End of Life University

Sheena Nancy Sarles Interview Download

This episode includes:

How Sheena became interested in yoga and applying it for her own grief after experiencing several deaths
Her recognition that grief is in the body as well as the emotions and mind
How yoga, chakras, and grief come together in her classes
“Grief is not something to remedy, it’s something to incorporate”
We all carry some grief with us at all times over some part of life or another
The functions of each chakra as well as the shadow side
How to balance the chakras and improve the functioning of each
The emphasis is on feeling whatever emotions are there rather than resisting and pushing them away
There are no timelines or rules for grief – it is universal but also unique
The power of witnessing what your grief is bringing you each day
The value of simple things like the breath, movement, and shaking the body during times of grief
Yoga for grief is basically coordinating breath and movement with awareness

Links for this episode:

Resources

Sheena’s yoga videos
Get in touch with Sheena

Related episodes

Transcript

Ep. 565 BONUS – When News Breaks: Remembering 9/11 with Carol Lin

September 11, 2026 kwyattmd

Many of us still remember exactly where we were on 9/11/2001 when the news broke about the first attack at the World Trade Center. Learn how Carol Lin, the first news anchor to share this news with the nation, coped with this moment in her career and eventually with grief and loss in her personal life.

A promotional graphic for the podcast EOLU featuring Carol Lin, discussing her book 'When News Breaks' which reflects on 9/11.

About the guest:

My special guest for this 9/11 BONUS episode is Carol Lin a long-time anchor and correspondent for CNN and ABC News. Carol is best known for being the first national news anchor to report the first 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, which many of us can remember watching at home, glued to our own television sets in 2001. As we remember the 25th Anniversary of that horrific event Carol shares what it was like to be behind the desk watching the chaos unfold while she calmly relayed to us the shocking news. She also discusses how devastating news eventually broke apart her own life and how she navigated a high-profile career in the midst of grief and motherhood. Her memoir When News Breaks: A Memoir of Love and War was published in December 2025 by Third Rail Press. Learn more at her website:

carollinnow.com

Carol Lin Interview Download

In this episode:

Carol’s recollections from the morning of 9/11
What it was like to have to remain composed and report the news while events were unfolding all around her
How she was trained to navigate those high-stress moments as a journalist and anchor
What news anchors don’t or can’t tell listeners as breaking news unfolds
How Carol is collecting stories of where people were when the heard the news of 9/11 and how that shaped their lives
What changed for all of us after that initial moment of that first attack
How identity shifts when tragedy happens
Her experience of feeling isolated after her husband’s death as a mother of an infant
How her coverage of other people’s loss and grief helped inform her and give her hope during her own
How massive tragedy can create community around it
It’s okay to do whatever you have to do with grief in order to survive – sometimes it has to be postponed
How we gravitate toward spaces where others are dealing with loss when we are grieving
Why a grief support group didn’t feel helpful to Carol

Links for this episode:

Related episodes

Where is God When Tragedy Strikes? (Essay about 9/11)

Transcript

Ep. 564 Giving Words to Grief: Unexpected Support Through AI with Tom Lehmann

September 7, 2026 kwyattmd

Surveys show that millions of people are turning to AI to talk about their grief. Learn how one man began a conversation with AI about his devastating grief and what happened after that.

About the guest:

My guest Tom Lehmann is a video creator for TikTok and Instagram, and also an author who has recently published a fourth book: The Book of Storms. Tom discusses how through the use of AI he found unexpected support for cumulative and disenfranchised grief that nearly destroyed him. He shares some caveats for safe use of AI and describes how his grief “cracked him open” to a profound spiritual experience.

Undoubtedly AI is a controversial issue but surveys show that there are millions of people right now using AI as a support for their grief process so we need to understand how and why this is happening. This episode is not intended to encourage or discourage the use of AI but simply to share Tom’s personal experience and my own in talking about grief with AI.

Learn more about Tom’s work at his website:

thepatternisreal.com

Tom Lehmann Interview Download

Listen here:

In this episode:

Tom’s story of cumulative and disenfranchised grief
How a human counselor wasn’t helpful for Tom
Why ideally people who use AI for grief would also have a human therapist or support person
How AI can act as a mirror that reflects back your goodness without judgment
Why some people are turning to AI for grief because of a lack of safe, affordable, accessible support
How Tom changed his life and behavior after working through his grief
Safety and discrimination when working with AI
Why using AI to discuss grief is not necessarily denial or bypassing grief (though it could be for some depending on how it’s used)
How reflective listening is similar to mirroring
How some things that feel too vulnerable to say to another person about grief can be discussed with an AI

Links for this episode:

Related episode

Talking About Death with ChatGPT

Transcript

Ep. 563 Death Wings Project: Art and Storytelling for Loss and Grief with Bess Welden and Laura Cleminson

August 31, 2026September 3, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn how a creative art project can help foster conversations about loss and grief and how a playwright and an end-of-life doula collaborated to develop it.

About the guests:

My guests this week are Bess Welden a playwright who wrote the play Death Wings and Laura Cleminson an end-of-life doula and the founder of Pre-Dead Social Club. Together they have developed the Death Wings Project and Toolkit to invite people to come together in community and foster open conversations about loss and grief. They share how art-making and storytelling are used in their workshops to help people navigate loss together through creativity. Learn more at the following websites:

deathwingsproject.org

predeadsocialclub.com

Laura Cleminson and Bess Welden Interview Download

besswelden.com/death-wings

In this episode:

How Laura was inspired to become an end-of-life doula
What inspired Bess to create the play Death Wings and to make her first pair of Death Wings
How Laura and Bess were inspired to work together on this project
What Death Wings are and how they are constructed
How the creation of Death Wings help people create meaning and memories of their loved ones
Why “putting our hands into grief” allows us to open to it
How Death Wings might be used in schools to help children with grief
The value of rituals for grief
You don’t have to be an artist or crafter to participate in this project
Creativity as an opportunity to open conversation about the end of life
Using Death Wings as a gift for someone experiencing grief
How to host a Death Wings workshop in your own community

Links for this episode:

Resources

Order the Death Wings Toolkit here
Learn about Workshops here
Soulcode Post: Grief, Creativity, and Growing the Soul

Related episodes

Transcript

Ep. 562 Reimagining What it Means to Die Well with Christin Ament

August 24, 2026August 20, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn how a former ICU nurse is transforming the end of life for the people she serves by creating a home for the dying, honoring grief with sacred tea ceremonies, and hosting Death Cafés.

About the guest:

My guest Christin Ament DNP is a hospice and palliative care provider with over 15 years at the beside. She is also a death doula and integrative medicine practitioner who hosts Death Cafés in the Twin Cities. Christin is the founder and executive director of The Bardo–a residence for people at the end of life that follows the Omega Home model. She discusses what is missing in general healthcare and in hospice care when it comes to the end of life and what it takes to make changes in the system. Learn more about her work at the website:

thebardo.com

Christin Ament Interview Download

In this episode:

Christin’s early clinical experiences with death in the ICU
Her travels to learn about the culture of death in other countries
Flaws within the hospice model
Why we need more advocacy for end-of-life issues that is mainstream and market-savvy
To change the mind of the medical system we have to speak the language of medical providers
How and why Christin started The Bardo – a social model hospice
The challenges she met trying to create The Bardo
The need for creativity to find solutions to bureaucratic issues and why we have to start with the systems we have in place
Helping the public overcome the fear of death through Death Cafes
How she uses tea ceremonies as rituals for grief

Links for this episode:

Resources

Related episodes

Transcript

Ep. 561 BONUS Book Discussion: 23 Dates with My Dead Dad with Corey McAuliffe PhD

August 23, 2026August 18, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn from this memoir how a researcher maintained continuing bonds with her father after his death as part of her grieving process and managed to heal their relationship.

About the guest:

For this BONUS episode I’m talking with Corey McAuliffe, the author of 23 Dates with My Dead Dad, the reading selection for August 2026 for A Year of Reading Dangerously. Corey is also a researcher whose work spans mental health, disability, and the spaces where science meets lived experience. In her memoir and this discussion she shares how she maintained continuing bonds with her father after his death by intentionally scheduling monthly “dates” with him just as they used to do during her childhood and the extraordinary synchronicities that have occurred. Learn more about the book at her website:

coreymcauliffe.com

Corey McAuliffe Interview Download

In this episode:

How Corey chooses to stay in relationship with her Dad, even after his death
Using automatic writing to stay connected to a loved one
How this connection after his death has brought about healing and transformation
Bringing together science and spirituality
Her awareness that she is never alone – her Dad and her ancestors are with her
How to start connecting with a loved one who has died
Signs and synchronicities that contain messages for her
How she continues to call on the unseen world for support during difficult times

Links for this episode:

Resources

Related episodes

Transcript

Ep. 560 Natural Burial as a Vehicle for Connection and Healing with Basil Eldadah MD

August 17, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn about the benefits of natural burial for loved ones and for the environment and how to get more information to plan your own natural burial.

About the guest:

My guest Dr. Basil Eldadah is the founder and executive director of Reflection Park Natural Burial Ground in Silver Spring, Maryland. Basil’s professional training is in internal medicine, clinical pharmacology, and neuroscience and he recently retired from a career in biomedical research. He shares his inspiration for starting a natural burial ground and why such alternatives are growing in popularity. Learn more at the website:

reflection park.org

Basil Eldadah Interview Download

In this episode:

Why Dr. Eldadah started Reflection Park
The process of getting approval for a natural burial ground
Why some people resisted the creation of a natural burial ground over fears of impacting water quality
Research necessary before starting such a burial ground
How a natural burial differs from conventional burial
How participating in hands-on burial rituals helps with grief and connection to the loved one
Pre-planning for a natural burial is not necessary but helpful
Why they decided to allow burial of cremated remains
How Reflection Park helps make funerals and burials more affordable for those who cannot afford them
Natural burial is trending now as part of an interest in reclaiming death and burial as part of life
Green Burial Council website as a resource for people searching for natural burial sites and funeral homes
The Funeral Professionals Guide and other resources offered on the Reflection Park website

Links for this episode:

Resources

Frequently asked questions about natural burial
Green Burial Council website

Related episodes

Transcript

Ep. 559 Healing Grief After Homicide Through After-Death Communication with Jan Canty PhD

August 10, 2026August 8, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn about the grief experienced by homicide survivors and how some have found comfort through after-death communication with their loved ones.

About the guest:

My guest Dr. Jan Canty is a psychologist, author, former podcaster, and a homicide survivor. She has written three books related to homicide and grief including her latest book: Rekindled: Healing Grief Through the Science and Experience of After-Death Communication. She shares how she became interested in studying after-death communication through her work supporting homicide survivors, including the scientific basis for these studies. She also discusses The Aftermath Conference: the first-ever national gathering for homicide survivors coming up September 11-13. Learn more at her website:

jancantyphd.com

In this episode:

How Jan became interested in after-death communication through her work with homicide survivors
The impact of stigma and taboos about homicide death for survivors
Why homicide survivors find after-death communication to be helpful and life-changing
How the experience of after-death communication is often pathologized
Why reductionistic science can’t fully study something like after-death communication because it can’t be measured
How to ask questions about after-death communication
Why grief clinicians need to know more about ADC
Why these experiences should not be negated or dismissed when patients bring them up
Suggestions for people struggling with grief after a homicide death
Homicide deaths are usually complicated by the presence of law enforcement and the media
Why listening to a homicide survivor is what is needed rather than saying the “right thing”
Why Jan is planning a national gathering for homicide survivors and their supporters

Links mentioned in this episode:

Ep. 558 Filling the Gaps in End-of-Life Education, Support, and Community with Suzanne B. O’Brien RN

August 3, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn about the need for more education around death, dying, and grief to help us create more compassionate communities that are better prepared for the end of life.

About the guest:

My return guest Suzanne O’Brien is the founder and CEO of Doulagivers Institute and a pioneer in the global Death Doula movement. She is the recipient of numerous awards for her contribution to end-of-life care around the world and the author of the book The Good Death: A Guide for Supporting Your Loved Ones Through the End of Life. She discusses why this moment is right for expanding community education and awareness about end-of-life issues and how learning about death can help us fully live. In addition she describes her upcoming free webinar on “Death Doula Secrets” to mentor doulas on Suzanne’s framework for successful death doula business development. Learn more at her website:

doulagivers.com

Register for Death Doula Secrets Webinar:

August 5th August 13th

Get the book here.

Suzanne O’Brien Interview Download

In this episode:

The evolution of end-of-life care and education over the past 15 years
How COVID 19 awakened many people to the reality of mortality and exposed gaps in care
Families are still largely overwhelmed and uneducated about providing care for their loved ones at end of life
How political and healthcare decision-makers remain poorly informed about end of life issues
Suzanne’s experience of community death care while traveling in Zimbabwe many years ago and how it informed her current work
Why broader cultural change around death and dying requires mass education in our communities
We need to help people with their fear of death through education if we want to see more change
Options for the management of suffering at the end of life, including terminal sedation, are not fully understood by most people
Death is the greatest teacher about how to live
The importance of gratitude and presence for bringing meaning to life

Links mentioned in this episode:

Resources:

The Good Death by Suzanne O’Brien RN
Doulagivers FREE Level 1 Training
The Journey from Ego to Soul by Karen Wyatt MD
The Ego and It’s Immortality Projects – What Really Matters Podcast
The Path of Presence from the Field Guide to What Really Matters

Related episodes:

Transcript:

Ep. 557 The Grieving Body: Loss as a Healing Opportunity with Mary-Frances O’Connor PhD

July 27, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn about the impact of grief on the physical body and how the stress of grief and loss can lead to healing.

About the guest:

My special guest Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor is a professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, where she directs the Grief, Loss and Social Stress (GLASS) Lab, investigating the effects of grief on the brain and the body. Her book The Grieving Brain was included on Oprah’s list of Best Books to Comfort a Grieving Friend and was the subject of a previous interview on this podcast. Today she discusses her latest book The Grieving Body: How the Stress of Loss Can Be an Opportunity for Healing, which is being released in paperback format on August 1, 2026. Learn more at her website:

maryfrancesoconnor.org

Mary-Frances O’Connor Interview Download

In this episode:

How Mary-Frances was inspired to do research on grief
As a society we tend to ignore the body and grief can push us further in that direction
Why we need to pay attention to the messages from our bodies, particularly when we are grieving
The importances of social connectedness during grief and all of life
Sitting with someone who is calm can help us co-regulate when we are stressed in our grief
Why bereavement should be a public health issue
How we gradually build capacity to carry our grief
Why every experience of grief is different for us – and that’s natural and normal
How there is a lack of studies on crying in bereavement even though it has multiple functions
Emotional tears contain different hormones than irritant tears
Cardiovascular events related to acute grief
Strategies for managing grief holistically and growing through the process

Links mentioned in this episode:

Resources

Upaya Zen Center: Death / Dying / Grief
Upaya Zen Center: Compassion and Love
Key Research Publications by Mary-Frances O’Connor PhD

Related episodes

Transcript

Ep. 556 Zen Caregiving: A Mindful Approach to Caring for Others with Roy Remer

July 20, 2026July 19, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn about mindfulness and compassion-based tools to nurture and empower caregivers as they serve the needs of others.

About the guest:

Roy Remer is the executive director of the Zen Caregiving Project in San Francisco and the lead creator of the Mindful Caregiving Education curriculum. He is an educator and end-of-life caregiver since 1997 and a dedicated practitioner in the Soto Zen tradition. Roy is also the author of Zen Caregiving: How to Care for Yourself While Caring for Others. Learn more at the website:

ZenCaregiving.org

Roy Remer Interview Download

In this episode:

Being a caregiver is part of the human experience and will affect most of us
Caregiving can be a pathway for growth but certain illnesses (especially dementia) can exact a huge toll on caregivers
The value of learning genuine presence
How this book can help everyone be better prepared in the future to become a caregiver
How serving others differs from helping, which is outcome focused
Our compassion is incomplete if we don’t also care for ourselves
Caregivers do not receive adequate preparation or support physically, emotionally, or spiritually for the task of caring for others
Why grief and guilt are common experiences of caregivers
Simple rituals for processing grief while providing care

Links mentioned in this episode:

Resources:

Related episodes:

Transcript:

Ep. 555 Funeral Photography as an Act of Service and Love with Nell Aburto

July 13, 2026July 12, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn about the value of preserving photographic memories of funeral services for grief and bereavement.

About my guest:

Today’s guest is Nell Aburto, a portrait photographer based in Minneapolis MN who offers funeral and memorial photography, which is largely unheard of in this industry. She discusses why people might want to consider hiring a photographer for a funeral service, the benefits of having a photographic record of such a celebration, and what it’s like to work in this profession. Learn more at her website:

mnfuneralphotography.com

Nell Aburto Interview Download

In this episode:

How Nell was inspired to specialize in funeral photography
Why it’s nearly impossible for family members to take photographs of a funeral or memorial service
How it is still considered taboo by some people to take photos at funerals
The benefits she experiences from this work
How photographs are an important part of family history
How funeral photography can help us normalize death as part of life
Why funerals can be a time of transformation and healing

Links mentioned in this episode:

Resources:

Check out the beautiful gallery of photographs on Nell’s website here
Continuing Bonds Theory of Grief

Related episodes:

Transcript:

Ep. 554 After-Death Communication and Developing Intuition with Purnima Sinha

July 6, 2026July 4, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn how a near-death experience and after-death communication with her mother led to increased spiritual awareness and intuition for Purnima.

About my guest:

My guest Purnima Sinha has certificates in LifeStyle Medicine and Meditation & Psychotherapy for the Harvard School of Medicine. She taught meditation to patients for many years and has been researching consciousness for over three decades. Today she discusses the mystical experiences she has had throughout her life including after-death communication with her mother following her death. She has assisted many people at the end of life and has taught many others how to access and utilize intuition.

Purnima Sinha Interview Download

In this episode:

How her mother’s death and after-death communication was a catalyst for her spiritual growth
How her parents early teaching about karma and seva have influenced her life
Why forgiveness played an important role in her spiritual transformation
The nature of her near-death experience
How she started receiving messages from her mother
Why fear makes it impossible to receive after-death or intuitive communication
Why love and gratitude are the best practices to cultivate in your life
How the mind and the ego can interfere with receiving guidance

Links mentioned in this episode:

Resources:

International Association for Near Death Studies – IANDS.org
Hello from Heaven
Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Surviving Death – Netflix Series

Related episodes:

Transcript:

Ep. 553 Compassionate Schools: Education on Illness, Dying, and Grief for Children with Dr. Sally Paul and Bert Quintiens

June 29, 2026June 28, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn how the Compassionate Schools model can foster better support for children and young people experiencing grief, illness and loss..

About the guests:

My guests Dr. Sally Paul and Bert Quintiens have developed a how-to guide for Compassionate Schools that we discuss in today’s conversation. Sally is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland where she teaches and researches in the areas of bereavement, death education, and public health approaches to palliative care. Bert is a researcher at the End-of-Life Care Research Group at Vrije Universiteit in Brussels, Belgium. He focuses on Compassionate Communities and Compassionate Cities and how initiatives like Compassionate Schools can help normalize conversations about death and caregiving. Get the Compassionate Schools How to Guide at the link below:

Compassionate Schools How-To Guide

Sally Paul and Bert Quintiens Interview Download

In this episode:

What is a Compassionate School
Why is it important for schools to address the existence of death and grief for students and staff
Children can cope with difficult situations when given age-appropriate information
Why culture change can happen faster with a “bottom up” approach
How each compassionate school is unique and meets the particular needs of a community
Tips for introducing Compassionate Schools to your community
Obstacles and resistance to this work
Why it’s important to start with small goals like placing books on death and grief in the school library
How to support teachers in having conversations with grieving children

Links mentioned in this episode:

Resources:

The Resilience Project | Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief
Bereavement Charter Mark for primary schools | Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief
Compassionate Schools: A How-to Guide – The European Learning Network, Compassionate Schools – University of Strathclyde (Guide available in multiple languages on this page)

Related Episodes:

Transcript:

Ep. 552 Drummer Girl: How a Child’s Near-Death Experience Changed Her Life

June 22, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn how a childhood near-death experience sparked a lifelong search for spiritual meaning in life and death.

Portrait of a woman with short blond hair smiling, wearing a yellow shirt, next to the cover of the book 'Drummer Girl' by Sally Dukes, with text about a child's NDE.

About the guest:

My guest Sally Dukes has been a small business owner, psychotherapist, editor, and middle school teacher and she is also the author of a newly published memoir titled drummer girl: A Story of Life After Death. The book tells the story of Sally’s near-death experience as a child and how it changed her thoughts on life and death and inspired a lifelong spiritual journey. She discusses the book and the travel stories that are highlighted within it while expressing her hope that readers will come away with less fear of death. Learn more at her website:

sallydukes.com

In this episode:

The story of Sally’s NDE at age 3
How wanting to understand that experience fueled her search throughout life
The isolation experienced after such an extraordinary event that others don’t understand
Why she views it as a sacred experience
How medicine can pathologize occurrences that can’t be explained rationally
Sally’s travels in India and Burma
Why she no longer fears death

Links for this episode:

Resources:

What Really Matters episode: My View of the Afterlife
Proof of Heaven and the Afterlife with Dr. Eben Alexander
EOLU recording: Supernatural Stories from the Dreams of a Hospice Physician

Related Episodes:

Near-Death Experiences and Healthcare with Heidi Walsh and Lilia Samoilo
NDE’s and After-Death Communication in Hospice Work with Scott Janssen

Ep. 551 Spiritual Bypassing and Complicated Grief with Dr. Terri Daniel

June 15, 2026June 14, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn about a symposium on spiritual bypassing in situations of grief and bereavement and why it’s important to look at this.

Portrait of Dr. Terri Daniel discussing spiritual bypassing and complicated grief, with a microphone and colorful background.

About the guest:

My return guest this week is Dr. Terri Daniel who is an end-of-life educator, inter-spiritual hospice chaplain, and grief counselor. She is the founder of the Conference on Death, Grief and Belief and the Ask Doctor Death podcast. Over the years she has helped thousands of people learn to live, die and grieve more consciously while exploring the intersection of psychology and spirituality, and the influence of toxic theology on the experience of dying and grieving. She is the author of four books on death and grief. Today we discuss spiritual bypassing which is the focus of Terri’s upcoming online Symposium on July 25th. Learn more about the Symposium and Terri’s work at the website:

deathgriefandbelief.com

Terri Daniel Interview Download

In this episode:

What is spiritual bypassing?
There is both positive and negative religious coping
Positive coping involves taking action toward restoration
When spiritual bypassing may serve a positive purpose
Bereavement assessment tools and their usefulness
Characteristics of various types of spiritual struggle
Prolonged grief vs complicated grief
The importance of community and ritual for addressing grief
Instrumental vs intuitive grieving
Some questions like “Why did God let this happen” can never be answered

Links for this episode:

Resources:

Register for the Symposium here
Book: Wild and Holy – A Journey Through Grief, Guilt, and Grace in Italy
Substack Post: How the Fear of Death Makes Us Easier to Manipulate
What Really Matters Podcast: What’s the Difference Between Belief and Faith?
What Really Matters Podcast: What is Toxic Positivity?

Related Episodes:

How Religion Can Harm the Grief Process with Terri Daniel
Understanding the Fear of Death with Kelvin Chin

Transcript:

Ep. 550 Changing the Culture Around Palliative Care with Jared Rubenstein MD

June 8, 2026June 7, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn how this doctor’s animated videos are helping to share information and create culture change around palliative care in medicine and in the public at large.

A smiling man wearing glasses, with short hair and a blue shirt, appears next to text that reads 'Changing the Culture Around Palliative Care' and 'with Jared Rubenstein MD'.

About the Guest:

My guest Dr. Jared Rubenstein is a pediatric palliative care doctor and medical educator. He uses metaphor, animation, and satire to help people get comfortable with challenging topics. He is the program director for the Baylor College of Medicine Pediatric Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship. He discusses his passion for teaching all healthcare workers how to incorporate palliative care into their work and improving the acceptance of palliative care for both the public and the medical system, using animated videos. Learn more at his website and watch his videos on YouTube:

jaredrubensteinmd.com

Check out his YouTube Channel

Watch this interview on YouTube

Jared Rubenstein MD Interview Download

In this episode:

How his childhood paved the way for his current work
How he uses animated videos to teach about palliative care
Why we need to change the public image of palliative care and the healthcare system at the same time
How to talk to doctors who resist palliative care referrals
How both palliative care and hospice are underutilized because of late referrals
The need for short pitches to share information about palliative care in various situations (including cocktail parties!)
Why palliative care is now truly the standard of care
The need to change the toxic culture of overwork in medicine

Links for this episode:

Resources:

Dr. Jared Rubenstein on Instagram: @drjrubenstein
Substack Post: The Minimalist Approach to the End of Life
Substack Post: The Weight No One Sees – Hidden Grief and Guilt in Healers
What Really Matters Podcast: The Hidden Work of Bearing Bad News

Related episodes:

How to Train Your Doctor with Dr. Matthew Tyler
Palliative Care: What’s Needed Now and in the Future with Dr. John Mulder
Addressing Inequity in Palliative Care with Dr. Kelli Stajduhar

Transcript:

Ep. 549 The “Dying Team”: Community-Supported Deathcare with Anna Byrne

June 1, 2026May 31, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn about a compassionate, community-based approach to caring for someone at the end of life, including the use of medical assistance in dying.

Portrait of a woman with long hair smiling, holding a book titled 'The Last Caravan' next to text about the 'Dying Team' focusing on community-supported healthcare.

My special guest Anna Byrne is and end-of-life educator, speaker, and author who holds degrees in Gerontology, Psychology, Education, and Theology with a thesis on Medical Assistance in Dying. She is the author of the memoir Seven Year Summer and The Last Caravan: The Power of Community at the End of Life, which we discuss today. She shares her experience supporting a friend through the last months of her life, including using MAID and also planning her funeral and burial. She has also co-founded Community-Supported Dying in the qathet region in British Columbia. Learn more at her website:

annambyrne.com

AnnaByrneInterview Download

This episode includes:

How Anna first became acquainted with Mary Morgan and eventually ended up supporting her in her dying process
How Mary approached her dying as an activist just as she had lived her life
The “dying team” Mary created to help her at the end of her life
How COVID complicated the plan for Mary’s last days
The Ring Theory for creating a support network
How her team used Lotsa Helping Hands to organize tasks and helpers
The Blessing Way ritual and how the team applied it to Mary’s care
The “messiness” of community, especially around the end of life
Anticipatory grief as the date of death approached
How they helped Mary plan and carry out her funeral and burial

Links mentioned in this episode:

Lotsa Helping Hands
Related Episodes:
- Seven Year Summer with Anna Byrne
- A Bioethics Conversation on MAID with Jeffery Kahn PhD
- Conversations About MAID with Diane Rehm
- Compassionate Communities with Elizabeth Johnson, Erin Collins, and Qwynn Galloway-Salazar
Books:
- 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying by Karen Wyatt MD
Latest post on Substack: What I Didn’t Understand About Medical Aid in Dying
What Really Matters Podcast: Grieving the Chosen Goodbye
Leave me a message by email: kwyattmd@comcast.net, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Soul
Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu
Buy me a coffee
Donate on Paypal

https://playing-god.transistor.fm/s2/1

Ep. 548 Choice at the End of Life: A Bioethics Conversation on MAID with Jeffrey Kahn PhD in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics

May 25, 2026May 31, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn about facts and misconceptions around medical aid in dying and the ethical tensions that exist in medicine and society.

Image of Jeffrey Kahn, a bioethics expert, alongside text promoting a podcast episode titled 'Choice at the End of Life' discussing medical assistance in dying (MAID).

My guest Professor Jeffrey Kahn is a bioethicist, researcher, author, and Director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. The institute’s award-winning podcast, playing god? explores ethics dilemmas that arise in medicine, science, law, and health policy. Today we discuss with Dr. Kahn the most recent episode of playing god?: I Need you to Help Me Die – an exploration of Medical Aid in Dying through first-person storytelling and expert analysis. This episode includes a clip from I Need You to Help Me Die and listeners are invited to listen to the full episode at the following link:

Jeffrey Kahn Interview Download

This episode includes:

Why the Berman Institute chose to address medical aid in dying in their latest episode
The story of journalist Esmé Deprez and her father’s choice to use MAID
Why medical aid in dying is not the same as suicide
The difference between medically-assisted dying and euthanasia
The protections built into MAID laws that can also become obstacles
Ethical dilemma’s for healthcare providers
Why improved access to MAID is needed in states where it is legal

Links mentioned in this episode:

playing god? podcast
Esmé Deprez’ Essay: “Death With Dignity: How I Helped My Dad Die”
Related episodes:
- Compassion and Choices at the End-of-Life with Arline Hinckley
- Dignity Day: A Guidebook for Medical Aid in Dying with Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
- Medical Aid in Dying: A Physician’s Perspective with Dr. Bob Uslander
- Medical Aid in Dying: A Chaplain’s Perspective with Rev. Dr. Terri Daniel
Books:
- Dignity Day by Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
- 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying by Karen Wyatt MD
- Wild and Holy: A Journey Through Grief, Guilt, and Grace in Italy by Karen Wyatt MD

Latest post on Substack: What I Didn’t Understand About Medical Aid in Dying
What Really Matters Podcast
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Ep. 547 When We Die Talks: Facing the Fear of Death with Zach Ancell

May 18, 2026May 19, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn how asking “What do you think happens when we die?” helped this podcast host deal with death anxiety.

My guest Zach Ancell is the creator of When We Die Talks, a project around one question asked to anonymous callers: “What do you believe happens when we die?” He airs these fascinating conversations as a podcast that explores death, meaning, fear, grief, and how mortality shapes the way we live. Zach invites people to “leave a voicemail and share a belief, a question, or a moment you can’t shake about death: 971-328-0864.” Learn more at the website:

whenwedietalks.com