Best Life Best Death
Episodes
#36 Dr. Sara Zeff Geber - Essential Retirement Planning for Solo Agers - and Anyone!
11 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Geber's book, Essential Retirement Planning for Solo Agers: A Retirement and Aging Roadmap for Single and Childless Adults lays out 6 essential el...
#36 Rachel Brougham - Widowland: I'm Fine, Except I'm Not Fine
04 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“I’m fine. That’s what grievers often say when people ask how they are doing. Except they’re not fine.” When Rachel Brougham was a young wif...
#35 Shannon Lee Dawdy - American Afterlives - What Are Our Ceremonies, Practices and Beliefs?
28 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Anthropologist Shannon Lee Dawdy set out to interview 100s of people in the U.S. over 5 years, in order to better understand American death practices....
#34 Emily Nelson - What Is Aquamation?
20 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing my exploration of body disposition options, on this podcast I talk with Emily Nelson of Be a Tree Cremation to get the details on "aquamati...
#33 Kate Hoepke - What Is the Village Movement California?
13 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What is the so-called “Village Movement," in California and nation-wide? A way for people to help people, intentionally create community, and keep e...
#32 Jackie Schuld - Grief Is a Mess
06 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Artist and art therapist Jackie Schuld and I discuss what prompted her to write “Grief is a Mess” and how creating these drawings and texts was he...
#31 Dr Chris Kerr - Part II - What Can We Learn from One of the First Hospices in the US?
30 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In Part II of this conversation with Dr Christopher Kerr, he and I get into some nitty-gritty about what it would take to have more of us choose hospi...
#30 Dr Chris Kerr - Part I - More Real than Real: Dreams, Visions and Healing Experiences at the End of Life
23 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Christopher Kerr – of Hospice & Palliative Care Buffalo – studies and works daily with people who are at the end of their lives. After rea...
# 29 Brie Smith - Human Composting?!
16 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Brie Smith - funeral director at Return Home - and I discuss Natural Organic Reduction aka “Terramation.” Get a look behind the sensational headli...
#28 Barbara Karnes - Part II - Sticky Questions for a Hospice Pioneer
10 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In Part II of our conversation, Barbara Karnes, RN and I move into talking about some harder questions that come up in the end-of-life arena, includin...
#27 Barbara Karnes - Part I - Knowledge about Death Reduces Fear
02 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Barbara Karnes, RN – hospice pioneer in the US and end-of-life educator extraordinaire – joins me to discuss her background, share her experience,...
#26 Preston Zeller - 365 Paintings, a Documentary Film, and a Brother's Grief
24 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After the sudden death of his brother, Preston Zeller decided to dive into his grief and his creativity by painting every day for a year. He made a go...
#25 Maria Fraietta - Next of Kin Box: Organizing for Your Next of Kin
16 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Join me and Maria Fraietta to hear more about how the Nokbox - or Next of Kin box - could save you a lot of time and effort. These 14 folders and corr...
#24 Jamie Sarche - Why Plan a Funeral in Advance?
10 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jamie Sarche, Director of Pre-Planning at Feldman Mortuary, a family-owned funeral business in Denver, CO discusses the advantages of planning a funer...
#23 Emily Miller - A Natural Burial Preserve in Colorado
03 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Learn about green burial and how licensed funeral director Emily Miller has turned 80 acres of high, pristine prairie lands into a fully natural buria...
#22 cianna stewart - How to Make Your Death Kinder to Those You Love
26 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
cianna stewart is the creator of the Dying Kindness podcast, "a podcast for people who are going to die someday." Her wry sense of humor and practical...
#21 Gene Zimmerman - How Poetry Became Healing Work
20 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As his wife slowly succumbed to a drawn-out illness, businessman, spouse and father Gene Zimmerman found himself writing poetry as a way to make sense...
#20 Diane Hullet - Swedish Death Cleaning
13 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Clutter! Help! What is so-called "Swedish Death Cleaning” and how can these principles help us take charge of the clutter in our homes? Join me for ...
#19 Johanna Lunn - We Begin at the End
04 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Johanna J Lunn When You Die, director/producer, and I discuss the film "In the Realm of Death and Dreaming" + her next three documentary films about t...
#18 Gary Roe - Grief: It's Everywhere
30 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Author, speaker and grief specialist Gary Roe and I discuss the topic “Grief: It's Everywhere!" From humanity living with the COVID pandemic to pers...
#17 Lori LoCicero - What Is the Game "The Death Deck"?
23 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Co-creator of The Death Deck, Lori LoCicerco describes how she and Lisa Pahl decided to bring conversations about death to the fore by making a game t...
#16 David Wilcox - Songs that Can Start Conversations
15 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
David Wilcox and I talk about "cardio spelunking" and how creating songs is way to move emotions. Includes an unrecorded song about his father's death...
#15 Thatcher Wine - Reclaiming Our Attention Through Monotasking
07 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Monotasking expert and founder of Juniper Books, Thatcher Wine and I discuss the concepts in his book "The Twelve Monotasks: Do One Thing at a Time to...
#14 Hospice Nurse Julie - What Makes a Peaceful Death?
01 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Hospice nurse and growing public figure (450K TikTok followers, 30K+ on Instagram) Julie McFadden and I discuss the topic, “What Makes a Peaceful De...
#13 Ann Whitehill - One Story of Ancestry.com
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What are some of the ways that we can capture family history and stories? Ann Whitehill and I discuss her experience using ancestry.com, and talk abou...
#12 Jennifer Caroll - What Does It Mean to Write Your Own Story?
18 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jennifer Caroll - author, journalist, biographer, and artist - chats with me about tributes, memoirs and even obituaries. How do people get started? W...
#11 David Wilcox - You Will Always Have What You Gave to Love
11 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Singer songwriter David Wilcox joins me with two unique songs and some ruminations on gratitude, death and love.
#10 Johanna Lunn - The When You Die Project and How a Movie Became a Much Bigger Project!
09 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Johanna Lunn - director, producer, exquisite human! - talks about the When You Die Project and how the documentary film "In the Realm of Death and Dre...
#9 Minoti Rajput - How Can Parents of Special Needs Children Plan for Long Term Care?
04 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Minoti Rajput - wealth advisor, author, & financial advocate for women of all ages and means - discusses how parents of special needs children can...
#8 Lynn Golden - At Death's Door: A Doula Discusses Bedside Vigils
27 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Guest Lynn Golden, an end-of-life doula and educator, discusses hospice and doula support at the end of life. Through powerful stories, she shares the...
#7 Diane Hullet - What is Seagull Syndrome & What are Kvetching Circles?
22 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Family communication in crisis can resemble an aviary, with squawking visitors and pecking orders. Learn about seagull syndrome and the ring theory of...
#6 Diane Hullet asks "Who is Barbara Karnes?" - Learn about This Prolific Author and End-of-Life Educator
14 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Barbara Karnes, hospice pioneer and author of "Gone from My Sight," inspires me to explore palliative care, hospice and end-of-life doulas. And thanks...
#5 Zak Foster - Talking to Fabric - a Conversation with a Quilter and Creative Community Builder
06 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Zak Foster - visual artist, teacher, and creative community builder - shares his thoughts on memorial, burial and funeral quilts + sewing as a metapho...
#4 Diane Hullet talks about Atul Gawande and "Being Mortal" - If Only Conversations Could be FDA Approved, They Would Be!
15 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
I read an excerpt from Being Mortal, in which a town improves the lives and deaths of residents by having conversations. Author Atul Gawande says, if ...
#3 Diane Hullet asks "Why think about this stuff?" - and references "The Art of Dying Well" by Katy Butler
08 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Katy's Butler's book "The Art of Dying Well" offers one sentence that may answer the question: Why think about all this aging and mortality stuff?
#2 Adam Kimberly - Amazing Grace: a Hospice Story
01 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
My friend Adam Kimberly shares his powerful experience around his father's death - what it means to say everything you need to say, and how chance enc...
#1 Intro to Best Life Best Death
15 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Best Life Best Death's new podcast!