Over My Dead Poddy

You asked. We answered. We're back again answering all the questions you fire at us on a regular basis including:  💀 Is there really a secret second deck in a hearse... and if so, what's it for? 📖 What actually is an Order of Service... and do you really need one? 🧬 Can you still donate your body to Medical Science & would they actually want it? Plus, the funeral habit we'd happily wave goo...

In the episode where Carl is proved right for once, we’re opening up the conversation around what faith-led funerals, specifically Church of England services, can look like in 2026. Because religious doesn’t have to mean rigid. Traditional doesn’t have to mean impersonal. And faith and personality absolutely can sit together in the same service without anyone breaking out in a cold sweat. We’re jo...

Ever wondered if Cllr Carl Tate gets scared at funerals? Or whether Nichola Reeder would agree to take the funeral of a convicted criminal? Well, you asked. So we answered. Armed with a glass of wine and the trademark honesty you expect from us, this episode sees us tackle some of the trickiest listener questions we've ever received. Some answers might surprise you. Some might challenge you. And a...

Fresh coffee. Honest conversations. Unexpected hope. ☕🖤 This week on the show, we’re joined by David Martin from Maple Park Café @ Thirsk Crematorium, for a conversation that goes far beyond tea urns and sausage rolls. We’re talking about the reality of running a coffee shop inside a crematorium. The sensitive act of balancing business and grief. The quiet pressure of getting it right for famili...

Most people never see what happens behind the scenes in a funeral home… but this week, we’re talking to the people who do it all. 🖤 From late night call-outs and private ambulances, to caring and preparing for your loved one with dignity, carrying coffins and making sure every detail runs exactly as it should... Funeral Service Operatives (FSO's) are the unsung heroes of funeral care, and one of...

Live West End vocals. Socks with meaning. Detroit Lions pride. Christmas carols. Ginger Shots. This wasn’t a typical funeral… this was Dan's funeral.                                                                                                                                                                                           In this heartfelt episode, Kay Jones joins us to share the story...

🎙💀🤘🏻 The Resurrection Episode - Dead Air Is Over Back with Bruises And Scars 🎙️💀🤘🏻 We’re back. Season 3, Episode 1 is live now with the usual host line up of Nichola and Carl and no, we haven’t been quietly behaving ourselves. In Episode 1 we’re honest about why we’ve been off air, Nichola fully admits to taking an unexpected tumble, and Carl unveils a flashy new purchase that absolutely no...

  In this wrap-up episode, we’re diving into your questions from the last few weeks. The curious ones, the heartfelt ones, the “is it normal if…” ones, and the ones that made us go… right, grab a beer, let’s talk about that. We also take a wander down memory lane for our favourite Season 2 moments. The laughs, the lump-in-the-throat bits, and the moments where we remembered exactly why we started...

💀🎙️🤘🏻 Series 2: Episode 9 - Talking Before It's Too Late: How  Palliative Care Is There To Help''    🤘🏻🎙️💀   This one’s gentle, honest, and as always, vitally important. In this episode we’re talking end of life choices and the support available if you or someone you love needs palliative care. What it actually is (and what it isn’t), where to find help, how it can support families, and how...

🎙️💀🤘🏻Series 2: Episode 8: Tiny Life, Massive Love: Bex and Evelyn's Story🤘🏻🎙️💀 This one is tender, raw, and deeply real. We sit down with our gorgeous former Co-host Bex,  as she shares Evelyn’s story, losing her baby just hours after she was born. We talk honestly about those first unbearable moments, and how being a Funeral Director helped Bex find her footing, and later helped her support...

🤘🏻💀🎙️ Season 2 Episode 7 🤘🏻💀🎙️ This week we’re getting uncomfortably practical about death. Wills, Probate and Power of Attorney. Whether you’ve got a record collection and a cat or a million-pound mansion, someone’s dealing with it one day, and you need to deal with it now! We’re joined by the brilliant Danielle Sutcliffe to make sense of it all and inspire you to set up your own Death File...

🎙️💀🤘🏻WE’RE BACK. with Hosts Nichola Reeder and Cllr Carl Tate SERIES 2 EPISODE 6 🎙️💀🤘🏻                                                                             After a short hiatus where life (and yes… death) did what it does best and got in the way, Over My Dead Poddy is back on the airwaves. And we're so excited!    In this latest episode, we’re catching up on what’s really going on in...

Ever wondered what really happens inside a crematorium? This week we’re joined by Simon Routledge from the Crematoria & Memorial Group — a man who has seen everything… including the day the Teletubbies hijacked a funeral. Yes, really. We’re pulling back the metaphorical (and very literal) curtain to talk about the unseen world of crematoria: the care, the precision, the surprises, the humanity...

This week we’re talking legacies — the real kind, not the dry legal sort. We’re joined by Katie from Dead Good Legacies, who’s flipping the script on death education and showing why your impact doesn’t end when the funeral does. We dig into how personal a goodbye can be, what losing someone taught her about living, and why getting comfy with your own mortality might just be the most life-affirming...

This week, we invite fellow Funeral Director David Knowles into the studio to do two things: 1)  fact-check a few of Carl’s Series 1 bombshells, and 2) bring the kind of experience that makes Carl and Nichola look like interns!  We get into the wildest logistical ask of David’s career (yes, it involved hiring a private jet), the invisible work that makes difficult days smoother, and why he believe...

This week we’re chatting with the brilliant and award-winning Katie Costello — soul midwife, funeral celebrant, death education powerhouse — about why talking about death and dying actually makes life bigger, more peaceful and a whole lot braver. We dig into the real stuff: why we dodge death chat like it’s contagious, how fear and silence hold us back, and why finding the guts to say what you rea...

Season 2 kicks off with a big, old catch-up episode, chatting about what we've been up to, what's coming up in the new series, and why Carl's devastated he's had to give up his beloved Pop Tarts!  You can expect more myth busting, more honest truths and some laughs along the way.  We're so excited to back - still curious, still human and still dying to answer all the questions you daren't ask!  So...

🎙️💀🤘🏻 Episode 11: The Live Edit – Season Finale 🎙️💀🤘🏻 Fast. Frantic. Occasionally flying off at a tangent (ok, often flying off at a tangent)… this one’s raw, unfiltered and very much live. We were honoured to crash Stockton Crematorium’s Open Day, where we set up the mics, threw out the rulebook, and invited your burning questions. No edits, no scripts – just us, a curious crowd, and the ki...

💀🎙🤘🏻Fast Fire Funeral Qs: Your Burning Questions, Our Blunt Answers 💀🎙🤘🏻 It’s our Fast Fire Funeral Qs special! We blitz through your most-asked questions from the practicalities of how to buy a burial plot, to Carl’s plans for his own send-off, and yes, whether you have to be cremated in your bra. Nothing off-limits, nothing too weird. Honest, human, and a bit edgy—just how you like it. Hea...

 🎙️💀 Eulogies are no longer just life CV's,  told through tears. This week we’re getting dead real about how to write a tribute that truly reflects the colour and depth of yours, or your loved one's, life 🎙️💀 What goes in: the messy truths, the stories you all know and love, the moments that paint the picture of who they were What stays out: clichés, a boring timeline, saint-ification, waffle. W...

We had a killer chat with Dave Robson on Zetland FM this week which pulled us right back to why we started this podcast in the first place — you, our listeners. We thought it was too important to get lost on our socials so we're releasing it as this week's episode.  You can expect:  🎧 Honest talk about why these conversations matter. 🎧 A bit of myth-busting to cut through the noise. 🎧 Some dead...

In this episode, Carl sits down with Chris Power for a conversation straight from the heart about  her late husband Anthony “Tiny” Power.  Tiny wasn’t just a familiar face around Richmond—he was a legend. Larger than life, loved by all, and impossible to forget - his spirit still lingers in the streets, the pubs, and in the memories of everyone who knew him. Chris opens up about the man behind the...

Funerals: where grief meets grudges and the family WhatsApp explodes. We’re talking bust-ups over hymns, side-eye at the service, and who really gets the last word. This week we’re lifting the lid on: ⚡ The stuff families really fight about ⚡ How we try to keep the peace (without a referee’s whistle) ⚡ How you can help yourself when the sparks fly ⚡ And that juicy myth about recycled coffins I...

In this episode, Nichola sits down with Michael McWilliams for a raw and moving conversation that began in heartbreak. In 2022, Nichola led the funeral for Michael’s son Harvey — just 18 years old when he took his own life. Together, they reflect on how Harvey’s funeral became something different: deeply personal, fiercely individual, and a true celebration of who he was. Out of tragedy, Harvey’s...

No doubt you’ve seen those endless TV ads for “no fuss” funerals —  the promises to save you time, money, and stress. Sounds perfect, right? Here’s the twist… it’s not actually a funeral. It’s just a cremation. We’re not here to tell you what’s right for you or your loved one. But we are here to cut through the smoke, bust the myths, and clear up the confusion.  And here's the surprising truth? Yo...