Life is for the Living
Everyone has a story to tell, and in this podcast I sit down with a group of guests to learn about their childhoods, their marriages and children, the highs and low of their lives, and the stories that left them laughing or crying. And in so doing, show us a little bit of what it means to be human.Each season centers on a group of guests tied together with a common thread.
Season 1 focuses on 5 Quakers or ex-Quakers from the Las Cruces Friends Meeting, and I also ask them why they became Quakers, and if they left Quakerism, why.
In Season 2 I interview immigrants from around the world who all came to the New World to find a better life. I ask why they left, what immigration and integration was like for them, and what it means to be an immigrant.
Episodes
60 episodes
Epitaph 12 - Season 4 Recap
Marco and I wrap up the season, tell stories about people we have lost, and share some news about the podcast.
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Season 4
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22:20
4.12 - Moments of Grief and Love
In the very last episode of the season, and just in time for Christmas, our guests tell us stories of grief: the deaths that hit them the hardest, how they remember their dead, and what a good death looks like.
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Season 4
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Episode 12
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24:47
Epitaph 11 - The Terminal Diagnosis of Being Alive
Marco and I talk about death and dying. Again. :D
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Season 11
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22:55
4.11 - Let's Talk About Death, Baby!
I ask our guests the big questions: Are you afraid of dying, what would be a good death, and what do you think happens after death.
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Season 4
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Episode 11
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16:41
Epitaph 10 - We Have Hot Feelings... About Death!
Marco and I dive into what we have learned about the death care system, and what we would want to change about it.
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Season 4
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26:34
4.10 - Things To Change
Although our guests have different perspectives on the way death is talked about and regulated, one thing they all agree on is that it things aren't great they way they are. In this episode, we talk about what needs to change to make people's l...
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Season 4
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Episode 10
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12:48
Epitaph 9 - Race, Cemeteries and Epitaphs, Oh My!
In this episode, we chat about our biggest take-aways from our interview with Dr. Jennifer Blanks, what we look for in our favorite cemeteries and what we want written on our epitaphs.
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Season 4
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23:11
4.9 - Race, Cemeteries and Death
In this episode, we talk to Dr. Jennifer Blanks, also known on Instagram as The Cemetery Sista, about her work locating and documenting African American cemeteries in Texas and Lou...
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Season 4
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Episode 9
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22:31
Epitaph 8 - Thanks for The Memories
Producer Marco and I discuss funerals we have attended, how we memorialize our dead, and what we want for our own funerals.
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Season 4
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Episode 16
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19:34
4.8 - Rituals
In this episode, Rebecca Lynn-Scott, death positive activist and practicing Hellenic pagan, talks with me about ritual and it's place in our processing of death. Rebecca suggests rituals that non-believers can use, describes her perfect burial ...
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Season 4
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Episode 15
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26:26
Epitaph 7 - Smoking or Non-Smoking
When you die, what do you want to happen to you body? Producer Marco and I rank body disposition methods and how we want our bodies disposed of, give helpful tips on how to to get the cheapest funeral, and dive into the ins and outs of coffin m...
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Season 4
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Episode 14
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33:22
4.7 - Talking Bodies
Hold on to your hats for this episode, because it is a great one. Guest and co-owner of the Natural Funeral Seth Viddal walks us through all the different types of body disposition methods, inclu...
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Season 4
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Episode 7
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30:35
Epitaph 6 - The Signs of Death
In this epitaph, Producer Marco quizzes me on the signs of active dying (which I totally cheat on, don't tell him) and we talk about the deaths we have seen, and what how we envision our death beds.
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Season 4
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Episode 8
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18:43
4.6 - Active Dying
What does dying look like? In this episode, with the help of Death Doula Kathy and Hospice Volunteer Brooks we talk about what to expect when someone is close to death.Reference:
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Season 4
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Episode 7
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20:33
Epitaph 5 - Rebecca's New Normal
Flipping the script, Producer Marco interviews me about my experience with my mom's dementia. I talk about having to face a complete uncertainty of how it will all pan out, coming to peace with my mom's eventual death, and how my dad is coping ...
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Season 4
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24:23
4.5 - The New Normal
In this episode, I talk with Mara and with Kathy about the experience in between getting a terminal diagnosis and the actual death. This is a time that can be fraught with a lot of unknowns, and will force you to face the fact that you have ver...
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Season 4
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Episode 7
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25:49
Epitaph 4 - Would You Help Someone Die?
Producer Marco and I dive into Medical Aid in Dying, and whether or not we would want it for ourselves, and if we could assist a loved one who wanted to die. This episode does contain conversations about suicide.
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Season 4
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Episode 6
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20:02
4.4 - Decisions
Once you get a terminal diagnosis (and being alive is a terminal diagnosis), not only will you be struggling to adapt to your new reality, you also need to make series of really tough decisions, sometimes with very limited information. Do you t...
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Season 4
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Episode 6
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24:15
Epitaph 3 - The Bad News We Fear
In this week's epitaph producer Marco and I get into what diagnosis we fear the most, how we would want to handle it, and how we probably would handle it. Watch the video on Y...
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Season 4
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Episode 5
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14:29
4.3 - The Bad News
What do you do when you get the worst news of your life? How do you cope? Who do you tell? And how do you move forward? In this episode, guest Mara walks us through the journey to her husband's Pat diagnosis of ALS and the months after the diag...
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Season 4
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Episode 4
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16:53
Epitaph 2 - The Inquisition
In this epitaph, I grill producer Marco about why and how he became more comfortable with talking about death, and what was stopping him about having the conversations beforehand.
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Season 4
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Episode 4
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13:12
4.2 - Why Talk About Death?
In this episode, our guests talk about why it is important to talk about death (hint: everyone is going to die), why we tend to avoid it, and how to start the conversation. We also have a Youtube channel where we upload all the podc...
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Season 4
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Episode 3
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17:16
Epitaph 1 - The Beginning of The End
We are trying something new this season: mini episodes where producer Marco and I talking about the episode and our reactions to it. In this Epitaph, we talk about why we chose death as our topic and what we are looking forward to.
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11:51
4.1 Death Is For The Dying - Introductions
In this season of Life is for the Living, we are talking death! In this intro episode we learn about about our guests this season--a death doula, a funeral director, a hospice volunteer and more--all to learn what to expect from the end of life...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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13:03
