Life is for the Living

Marco and I wrap up the season, tell stories about people we have lost, and share some news about the podcast. 

In the very last episode of the season, and just in time for Christmas, our guests tell us stories of grief: the deaths that hit them the hardest, how they remember their dead, and what a good death looks like. 

Marco and I talk about death and dying. Again. :D 

I ask our guests the big questions: Are you afraid of dying, what would be a good death, and what do you think happens after death. 

Marco and I dive into what we have learned about the death care system, and what we would want to change about it. 

Although our guests have different perspectives on the way death is talked about and regulated, one thing they all agree on is that it things aren't great they way they are. In this episode, we talk about what needs to change to make people's lives easier when they are facing the death of a loved one. 

In this episode, we chat about our biggest take-aways from our interview with Dr. Jennifer Blanks, what we look for in our favorite cemeteries and what we want written on our epitaphs.  

In this episode, we talk to Dr. Jennifer Blanks, also known on Instagram as The Cemetery Sista, about her work locating and documenting African American cemeteries in Texas and Louisiana, how race affects the experience of death, and how New Orleans does death right. Dr Blank's Website: The Cemetery Sista LLC

Producer Marco and I discuss funerals we have attended, how we memorialize our dead, and what we want for our own funerals. 

In this episode, Rebecca Lynn-Scott, death positive activist and practicing Hellenic pagan, talks with me about ritual and it's place in our processing of death. Rebecca suggests rituals that non-believers can use, describes her perfect burial rite, and explains what wailing is.  

When you die, what do you want to happen to you body? Producer Marco and I rank body disposition methods and how we want our bodies disposed of, give helpful tips on how to to get the cheapest funeral, and dive into the ins and outs of coffin making. 

Hold on to your hats for this episode, because it is a great one. Guest and co-owner of the Natural Funeral Seth Viddal walks us through all the different types of body disposition methods, including earth cremation, water cremation and funeral pyre. 

In this epitaph, Producer Marco quizzes me on the signs of active dying (which I totally cheat on, don't tell him) and we talk about the deaths we have seen, and what how we envision our death beds. 

What does dying look like? In this episode, with the help of Death Doula Kathy and Hospice Volunteer Brooks we talk about what to expect when someone is close to death.Reference:Gone From My Sight by Barbara Karnes, RNYou can also catch us on Youtube

Flipping the script, Producer Marco interviews me about my experience with my mom's dementia. I talk about having to face a complete uncertainty of how it will all pan out, coming to peace with my mom's eventual death, and how my dad is coping with the loss. 

In this episode, I talk with Mara and with Kathy about the experience in between getting a terminal diagnosis and the actual death. This is a time that can be fraught with a lot of unknowns, and will force you to face the fact that you have very little control over what is happening. You can't plan, or even be emotionally prepared, and you may not even know if you are in a sprint towards the end or if it a marathon you need to settle into. 

Producer Marco and I dive into Medical Aid in Dying, and whether or not we would want it for ourselves, and if we could assist a loved one who wanted to die. This episode does contain conversations about suicide. 

Once you get a terminal diagnosis (and being alive is a terminal diagnosis), not only will you be struggling to adapt to your new reality, you also need to make series of really tough decisions, sometimes with very limited information. Do you take the treatment that might extend your life but has some nasty side effects? What live saving measures to you want, and which ones don't you want? If you need a tracheotomy to breath, would you do it? We dive into these questions and more with guests Mara and Kathy in this episode of Death is for the Dying. 

In this week's epitaph producer Marco and I get into what diagnosis we fear the most, how we would want to handle it, and how we probably would handle it. Watch the video on Youtube

What do you do when you get the worst news of your life? How do you cope? Who do you tell? And how do you move forward? In this episode, guest Mara walks us through the journey to her husband's Pat diagnosis of ALS and the months after the diagnosis and they learned what their new normal was.  To learn more about ALS: https://www.iamals.org/Pat's Website: https://farmstrong.info/Mara and Pat's Twitter: https://x.com/farmstronginfoTo listen via Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LifeisfortheLivingPodcast

In this epitaph, I grill producer Marco about why and how he became more comfortable with talking about death, and what was stopping him about having the conversations beforehand. 

In this episode, our guests talk about why it is important to talk about death (hint: everyone is going to die), why we tend to avoid it, and how to start the conversation. We also have a Youtube channel where we upload all the podcasts and epitaphs:https://www.youtube.com/@LifeisfortheLivingPodcast

We are trying something new this season: mini episodes where producer Marco and I talking about the episode and our reactions to it. In this Epitaph, we talk about why we chose death as our topic and what we are looking forward to. 

In this season of Life is for the Living, we are talking death! In this intro episode we learn about about our guests this season--a death doula, a funeral director, a hospice volunteer and more--all to learn what to expect from the end of life, and how best to prepare. Check us out on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LifeisfortheLivingPodcast

Producer Marco and I sit down to have a chat about this season, what is coming next season, why we are big in Germany, and, of course, Marco finds a new way to torment me. 

As is our tradition here at Life is for the Living, we end our season by asking our guests their advice for living. Whether it is advice for getting the highest salary as a woman, or for finding your true self, our guests come through with the wisdom they have gathered over the years.

If you listen to only one episode this season, make it this one! We have stories of self-discovery, tragedy, action, and comedy. Additionally, jazz legend Jon Coltrane, actor Dennis Hopper, and Malcolm X himself all make appearances in guest Denise's star-studded life stories. Trigger warning: This episode includes a story of suicide and animal death. 

The worst parts of life and the best parts, births, deaths, sorrows and joys; our guests talk about them all in this episode. 

Calling all aspiring difference makers!! In this episode, our guests give us a masterclass on how to be an activist--how to set your expectations, how to get your self heard, and how not to burnout. 

Our guest have protested on the streets, run free breakfast programs, stood in front of bulldozers and much more. In this episode, they talk about what they found to be the most effective ways to make a difference, along with their biggest successes and worst failures. 

In this bonus episode, host Rebecca and producer Marco chat about the first six episodes and what they have learned so far from the guests as well as give some hints about what is to come on the rest of the season 

In our final single guest episode, we meet Susie Schaefer, social worker, multicultural community activist, reproductive rights advocate, environmentalist, peace activist,  disabilities advocate. Susie has seen the rough side of life both personally and professionally, and has never hesitated to dive in to advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves.  

Author and leadership coach Belinda Clemmensen did always think of herself as an activist. But then she scrap her leadership coaching company and began again, founding the the Women's Leadership Intensive. Now she focuses on changing the world by changing not only who gets to lead, but how they lead. Websites: https://www.womensleadershipintensive.ca | https://leadercoachintensive.comIG: @womens.leadership.intensive | @leadercoachintensive Belinda's Book:  Women, Leadership & Saving the World, Why Everything Gets Better When Women LeadImage provided by Belinda Clemmensen

Jessica Xavier came out as a trans woman in the 1990's and has been fighting to make trans people safe and healthy since then. Her main tool: data. She has been instrumental in getting trans people counted in surveys, allowing them to gain access to key medical resources. She is also a musician and Wiccan High Priestess.You can check out other interviews with her in the LGBTQ Policy Journal and Outwards, as well as listen to her song Love Your Body on Spotify.

Former member of the Young Lords and Black Panthers, AIDs research and activist, professor of anthropology and women's studies, Denise Oliver-Velez has been in the wars and lived to tell the tale. We talk about her grounding in her family history, her use of art in activism, how she got drafted into the Young Lords, and how she ended up getting a PhD despite all of her efforts not to. You can follow Denise on Twitter and Spoutible as @Deoliver47 as well as read her blogs on the Daily Kos.Image: Denise Oliver Velez from the Revolutionary Peoples' Communications Network speaking in front of Reverend C.K. Steele's church - Tallahassee, Florida. Photographer: John Buckley Date: Photographed on November 26, 1971. Public Domain.

Jan's upbringing by activist parents and her membership in the Universal Unitarian church drives Jan as she tries to make the world a better, more equitable place. We discuss her childhood, her peace activism, and her work with immigrants, the prison system, and unions among other things. Image provided by Jan Thompson

Hello, and welcome to the third season of Life is for the Living! This episode starts us off in the activist focused season by introducing the 5 guests:  Jan Thompson,  peacenik, LGTBQ, immigration and prison reform activist and union organizer; Denise Oliver-Velez, Young Lord, Black Panther, AIDs activist and more; Jessica Xavier, Trans and LGTBQ rights activist; Belinda Clemmensen, author and founder of The Women's Leadership Intensive; and Susie Schaefer, community organizer, reproductive rights, disability rights, environmentalism, and more. In the upcoming season, we will dig into their lives, their causes, and their advice for all aspiring activists.  

Come join us for a behind the scenes look at how Season 2 came to be with Rebecca Richman (host) and Marco Burlo (producer). We chat about our most memorable moments, our biggest challenges and, as per tradition, we celebrate our host with a fun blooper reel. 

In the last episode of the season, I ask our guest for advice on how to live and how to survive hard times. A millions thanks to our guests: Claudia, Debbie, Crisaida, Ghada, Makram and Hannah for sharing their time and stories with us. And thanks to you for coming on the journey! 

In this episode we hear five stories: One from Crisaida about finding the will to continue when she was a rock bottom,  two from Makram--one on life under Saddam Hussein, and one about calling out prejudice, a story of a health scare from Debbie, and story of illicit lasagna from Claudia.  

Are you afraid of death? What do you think happens after death? What is a good death? These are the questions I pose to our guests in this episode. 

**CONTENT WARNING** This episode contains discussion of suicide. The things that make us happy and sad are explored in this episode, with our guests sharing happiest and saddest moments of their lives. 

What we teach our children and what they teach us are the focus of this episodes, and we learn of the struggle of parents trying to keep the values of the old country alive, while their children absorb the values of the new country. 

Ghada tells the story of her 17 year marriage to her ex-husband and details all the fault lines that led to their divorce. 

What makes us fall in love with someone? What do we still find attractive about each other after years of marriage? Our guests open up about what brought them together with their spouses and what keeps them together. 

As the only guests to immigrate as adults, Makram and Hannah had a life time of experiences  before their immigration, so in this episode they detail their lives prior to the Gulf War. 

Immigrants in America and Canada can face enormous hardships, so why to they stay? I ask our guest this question and find that despite their troubles, none of them regret coming here.  

Even when our guests made it too their new home country, they face the difficulty of fitting in. In this episode we explore the shock of immigration and the struggles of not being able to go back home. 

In this episode we look at three ways people come into America and Canada: by boat and Ellis Island, by foot over the Rio Grande, and by convincing the American Embassy to give you a visa. 

People rarely leave their homes and all they know behind them to start a new life in a new country without a very good reason. In this episode we learn what home was like for all of our guests and why they (or their parents) felt they had to go.