or not, that anxiety is something that bonds us all – and while it’s scary, it’s important to know you’re not alone. Episode Resources This episode is an audio version of the article “Life, Death, and th

Episode Description Our future corpses have more options than ever, with eco-friendly processes like aquamation and composting being legalized across the U.S. and Canada. Find out the nitty-gritty truths on what goes into making these death alternatives a reality where you live. Host, Caitlin Doughty talks to Recompose founder, Katrina Spade who has been the driving force behind l