Unveiling Death: Eternity in About 24 Minutes

Vijay Satnarine is the director of education for the Hindu American Foundation, at which he prepares educational materials for Hindu Americans and for the broader American public. Dr. Satnarine strives to bring compassionate ancestral techniques to difficult conversations and to transmit the teachings of his ancestors with integrity and relevance for our times. He is also an acharya, a priest and...

Bob Goldsborough is a freelance journalist for the Chicago Tribune. He writes obituaries of local luminaries and reports on celebrity real estate transactions. Bob is also a local historian, particularly of Wheaton, Illinois, where he was raised and lives.  He offers presentations on Wheaton's notable citizens and architecture.

In this episode, my daughter Betsy interviews me about the loss of my dear friend, Michael Petriano, who died 22 years ago. Betsy was a toddler when Mike died, but she and her sister and brother, Ruthie and Sammy, grew up understanding what a mammoth loss this was. We discuss Mike’s and my premonitions, if that’s what they were, that he would die, and we talk about my dreams, if that’s what they w...

The Door That’s Open: From AIDS Clinic to Skydiving with Michelle Fiordaliso Michelle Fiordaliso is an award-winning writer and filmmaker with a degree in clinical social work and psychotherapy. She is also a birth and death doula, ushering people through the major transitions of life, while also coaching executives through the smaller transitions of life, like starting companies, mergers and acqu...

Loved Ones in Hospice: Time in Slow Motion with Anne McKernan   In this episode, I speak with Anne McKernan, an assistant superintendent of schools in West Hartford, Connecticut. We discuss her sensation of how time slowed down as her loved ones neared death. Anne also talks about her mom’s “dreams” shortly before she died of her own grandmother, wearing black and standing by a window.   Anne enjo...

"The Hospice Social Worker" A conversation with Jules Pelican. My guest is Jules Pelican, a social worker at Providence Hospice in Sonoma and Napa Counties in California. Jules discusses why this work brings her joy, the “right to folly,” and whether constant proximity to death takes an emotional toll.

Gary Spruch and I discuss how death, meditation, sex, and psychedelics offer oblivion. We explore the Jewish attitude toward death, which may not be oblivion at all. Gary is a student of Judaism, Emmanuel Levinas, and religion.

In this episode I speak with Death Café facilitator, Donna Stein-Harris. Donna spent most of her career in the community safety and health field, including working with the National Safety Council to develop Safe Communities America.   The Death Café concept was first conceived in Europe a couple of decades ago. It was then formally organized in England. Today, Death Café meetings take place in mo...

Rabbi Norry is Interim Rabbi for Beth Shalom Synagogue in Columbia, South Carolina. A master teacher and public speaker, Rabbi Norry is on faculty at Agnes Scott College in Georgia and serves as the lead Jewish chaplain for the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office. He is a Third Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo, a firearms instructor, and musician. 

A frank talk between me, a rabbi, and Henry, a minister, about heaven and hell and how clergy should offer sacred presence to the dying and to those who mourn. Pastor Biar, ordained in the Lutheran Missouri Synod, serves St. Paul Lutheran Church in Skokie, Illinois.