What’s the best predictor of your child’s emotional well-being? It’s not great schools, hugs, or Pixar movies. Researchers at Emory University found that whether a kid knew their family history was the number one indicator. Raja Badr-el-Din and Mark Valentine of Ramblin’ Stories , both 23 years old, intuitively knew that. They sensed that without the stories of elder seniors, their lives would be somehow less rich, and their struggle would be greater. That’s when they cooked up a scheme. They fi...
Jul 31, 2017•41 min•Season 2Ep. 39
Stephen Jenkins is my good friend ~ we have known each other for over a decade. He stood by my side as I journeyed through some of the most harrowing and scary stretches of my life, always with encouragement, love, compassion, and when needed, a dose of good humor. It is no small surprise that he is much loved by the men he cares for as they move through their own harrowing journey, from the peaks of power and strength, through growing weakness and vulnerability, and eventually, to death. I can ...
Jun 18, 2017•35 min•Season 2Ep. 38
In part one of my interview with Ann Hoffner, author of The Natural Burial Cemetery Guide: A State-by-State Guide, we talked about where, how and why to choose a green burial. Ann chose a green burial for her own father, and after learning about how much better natural burial is for the environment, it’s what I want for myself as well. With a green burial, you save the earth from toxic chemicals, ugly concrete vaults or other unnatural weirdness, and just let nature takes its course with your bo...
Mar 29, 2017•29 min•Season 2Ep. 37
Green cemeteries have been popping up like daisies, so Ann Hoffner wrote the definitive guide on where to find them, what they offer, how much they charge, and the story behind them. A green burial is one where the body is buried in a shroud or casket made of natural, biodegradable materials, without toxic embalming fluids, typically in a naturalized setting like a meadow or woodlands. Her book is called The Natural Burial Cemetery Guide: A State-by-State Guide: Where, How and Why to Choose Gree...
Mar 29, 2017•27 min•Season 2Ep. 36
This episode was recorded at the 6th Annual Afterlife and Awareness Conference in St. Louis, MO, where I had the pleasure of meeting Rev. Olivia Bareham of Sacred Crossings. You can hear the birds and breezes in the background as we sat under the sun in the hotel courtyard on a beautiful Missouri day. Olivia is a certified Death Midwife, Home Funeral Guide and Celebrant. She holds bachelors degrees in Education and Natural Theology and Sacred Healing and is an ordained Inter-faith Minister. Oliv...
Jun 12, 2016•46 min•Season 2Ep. 35
"There is hope in death if you drink from the whole cup of life. It makes the whole thing all right.” Wisdom not from beyond the grave, but close to it, and spoken by one of the the many people featured in the new film Mortal by filmmakers Sara Feldmann Sheehan and Bobby Sheehan. Featured are people whose lives have been deeply touched by death. Their wisdom is special. It is worth paying attention to, and the film presents it to you in a poignant and beautiful way. Mortal is a film that is both...
May 29, 2016•45 min•Season 2Ep. 34
I am back from the 6th Annual Afterlife and Awareness Conference where I had the honor of being the Master of Ceremonies. I met so many amazing people and learned new things about death and near death experiences (NDE) that really blew my mind. My creative juices were flowing, and one of my fellow brainstormers was Pati Pellerito of Healing Gongs . Sound therapy is an effective and proven modality that uses vibrational sound to help reduce pain and stress, ease tension, and create a sense of pea...
May 20, 2016•18 min•Season 2Ep. 33
Bios Incube is the world´s first system designed to help grow the remains of your loved ones into trees.
Apr 03, 2016•45 min•Season 2Ep. 32
Robert Kopecky is the author of the book " How to Survive Life (and Death): A Guide for Happiness in This World and Beyond ,” in which he writes about his three Near Death Experiences (NDE), and more importantly, what they taught him about how to live. Robert is an Emmy nominated art director. He designed the credits for Showtime's Weeds, and directed art for the PBS children's show Word World. He contributes to Evolver.net , NewBuddhist.com , TheMindfulWord , and Gaia . You can find Robert on h...
Mar 06, 2016•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 31
The show has a slightly different sound and feel, thanks to a little persuasion from someone influential. We'll still be talking about death, dying and the afterlife, but with something new.
Mar 03, 2016•9 min•Season 2Ep. 1
In part one of this interview we met Barbara Karnes who spent decades working as a Registered Nurse and was present for the deaths of hundreds of people. The observations she made during those sacred moments, and the lessons she learned, led Barbara to craft a new way to think about dying, one that will transform how families might help a loved one die, and how you might help yourself when your time comes. Her compassionate wisdom is offered in a kit that includes two easy to read booklets and a...
Jan 21, 2016•26 min•Season 1Ep. 30
While at the bedside of hundreds of people during the dying process, my guest Barbara Karnes, a Registered Nurse, noticed that each death was following a near identical script. Each person was going through the stages of death in almost the same manner. And most families had the same questions. These realizations led Barbara to sit down and write the "Little Blue Book” — a book that changed an industry. Written in non-medical language for families, her booklet changed the way we experience the d...
Jan 17, 2016•41 min•Season 1Ep. 29
I’ve been promising for some time now to take the show straight to hell and that time is now! I’m so excited to have my friend Gary Amirault on the show, but before I introduce him I want to explain some of the noises you might hear in the background. I’m celebrating the holidays with my wife’s family and so am recording this in the town of Recife, Brazil, where the neighbors are having a wonderful party. Maybe we’ll join them for a Caipirinha or three later on. I could have gone to a quieter pl...
Dec 20, 2015•57 min•Season 1Ep. 28
This is part two of a two part interview with Irene Weinberg, author of They Serve Bagels in Heaven. In part one, we learned about how Irene’s husband Saul was tragically killed in a car accident that also left Irene severely injured. As Irene began to heal and put the pieces of her life back together, her beloved Saul reached across the divide between the living and the dead, helping Irene to make positive changes that have affected her whole family. Those communications from the dead involved ...
Dec 07, 2015•27 min•Season 1Ep. 27
In 1997, Irene Weinberg and her beloved husband Saul were driving home when their SUV went into a skid, flipped multiple times, and careened off the road. Irene, severely injured, turned to her husband but knew instantly that he was dead. That day, as tragic as it was, began a new chapter in Saul and Irene's centuries long love affair that transcends both time and place, and has helped make Irene the joyful, happy and thankful person you will hear on this interview. In part one we talk about how...
Nov 19, 2015•41 min•Season 1Ep. 26
You may recall from a few months ago my interview with David Dedrick from the Compleatly Beatles podcast, when we talked about how death affected the lives and music of the Beatles. That was Part One. Well it’s been a long and winding road since then and now, but Part Two is here and it is a perfect example of how much fun two guys can have when talking about the great music of the 60’s and 70’s. Not only does David go into more detail about the Paul is Dead myth, but he also dives into stories ...
Nov 01, 2015•52 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Here’s a little story about the famous Swiss psychotherapist Carl Gustav Jung. It’s been said that whenever a friend reported enthusiastically, "I was promoted at work!" Jung would say, "I'm very sorry to hear that; but if we all stick together, I think we will get through it.” And if a friend arrived depressed and ashamed, saying, "I've just been let go," Jung would say, "Let's open a bottle of wine; this is wonderful news; something good will happen now.” Well something good did happen when my...
Sep 19, 2015•50 min•Season 1Ep. 24
He was in the nude, doing the tree pose on a bluff in Oaxaca, Mexico, when a shaman told Daniel Ortega he would be a healer. And so he has, mixing the cremated remains of humans and animals with hemp, ash, stone and other organic materials to create stunningly beautiful paintings and backlit keepsake vaults you can buy on his website. By transforming sacred elements into 95% green works of art, Daniel honors and heals the earth, fulfilling the shaman’s prophesy. Are you ready for a wild ride? Th...
Aug 28, 2015•30 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Hey there tigers and tigresses! So good to have you all back. In my last show, I had a wonderful time talking with Kat the Wiccan Mortician, who dropped out of mortuary school to pursue her advocacy for a more sensitive way to care for the dead and dying. We pick it back up with Kat now in Part Two of that interview, starting with a discussion about slow medicine, which is the latest trend in taking back control from the medical machine, her vision for a natural burial ground in Alaska, death do...
Jul 09, 2015•26 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Ahoy me lads and lassies! Did ye think I was lost at sea? Well I was, kind of. My youngest daughter got married last Saturday, and for those of you who’ve been involved with a wedding, you know how that can keep a person busy. But I’m back with a bunch of new shows that I think you are going to really like, starting with this one with Kat the Wiccan Mortician. I hinted in my last show that a witch would be making an appearance, and poof! There she was! I didn't even have to wiggle my nose, I jus...
Jul 03, 2015•37 min•Season 1Ep. 21
From the musical "Cats" by Andrew Lloyd-Webber Memory Turn your face to the moonlight Let your memory lead you Open up, enter in If you find there The meaning of what happiness is Then a new life will begin What a lovely notion, and one I believe in. We live, we die, we are remembered, and a new life begins. My guest Irina Jorden is in the memory business. As founder and owner of Artisurns, she curates a precious collection of one of a kind urns, jewelry and keepsakes that do so much more than j...
Apr 26, 2015•38 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Your brain is plastic. No, I didn’t say your brain is made out of plastic, I said your brain is plastic, as in easily shaped or molded. Neuroscientists tells us that by dwelling on a thought, good or bad, we cut a new groove in our gray matter, which then influences our behavior. Even of you’re an old coot like me, born in 1956 and with a brain like a dried fig. Talking about death cuts a a new groove in your brain, a better groove, one with more awareness and less fear. Yes, we are talking deat...
Mar 14, 2015•41 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Welcome back to my interview with Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak, founder of the Promessa system, which uses advanced technology to mimic nature’s process of rapidly breaking down dead things and returning them to earth. We’re talking human compost here folks. I personally would like to have my remains spread around a cactus plant, which reflects my personality, but you listeners may opt for a fruit tree, or a flower garden. A rose by any other name! In part one we learned how Susanne came up with the idea...
Feb 06, 2015•26 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Soil. Humus. Earth. Loam. Compost . For me, these words all conjure up good feelings of green, growing things, of vitality, and of vibrant life on our glorious blue planet. And so it was for Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak, a gardener and University trained biologist who wondered, “Why can’t human remains be returned to earth as respectfully and naturally as my spent flowers?” And so from her fertile mind, Promessa was born. By using advanced technology to mimic the natural processes Susanne knows so well, ...
Jan 28, 2015•27 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Sex. Death. Art. Monkey brain transplants. You'll hear about all that and more in my interview with Kate Sweeney, Public Radio journalist and author of the book "American Afterlife: Encounters in the Customs of Mourning." From the crooked tombstones of an almost forgotten Victorian cemetery, to a ghostly white bicycle leaned against a telephone pole, Kate and I explore the eclectic nooks and crannies of the uniquely American way of expressing grief, and we find parallels with it and society's ha...
Dec 13, 2014•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Honor the dead. Heal the living. Invite in the divine. What a beautiful mission statement, and one adopted by the Green Burial Council, which was founded by my guest Joe Sehee. Only a former Jesuit lay minister and street entertainer would come up with something that heartfelt, which is why Joe is such an interesting guest. In Part One, he and I discussed funeral industry greenwashing and ways we consumers can avoid getting duped. In Part Two you’ll learn about the difference between a natural, ...
Nov 02, 2014•27 min•Season 1Ep. 15
You pick up a bottle of laundry detergent at the grocery store, and it's labeled “green” and is twice the price of regular detergent. But is it really safer for the environment? Often we just don’t know. Well it turns out green standards for the funeral industry are just as murky and unregulated, and there are some who will sell you and an expensive green funeral that really isn’t…a practice called “greenwashing.” My guest believed consumers should have access to objective information, so he fou...
Oct 26, 2014•25 min•Season 1Ep. 14
In episode nine I introduced you my friend, skull artist and fellow Virginian Noah Scalin, whose book of Skulls caught my eye while I was perusing the back of a shop in Charleston, South Carolina a few years ago. Every skull Noah creates is made from a different materials, from turnips to tinfoil, and they are so amazing that Noah has become a bit of a skull celebrity. His art was recently featured in the Mammoth Book of Skulls, he speaks around the world on creative expression, teaches graphic ...
Sep 29, 2014•32 min•Season 1Ep. 13
I think it’s safe to say that the Beatle’s were one of the most influential and innovative rock bands in the history of the genre. The power and impact of their music is hard to overstate. Ever since I first heard them on the Ed Sullivan show in the early 60’s, I knew the Beatle’s were special, and their magical songs became milestones in my passage through youth into adulthood. My guest on this show, David Dedrick, is one of the world’s leading experts on Beatle’s music and lore. He and his par...
Sep 05, 2014•44 min•Season 1Ep. 12
You’ve been clamoring! You’ve been screaming! You’ve been sending in your cereal box tops for a chance to hear Part 2 of my interview with Dr. Karen Wyatt, America’s Spiritual MD. Well wait no longer, dear listeners, because here ’tis. Our conversation picks up where Part 1 ended, discussing a paradox, that is, making sense of chaos. Can it be done? Should it be done? From there we dive deep into the words of Jesus in the original Aramaic, his native tongue , where we find new source of inspirat...
Aug 03, 2014•36 min•Season 1Ep. 11
