End of Life University

Learn how a near-death experience and after-death communication with her mother led to increased spiritual awareness and intuition for Purnima. About my guest: My guest Purnima Sinha has certificates in LifeStyle Medicine and Meditation & Psychotherapy for the Harvard School of Medicine. She taught meditation to patients for many years and has been researching consciousness… Continue rea...

Learn how the Compassionate Schools model can foster better support for children and young people experiencing grief, illness and loss.. About the guests: My guests Dr. Sally Paul and Bert Quintiens have developed a how-to guide for Compassionate Schools that we discuss in today’s conversation. Sally is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the… Continue reading Ep. 553 Compassionate Sch...

Learn how a childhood near-death experience sparked a lifelong search for spiritual meaning in life and death. About the guest: My guest Sally Dukes has been a small business owner, psychotherapist, editor, and middle school teacher and she is also the author of a newly published memoir titled drummer girl: A Story of Life After… Continue reading Ep. 552 Drummer Girl: How a Child’s Nea...

Learn about a symposium on spiritual bypassing in situations of grief and bereavement and why it’s important to look at this. About the guest: My return guest this week is Dr. Terri Daniel who is an end-of-life educator, inter-spiritual hospice chaplain, and grief counselor. She is the founder of the Conference on Death, Grief and… Continue reading Ep. 551 Spiritual Bypassing and Compl...

Learn how this doctor’s animated videos are helping to share information and create culture change around palliative care in medicine and in the public at large. About the Guest: My guest Dr. Jared Rubenstein is a pediatric palliative care doctor and medical educator. He uses metaphor, animation, and satire to help people get comfortable with… Continue reading Ep. 550 Changing the Cult...

Learn about a compassionate, community-based approach to caring for someone at the end of life, including the use of medical assistance in dying. My special guest Anna Byrne is and end-of-life educator, speaker, and author who holds degrees in Gerontology, Psychology, Education, and Theology with a thesis on Medical Assistance in Dying. She is the… Continue reading Ep. 549 The “Dying T...

Learn about facts and misconceptions around medical aid in dying and the ethical tensions that exist in medicine and society. My guest Professor Jeffrey Kahn is a bioethicist, researcher, author, and Director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. The institute’s award-winning podcast, playing god? explores ethics dilemmas that arise in medicine, science, law,… Continue re...

Learn how asking “What do you think happens when we die?” helped this podcast host deal with death anxiety. My guest Zach Ancell is the creator of When We Die Talks, a project around one question asked to anonymous callers: “What do you believe happens when we die?” He airs these fascinating conversations as a… Continue reading Ep. 547 When We Die Talks: Facing the Fe...

Learn about an end-of-life planner that helps people share joy and love as they prepare for their later days. My guest Sherry Richert Belul is the founder of Simply Celebrate and author of The Love List of a Lifetime. She helps people discover creative, heartfelt ways to celebrate life, deepen connection, and express love–while also… Continue reading Ep. 546 The Love List of a Lifetime...

Learn about organ donation at the end of life and how to have conversations about it and other difficult topics. My guest Dr. Toby Campbell is a Professor of Medicine, Thoracic Oncologist, and Palliative Care Physician who is also a writer and podcaster. He is currently writing A Doctor’s Guide to Hard Conversations and created… Continue reading Ep. 545 Organ Donation and Extraordinary...

Learn how to better serve the needs of the LGBTQ+ community in grief and at the end of life. My guest Jamie Thrower is a queer death doula, end-of-life educator and community grief tender serving the LGBTQ+ community in life and in death. She is the founder of Queer Grief Club and the co-creator of… Continue reading Ep. 544 The Queer Grief Club and Inclusive End-of-Life Care with Jamie Throw...

Learn how to experience and support a fantastic musical comedy about hospice care, grief, and finding meaning in life. My return guest Benjamin Kintisch is a trained chaplain, music teacher, and Cantor in the Jewish synagogue. He is the creator, lyricist and playwright of “Life Review: The Hospice Musical,” a musical comedy that focuses on… Continue reading Ep. 543 A Hospice Musi...

This Bonus post is a cross-over episode from the What Really Matters Podcast. In this episode I’m sharing research by Dr. Jonathan Haidt that demonstrates the ripple effects transmitted from each and every act of kindness. When other people see us being kind it changes them. And this moment in time–when people are feeling overwhelmed,… Continue reading Ep. 541 [BONUS] Kindness is...

Learn about a software resource that helps people navigate estate planning and settlement and find greater peace at the end of life. My guest Dan Stickel is the Founder and CEO of EstateExec, a cloud-based software solution estate administration and settlement. If you’ve ever served as the executor for an estate you know how challenging… Continue reading Ep. 542 Estate Transition: An I...

Learn how to support a grieving person by choosing the best words to say that will actually make a difference. My guest Shelby Forsythia is a grief coach, author, podcast host, and the founder of Life After Loss Academy, an online course and community for grievers. She is the author of Your Grief Your Way,… Continue reading Ep. 540 Helpful Things to Say to Someone Grieving with Shelby Forsyt...

Learn why “corpse pose” in yoga is a rehearsal for death and how yoga instructors are bringing Death Café into their studio. My guests Leslie Howard and Richard Rosen are both yoga instructors at Nest Yoga in Oakland CA and are co-authors of a new book titled Savasana: Between Breath and Death – a how-to… Continue reading Ep. 539 Yoga, Breath, and Death: Death Café at the Y...

Learn about the unusual work of a priest who experiences after-death communication with souls who have become “stuck” in their afterlife journey. My guest Father Nathan Castle is a Dominican priest known for his work in campus ministry and his unusual calling of helping souls who have died suddenly to find peace. He discusses his… Continue reading Ep. 538 Helping “Stuck Sou...

Learn about grief support for widows who are also raising children as they navigate loss and bereavement. My guest Krista St-Germain is a life coach, post-traumatic growth and grief expert, widowed mom, and host of The Widowed Mom Podcast. She coaches and teaches other widows to love life again and shares with us in this… Continue reading Ep. 537 Grief and the Widowed Mom with Krista St-Germ...

Learn about a powerful memoir from the life of a death doula who was inspired by his grandmother to sit with the dying. My guest Darnell Lamont Walker is a death doula, Emmy-nominated children’s television writer, producer and explorer. He creates spaces worldwide for healing through storytelling, end-of-life care, and workshops on grief, resilience, unlocking… Continue reading Ep. 536...

Learn about a helpful online platform for end-of-life planning and the benefits of using technology for this work. My guest Paul Fried is an entrepreneur who recognized a need to reshape how we think about end-of-life planning. He founded a digital-first platform that focuses on compassionate funeral planning, digital legacy preservation, and emotional wellness titled… Continue reading Ep. 5...

Learn about the beautiful contribution of Dr. Megory Anderson to the field of sacred death and dying and how her legacy lives on 7 years after her death. My guest Jeremy Damec is a NEDA-certified death doula and a grief counselor who has also completed chaplaincy training and worked at a funeral home. He was… Continue reading Ep. 534 Sacred Dying: Honoring the Legacy of Megory Anderson with...

Learn the history of the hospice movement in the US from one of the original founders. My guest Dr. Robert Buckingham is a Professor Emeritus of Public Health at the University of Michigan and has been a pioneer of the U.S. hospice movement, having played a role in the founding of the very first hospice… Continue reading Ep. 533 The Legacy of Hospice in the U.S. and Around the World with Dr....

Learn how and why to write your own obituary as a legacy project. My guest Gail Shapiro is a seasoned writer and editor and also a professional organizer who has guided many people through the details of end-of-life planning. She also helps people write memorable obituaries for themselves and others and today discusses why this… Continue reading Ep. 532 Writing Your Obituary as Part of End-o...

Learn about the spiritual bond between humans and their pets and how it continues after physical death. My guest Miki Jacobs is an internationally acclaimed medium, speaker, and author who shares wisdom and teachings from the spirit world with audiences worldwide. Her lifelong love of animals led her, along with her husband Clayton, to create… Continue reading Ep. 531 Sacred Wild: Soul Conne...

Learn about a training course for professionals entering the palliative care field to prepare them for the emotional and spiritual demands of this work. My guest Meina Dubetz is a registered nurse specializing in Palliative and Oncology Care and also a Certified Grief Educator and Reiki Master. She is the author of the book When… Continue reading Ep. 530 Six Pillars of Care for Palliative Ca...