Death in the Afternoon

Welcome to your mortality, humans! Death in the Afternoon dispels myths about death and dead bodies, dives into history and dark tales you've never heard before, and features conversations with people working to change the future of death care, Hosted by Caitlin Doughty, Louise Hung, and Sarah Chavez.

INTERVIEW: Uncovering Pet Death's Greatest Mystery 04/14/2023

INTERVIEW: Uncovering Pet Death's Greatest Mystery 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 Bodies, and Memento Mori. When he’s not hunting skeletons he moonlights as a cat historian, and his book co-authored by his tabby cat , was a 2020 Barnes and Noble Book of the Year. Episode Resources Episode Credits Hosted by Caitlin Doughty Guest Paul Koudounaris Produced by the Order of the Good Death, Sarah Chavez Edited by Alex de Freitas Music by Kissed Her Little Sister Podcast artwork by Jessica Peng () Is supported by listeners like you! Support the Order by becoming a (https://www.orderofthegooddeath.com/donate?) /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/26524509

INTERVIEW: The Doulas Taking on California's Cemetery and Funeral Bureau 03/10/2023

INTERVIEW: The Doulas Taking on California's Cemetery and Funeral Bureau 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 care educator. Currently she serves on the board of directors for Full Circle of Living and Dying as Founding Director and Co-Chair President. Ben Field is an attorney at the Institute for Justice, a national nonprofit public interest law firm that fights to secure the constitutional rights of all Americans against abuses of government power. A major part of Ben’s practice is protecting the First Amendment rights of people to speak freely in their occupations and without fear of government retaliation. He is counsel to the plaintiffs in Full Circle of Living and Dying v. Sanchez, a landmark case challenging the California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau’s restrictions on the rights of end-of-life doulas to provide advice and guidance to families about end-of-life care. Episode Resources Episode Credits Hosted by Caitlin Doughty Guests Akhila Murphy and Ben Field Produced by the Order of the Good Death, Sarah Chavez and Lauren Ronaghan Edited by Alex de Freitas Music by Kissed Her Little Sister Podcast artwork by Jessica Peng () Is supported by listeners like you! Support the Order by becoming a (https://www.orderofthegooddeath.com/donate?) /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/26182770

INTERVIEW: Cadaver Dog in the Cemetery 02/24/2023

INTERVIEW: Cadaver Dog in the Cemetery 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 use human remains detection dogs in archaeology and to help locate African-American burial grounds. Episode Resources Cat Warren’s by Cat Warren to access Cat’s 2022 event with us! Episode Credits Hosted by Caitlin Doughty Guest Cat Warren Produced by the Order of the Good Death, Sarah Chavez and Lauren Ronaghan Edited by Alex de Freitas Music by Kissed Her Little Sister Podcast artwork by Jessica Peng () Is supported by listeners like you! Support the Order by becoming a (https://www.orderofthegooddeath.com/donate?) /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/26026161

Legalization, TikTok, and Angry Elephants: An Immersive Year in Death 02/07/2023

Legalization, TikTok, and Angry Elephants: An Immersive Year in Death 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, , or make a of $50 or more to our nonprofit! Episode Credits: Hosted by Caitlin Doughty Co-Host Sarah Chavez Produced by the Order of the Good Death, Sarah Chavez and Lauren Ronaghan Edited by Alex de Freitas Music by Kissed Her Little Sister Podcast artwork by Jessica Peng () Is supported by listeners like you! Support the Order by becoming a (https://www.orderofthegooddeath.com/donate?) /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/25850184

CLASSIC ARTICLE: Whose Green Burial Is It Anyway? 01/27/2023

CLASSIC ARTICLE: Whose Green Burial Is It Anyway? 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 “” by Corinne Elicona. Episode Credits: Written by Corinne Elicona @CorinneElicona Narrated by Sarah Chavez Produced by the Order of the Good Death, Sarah Chavez and Lauren Ronaghan Edited by Alex de Freitas Music by Kissed Her Little Sister Podcast artwork by Jessica Peng () Is supported by listeners like you! Support the Order by becoming a (https://www.orderofthegooddeath.com/donate?) /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/25742376

INTERVIEW: How We're Failing New Morticians 01/20/2023

INTERVIEW: How We're Failing New Morticians 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 the reality of working in the death industry. In this episode Caitlin talks with two funeral directors, Joél Maldonado and Ezra Salter to discuss race and gender in funeral education and practice. Episode Guests Joél Maldonado is a funeral director, sacred end-of-life and grief care professional, and educator. Learn more on her website, . Ezra Salter (they/them) is a Louisiana licensed funeral director and embalmer, a board member of , a New Orleans based deathcare non-profit, and co-creator of the . Episode Resources Sandi Baker article mentioned in the episode, to Remove Racist and Discriminatory Language From Mortuary College Dress Codes and Handbooks Order of the Good Death, Working in Death: Audio excerpt from Ask a Mortician webseries, : Black Hair and Skin Care for Non-Ethnic Funeral Professionals Episode Credits: Hosted by Caitlin Doughty Produced by the Order of the Good Death, Sarah Chavez and Lauren Ronaghan Edited by Alex de Freitas Music by Kissed Her Little Sister Podcast artwork by Jessica Peng /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/25660029

CLASSIC ARTICLE: Washing Kathryn, Touching Death 12/27/2022

CLASSIC ARTICLE: Washing Kathryn, Touching Death 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 “” 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 to learn more about your rights and options. Have questions about becoming a mortician, or wondering if a career in death is right for you? Explore the answers in resources. Funerals and the role of funeral directors is changing. Hear from five different directors about their work and how they envision the future of death care in our article . Episode Credits: Written by Nora Menkin Narrated by Caitlin Doughty Produced by the Order of the Good Death, Sarah Chavez and Lauren Ronaghan Edited by Alex de Freitas Music by Kissed Her Little Sister Podcast artwork by Jessica Peng () Is supported by listeners like you! Support the Order by becoming a (https://www.orderofthegooddeath.com/donate?) /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/25433355

INTERVIEW: Opening a New Green Burial Cemetery 12/16/2022

INTERVIEW: Opening a New Green Burial Cemetery 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 status, treatment and disposition of human remains. Sarah Wambold is a writer and funeral director in Austin, TX. Episode Resources () () () Episode Credits: Hosted by Caitlin Doughty Produced by the Order of the Good Death, Sarah Chavez and Lauren Ronaghan Edited by Alex de Freitas Music by Kissed Her Little Sister Podcast artwork by Jessica Peng () is supported by listeners like you! Support the Order by becoming a (https://www.orderofthegooddeath.com/donate?) /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/25344453

CLASSIC ARTICLE: Does Death Positive Mean Death Fearless? 11/22/2022

CLASSIC ARTICLE: Does Death Positive Mean Death Fearless? 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 “” by Louise Hung for The Order of the Good Death. () (https://www.orderofthegooddeath.com/history-of-death-positive-movement/) () Episode Credits: Narrator and writer Louise Hung Produced by the Order of the Good Death, Sarah Chavez and Lauren Ronaghan Edited by Alex de Freitas Music by Kissed Her Little Sister Podcast artwork by Jessica Peng () is made possible by listeners like you! Support the Order by becoming a (https://www.orderofthegooddeath.com/donate?) /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/25092771

INTERVIEW: How Human Composting Becomes Law 11/11/2022

INTERVIEW: How Human Composting Becomes Law 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 founder, Katrina Spade who has been the driving force behind legalization efforts, and Order of the Good Death Executive Director, Sarah Chavez. Episode Resources Stay up to date with efforts to legalize composting in your state By signing up for the . (https://recompose.life/who-we-are/#public-policy) Learn more about the composting in the Order’s guide. Episode Credits: Hosted by Caitlin Doughty Produced by the Order of the Good Death: Sarah Chavez and Lauren Ronaghan Edited by Alex de Freitas Music by Kissed Her Little Sister Podcast artwork by Jessica Peng () Is supported by listeners like you. Support the Order by becoming a (https://www.orderofthegooddeath.com/donate?) /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/24974181

Season 3 Trailer 11/07/2022

Season 3 Trailer Welcome back for Season 3 of the Death in the Afternoon, a podcast from the Order of the Good Death! /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/24911124

Popcorn & Postmortem Predation 09/05/2019

Popcorn & Postmortem Predation In this audio preview of her new book Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?, Caitlin is sharing whether swallowing popcorn before you die will indeed make your cremation epic (spoiler: no) and whether your sweet cat or dog will indeed eat your eyeballs (spoiler: yes). The book will be out in print and audiobook on September 10th in the US, September 19th in the UK. Thanks deathlings! www.caitlindoughty.com /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/11108807

Is That a Corpse in my Culture? 06/14/2019

Is That a Corpse in my Culture? Today we're talking corpses as entertainment. Not the idea of a corpse (sorry, horror fans) but real live – or should we say real dead– bodies. From 18th century Rome, to 19th century Paris, to 20th century Hollywood, when can corpses be important educational tools, and when are they only tasteless shock value? Who gets to decide? Enjoy, and thank you for your support of season two of DITA. /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/10143165

What's In Your Head, Zombie? 05/23/2019

What's In Your Head, Zombie? Before zombies became the brain-eating pop culture phenomenon of the Walking (or Living) Dead, they represented something more complicated. From the procession of the Chinese dead, to hungry ghosts, to the enslaved people of Haiti, zombies say a great deal about a the country or culture where they appear. Perhaps our modern obsession with zombie films and video games also says a great deal about us? Louise and Sarah explain. /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/9888248

Get Your Sh*t Together! 05/09/2019

Get Your Sh*t Together! Wills, advanced directives, emergency savings accounts– what's not to love? Ok, we get it, facing your mortality through piles of bureaucracy is about the least inspiring task on your to-do list. But paradoxically, these are the exact tasks that once you tackle them head on, put you on a one way train to chill town. In today's episode, Caitlin, with help from her friend Chanel Reynolds, takes us on a journey to clean up her own end of life messes. /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/9707624

Maggots Holding High Carnival 04/25/2019

Maggots Holding High Carnival The American Civil War left roughly 700,000 men dead and an entire nation devastated. With millions of pounds of rotting human flesh on the battlefields, burying the dead was a daunting, sometimes insurmountable task for the survivors. Bad when it was burying your fallen brethren, worse when it was burying the bodies of your enemy, unimaginable when it was burying the men who fought to keep you enslaved. /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/9520970

Dude, Where's My Monument? 04/12/2019

Dude, Where's My Monument? We know who gets fancy monuments: politicians, military heroes, and so many men on horses. In cemeteries the playing field may be leveling, with faces and names showing up that have never been represented in public sculpture before. But in other areas, monuments are business as usual, the dead forgotten, the Lizard People left unhonored. (That's right... the Lizard People.) /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/9364037

The Least Worst Death 03/27/2019

The Least Worst Death Two Manhattan tragedies, two miles and ninety years apart, that changed government policy forever. But the victims couldn't afford to step back and take this long historical view. They were caught in a horrific struggle between two paths, both leading to unimaginable death. /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/9155783

Fantastic Funerary Failures 03/14/2019

Fantastic Funerary Failures Cremation and burial are all well and good, but why aren't our dead bodies electroplated or cemented? In our first episode of Death in the Afternoon– Season Two, we're talking about the ridiculous funerary innovations that succeeded (see: the death-defying green parks of Hollywood) and the ridiculous funerary innovations that... didn't (see: coffin torpedoes.) Welcome back, deathlings. /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/8984687

The Haunting of Hill House- Mortuary Madness! 12/19/2018

The Haunting of Hill House- Mortuary Madness! You asked for it, deathlings. A bonus episode on the mortuary and embalming scenes in Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House. Are they accurate? A hot mess? Is my job really filled with ghosts? All that and more in today's mini-episode with Caitlin. /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/7969802

Ring RIng, Corpse Phone 12/05/2018

Ring RIng, Corpse Phone Ring ring. Hello? Who’s there? IT’S YOUR MORTALITY CALLING. /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/7805480

Or Maybe It's a Ghost? 11/28/2018

Or Maybe It's a Ghost? A wisp of white. A voice in the dark. A lamp mysteriously turns on by itself. Few things capture our imagination like a good ghost story. But is there more to a spooky tale than thrills and chills? Perhaps we are less afraid of WHAT or WHO haunts us, than we are of what we’ve done to deserve that haunting. Join us for a very SPIRITED Death in the Afternoon. /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/7684007

Embalmed Alive 11/21/2018

Embalmed Alive /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/7611257

It's OK to Not Decay 11/14/2018

It's OK to Not Decay Ah, to die, to decompose, to become one with the earth. Most of us accept this as our fate. But what happens when that whole “decomposition thing” doesn’t go as planned? This week we discuss incorrupt corpses that inspire devotion, grant miracles, and just might help you to become a karate champion. /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/7525253

Don't Drink the KoolAid! 11/07/2018

Don't Drink the KoolAid! Being in a cult... doesn’t always end well. This week, we confront the questions: Why not drink the Kool-Aid? How many puppies does it take to resurrect a teen queen? And, what shouldn’t you bring into a doomsday cave? (Spoiler: corpses) /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/7464404

Is That a Foot? 10/31/2018

Is That a Foot? Generally speaking, we like our limbs in context. “The foot bone’s connected to the ankle bone, the ankle bone’s connected to the leg bone.” But what about when we encounter limbs that aren’t connected to anybody? Just out there, free and unattached? This week we talk about rogue and extra limbs that have been found by the sea, in the smoker, and in the grave as we answer the question: is that a…foot? /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/7340465

Crematory Whoopsies 10/24/2018

Crematory Whoopsies Mistakes happen. Cremations happen. But few things capture our morbid imagination like cremation mistakes happening. Whether it’s the horror of cremating your coworker, a misplaced corpse on the way to America’s first modern cremation, or plumes of “human remains particulate” interrupting your Best Buy shopping experience, nothing fans the flames of our phobias like a cremation blunder. This week we talk about things that can go right, wrong, and sideways when you’re in the business of cremating c /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/7215605

My Roommate, a Corpse 10/15/2018

My Roommate, a Corpse In our first episode, we take you on a magical (ok, not always so magical) journey of living with the dead. From an adorable 91 year old lady with a dark secret, to a rhinestone studded cult with resurrection ambitions, to a Japanese mummy collecting government assistance. Buckle up, and welcome to Death in the Afternoon! /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/7132029

Trailer: Season One 10/02/2018

Trailer: Season One Welcome to your mortality, humans! It's a new podcast called Death in the Afternoon from the team that brings you Ask a Mortician. First episode is out on October 15th. /episode/index/show/deathintheafternoon/id/7119897

Death in the Afternoon

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