The Funeral Industry vs. Disneyland

Here’s the pitch: Engineer by day. International award-winning clown by night. Learned to read and walk in her 20s. This caller has a lot going on, and every story branches into a whole new world of surprises. Sign up for Beautiful/Anonymous+ to get ad-free episodes and access to ... Show More

A couple weeks back, Gethard talked with a lawyer whose husband came up a few times. We learned two key facts about him: he’s got a lot of birds, and he works on a tugboat. Well, he got through this week, and that means Geth got to ask him a few questions about the birds and a mi ... Show More

This week, Gethard talks to a Vietnam veteran with a lifetime of stories. He’s never listened to the podcast, but his granddaughter has, and she encouraged him to call in as a way to share and preserve the experiences he’s carried for decades. He recounts some harrowing moments f ... Show More

The extraordinary measures put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ebola crisis placed restrictions on much of people’s lives, including the rituals and ceremony around death. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two women whose work has supported grieving families during a time of ... Show More

Ceremonies for honoring the departed are crucial parts of our lives, but few people know where our traditional practices come from—and what they reveal about our history, culture, and beliefs about death. In today's podcast, Tami Simon speaks with funeral director, embalmer, and ... Show More

Love, flashes of anger and remembering funny things. It's the first time Sophie has nothing to do except sit since her husband died. And she looks like Jackie Kennedy at JFK’s funeral. A Falling Tree production for the BBC World Service. 

An explosion in a rice field in Colusa County, California kills the manager of a multi-million dollar farm. Police soon discover his death was no accident. Keith Morrison has chosen this episode as one of his most memorable classic episodes.  

Caitlin Doughty is a mortician who would like to put herself out of business. Our corporate funeral industry, she argues, has made us forget how to offer our loved ones an authentic sendoff. Doughty is the author of Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons From the Crematory. I ... Show More

Stephen Johnson connects Mahler's beliefs about death to Viennese funeral customs, and particularly the idea of 'beautiful death' which was pervasive in Mahler's Vienna. 

The pandemic leveled live performance, and the industry is last in line for a return to normal. Musician Zoe Keating and production designer Terry Morgan describe how their work has changed with live venues nationwide shuttered for nearly a year. Venue owner Danya Frank of First ... Show More

In this hour, stories of the most inevitable part of life: death—with a positive twist. Opportunities for connection, moments of healing, and unique ways of moving through grief. This episode is hosted by Moth Executive Producer, Sarah Austin Jenness. The Moth Radio Hour is produ ... Show More