How Victorian Capitalism Ruined Funerals with Nash Flynn (& the Death and Friends Cocktail)

We’re joined by comedian and historian Nash Flynn, who had us laughing hysterically throughout this dark story about funeral rituals.  She tells us how Victorian capitalism ruined funerals by magnifying social inequality even after death. We discuss poorhouses and the poor laws of 17th Century London before examining death rituals from the Victorian era in England and America.


Nash Flynn is one of the two hosts of the Death and Friends podcast – a comedy show that deals with death and its relation to history, culture, and art. She also cohosts a new podcast called Tomorrow, Today with Andy of the Poor Proles Almanac. They interview researchers and academics about the shape of the future. In addition to these two podcasts, Nash runs several comedy shows, including KO and Cabin Fever. The latter is a nonprofit which raises money for Black Lives Matter. Nash obtained her masters in history after studying death-way trends through gravestone iconography and changes in burial rituals. 

Follow @itsnashflynn on Twitter & Instagram, listen, rate, and subscribe to her podcasts on Apple, Spotify, etc., and support her through Patreon or Venmo (@itsnashflynn)!

Death & Friends Punch

Serves twenty friends, or ten Marxists . Solo recipe below!

Prepare an oleo-saccharum (shrub) . Peel 12 lemons with a sharp vegetable peeler, trying to get as little of the white pith as possible. Muddle with 350 ml light raw sugar and left sit for an hour.  Muddle once more . Add 575 ml lemon juice & stir to dissolve sugar. Strain into an empty 750ml bottle. Add water to fill any remaining space, seal and refrigerate. 

To serve, fill a large Punch bowl with crushed or finely cracked ice, pour in the bottled shrub and add one 750ml bottle each of Averna Amaro, VSOP Cognac, and Jamaican rum. Add 60ml of fine quality Absinthe like Vieux Pontarlier and then top off with three bottles of chilled brut Champagne. Stir, garnish, & e