The Death Studies Podcast

The Death Studies Podcast is a platform for the diversity of voices in, around and contributing to the academic field of Death Studies. Find out more at www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com

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20 episodes
Updated Saturday

Episodes20

Newest first

Saturday · 1 hr 14 min
J.T. Welsch on poetry and suicide, poets’ lives, autoethnography, memoir, suicidology, creative writing, language and the messiness of life
Who is J.T. Welsch? J. T. Welsch is a writer and academic born in the US andbased in the UK, where he teaches at the University of York. He is the author of several books of and about poetry, including Orchids (2010), The Hell Creek Anthology (2015) and The Selling and Self-Regulation of Contemporary Poetry (2020). He also edited the anthology of migrant poetry Wretched Strangers (2018) with Ágnes Lehóczky. His writing has appeared in Poetry Review, Boston Review and the Guardian. In this episode hear about his new book on The Poetry of Suicide: Lessons in grief from the lives and deaths of poets. In the episode introduction, you heard from: Joshua Hurtado Hurtado, PhD, University of Helsinki and Jason Glynos, Professor at the Department of Government, University of Essex about their new article, "Thanabots, fantasy, and theethics of mourning", published in AI & Society. You can find ithere: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00146-026-03200-9 And then Dr. Mórna O’Connor on her and Dr Dorthe Refslund Christensen's new collection, Creative and Aesthetic Ways of Grief: "All Things Reimagined".How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists? To cite this episode, you can use the following citation: Welsch, J.T. (2026) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 1 August 2026. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.33129308 What next? Check out more ⁠episodes⁠ or find out more about the ⁠hosts! ⁠Gota question? ⁠Get in touch⁠.
July 27 · 48 min
Love and Loss: A Day at Arnos Vale Historic Garden Cemetery, Bristol discussing love, romance, death, culture, prison writing, slow suicide, creative writing, obituaries, epitaphs and more
What's the episode about? In this episode, hear about an event on Love and Loss: A DayAt Arnos Vale Historic Garden Cemetery, Bristol discussing love, romance, sex, death, culture, prison writing, slow suicide, creative writing, obituaries, epitaphs and more. You will listen to a range of academic research love, romance, death, grief and loss, all based or connected to the South West of England, and many of whom were recorded whilst walking around the rather hilly Arnos Vale Historic Garden Cemetery in Bristol, so do forgive any out of breath-ness! The day in April 2026 at Arnos Vale began with a networking and idea generation event for researchers, followed by a guided tour open to the public with the theme of love and loss. This was filled with a rich mix of real-life tales — from couples united in life but separated in death, to daring elopements, parental love, and forbidden love. Some stories are touching, some tragic, and some wonderfully surprising. This was followed by a creative writing workshop on the theme of love and loss, including practical activities and stimulus prompts drawn from the cemetery and the lives of its occupants. The aims of the day were: ● To provide a forum for constructive discussion & preliminary dissemination of research works in progress. ● To identify potential future collaboration. ● To share research of high public interest with an openaudience in an established heritage setting. Links below for more information on the place and people inthis episode! Find out more about Arnos Vale. Find out more about newly appointed Associate Professor Dr JoParsons. Find out more about Janine Marriott. Find out more about Dr Andrew Griffiths. A huge thank you to the Open University for their supportfor this event via the Academic Communities Fund! How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists? To cite this episode, you can use thefollowing citation: Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. (2026) The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 26 July 2026. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.33089351 What next? Check out more episodes or find out more about the hosts! Gota question? Get in touch.
July 13 · 53 min
Dead Women and Gendered Death in Visual Culture for MAI: Feminism and Visual Culture
Dead Women and Gendered Death in Visual Culture for MAI: Feminism and Visual Culture Co-edited by Devaleena Kundu, Bethan-Michael-Fox, and Khyati Tripathi, Dead Women and Gendered Death in Visual Culture dives into the factors behind the deeply genderedrepresentations of death and dead bodies in visual culture. In a world dominated by the visual, the female dead body is glamorised and eroticised for consumption.This focus issueexamines the various ways one negotiates with visual representations of femininity in death and the intersectional politics at work behind representations frequently divesting the female body of its agency even in death. The issue features scholars from across the globe with contributions exploring subjects such as fetishisation of femalecorpses, necrophiliac fantasies, spectrality and haunted bodies, feminist necropoetics, gendered deaths and wartime propaganda, and female suicides. The issue invites readers to critically engage with the question of looking and consuming gendered representations of death and dying in visual culture. There is a foreword my Michele Aaron, as her work has informed many of the articles, and you can also hear her on the podcast . There were 25 submissions overall, and in this episode you can hear from the editors and from 12 of the contributors. You can find the issue here: https://www.maifeminism.com/dead-women-and-gendered-death-in-visual-culture/
July 1 · 1 hr 11 min
Dr Molly Conisbee on social histories of death and mourning, liberation thanatology, lessons from the history of death, walking tours and being a bereavement councillor
What's the episode about? In this episode, hear Dr Molly Conisbee on social histories of death and mourning, liberation thanatology, lessons fromthe history of death, walking tours and being a bereavement councillor Who is Molly? Molly Conisbee is a social historian and visiting research fellow at the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath. She has a PhD from the University of Bristol and has spent the last ten years researching the social history of death and mourning. Conisbee is also a bereavement counsellor, has curated walks on the history of death around the country and has written for the Guardian and Ecologist. To cite this episode, you can use the following citation: Conisbee, M. (2026) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R.Published 1 July 2026. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.32866145
June 1 · 51 min
Professor Sandra Ruiz on poetry, writing, form, Brown Study, Ricanness, anticoloniality, grief-work, walking and being with the dead, and minoritarian aesthetics
What's the episode about? In this episode, hear Professor Sandra Ruiz on poetry, writing, form, Brown Study, Ricanness, anticoloniality, grief-work, walking and being with the dead, and minoritarian aesthetics Who is Sandra? Sandra Ruiz is the author of Ricanness: Enduring Time in Anticolonial Performance; Left Turns in Brown Study; and Tears for Tears: Aesthetics in Grief Minor. Ruizis the co-author with Hypatia Vourloumis of Formless Formation: Vignettes for the End of this World and The Alleys: Just Dropped in to See What Condition My Condition Was In andco-editor with Shane Vogel & Uri McMillan of the NYU Press book series Minoritarian Aesthetics. When not writing and editing, Ruiz curates and produces through the Minor Aesthetics Lab. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Sandra Ruiz is the Sue Divan Professor of Performance Studies in the Department of Theatre. The special issue on gendered death in visual culture mentioned in the introduction is here. How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists? To cite this episode, you can use the following citation: Ruiz, S. (2026) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 1 June 2026. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.32529204 What next? Check out more episodes or find out more about the hosts! Got a question? Get in touch.
May 1 · 1 hr 18 min
Ruth E. Toulson on the necropolitics of the ordinary, dying and death in Singapore, anthropology, burials, funeral directors and morticians
What's the episode about? In this episode, hear Ruth E. Toulson on the necropolitics of the ordinary, dying and death in Singapore, anthropology, burials, funeral directors and morticians Who is Ruth? At Johns Hopkins, Ruth E. Toulson is a lecturer for the Master of Arts in Museum Studies program. Toulson is a sociocultural anthropologist whose research focuses on the dead body, and death’s material culture in Southeast and East Asia. Trained at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Toulson brings to Johns Hopkins a multi-sited collaborative international research agenda that combines long-term ethnographic fieldwork and in-depthwork in museum collections. Toulson brings significant teaching and advising experience at the graduate level in anthropology, material culture studies, and critical museum studies. As a whole, Toulson’s scholarship explores the intersection ofdeath and the state, particularly in moments of sociopolitical transition. Toulson probes this intersection by focusing particularly on the dead body as a form of highly politicized material culture. Supported through numerous external grants, including those from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Mellon Foundation, and the Hong Kong Research Council, thisresearch program has resulted in published work, including a book and numerous book chapters and peer-reviewed articles, including in Journal of Material Culture. Toulson recently delivered the keynote address at University ofMelbourne, Redesigning Deathcare Conference, and has given invited lectures at the Gatty Lecture Series (Cornell), The Centre for the Study of Death and Society (University of Bath), The Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies (Harvard), and at the Council for Southeast Asia (Yale), among otherinvitations. Toulson is associate editor of the journal Anthropology and Humanism. How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists? To cite this episode, you can use the following citation: Toulson, R. (2026) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 1 May 2026. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.32143756 Check out more episodes or find out more about the hosts! Gota question? Get in touch.
April 1 · 1 hr 5 min
Professor Beverley Clack on philosophy of religion, failure, loss, neoliberalism, thinking about death and not freaking out, women, gender and good public conversations about difficult topics
What's the episode about? In this episode, hear Professor Beverley Clack on philosophyof religion, failure, loss, neoliberalism, thinking about death and not freaking out, women, gender and good public conversations about difficult topics Who is Bev? Beverley Clack is Visiting Fellow at Harris Manchester College, Oxford. She is funded by the Westminster College Oxford Trust to research and create projects which enable flourishing in and outside the Methodist Church. Beverley taught for many yearsat Oxford Brookes University, where she is Professor Emerita in the Philosophy of Religion at Oxford Brookes University. Her publications include Feminism, Religion and Practical Reason (Cambridge 2021); How to be a Failure andStill Live Well (2020); Philosophy of Religion: A Critical Introduction, co-authored with Brian R Clack (3rd edition published in 2019); Freud on the Couch (2013); Sex and Death: A Reappraisal of Human Mortality (2002); and Misogyny in the Western Philosophical Tradition (1999). She is currently working on How to Think about Death (And Not Freak Out) for Bloomsbury. How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists?To cite this episode, you can use the following citation: Clack, B. (2026) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 1 April 2026. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.31916916 What next? Check out more episodes or find out more about the hosts! Gota question? Get in touch.
March 1 · 58 min
Cole Imperi on grief, thanatology, shadow loss, and non-clinical tools in support of those experiencing loss and grief
Cole Imperi on grief, thanatology, shadow loss, and non-clinical tools in support of those experiencing loss and grief. What's the episode about? In this episode, hear Cole Imperi on grief, thanatology, shadow loss, and non-clinical tools in support of those experiencing loss and grief. Who is Cole? Cole Imperi is a thanatologist, award-winning author, and researcher whose work focuses on the use of non-clinical tools in support of those experiencing loss and grief. Cole is the Founder of the School of American Thanatology, which has students in more than 30 countries, where she both teaches andconducts research under the school’s ThanaLab. Through her development of Shadowloss Theory and her pioneering work with the field of Thanabotany, Cole’s work seeks to bridge the gaps left by the decline in non-clinical, community-led bereavement support. As a leading expert in the field of thanatology, Cole hasgiven multiple TEDx Talks on Shadowloss and resiliency, appeared on the Netflix series The Future of…, and served as an expert for WNYC’s Radiolab, The Atlantic, The New York Times, Ologies, MoMA, and more. Cole’s is the author of A Guide to Grief, for teens and tweens, and a book about grief for adults called Grief is the Way Home being published by Penguin in 2027. Cole has diverse experience from working in and aroundloss and grief since 2008 where she worked as a chaplain-thanatologist in one of America’s 25 largest jails, mortuary college professor, crematory operator, hospice volunteer, grief support group leader for children as young as 3 to adults, death companion, served on the board of a green burial startup, and as Board President of a historic cemetery and arboretum. She traveled the US and Canada for 5 years training funeral directors and embalmers, and co-founded a deathcare startup. She currently consults on bereavement programming for organizations, and publishes the popular column Grief or Madness. Cole was the recipient of the Curtis Gates Lloyd Fellowship through the Lloyd Library and Museum, is a California MasterGardener, and a California Master Food Preserver. She works as a horticulturalist one morning a week specifically for a Hummingbird Garden, which gives her a break from life behind a computer screen. She is based in Los Angeles. The Book Promo: Decolonising Death Studies You can find the book promoted in the introduction here. How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists? To cite this episode, you can use the following citation: Imperi, C. (2026) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 1 March 2026. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.31440127 What next? Check out more episodes or find out more about the hosts! Gota question? Get in touch.
February 1 · 1 hr 14 min
Dr. Nina Vaswani on young men and grief during in imprisonment, childhood bereavement, masculinities, trauma informed practice, disenfranchised grief and public health responses to grief
What's the episode about? In this episode, hear Nina Vaswani on young men and grief during in imprisonment, childhood bereavement, masculinities and grief, trauma informed practice, comics for education and research, disenfranchised grief, grieving a death you have caused, and public health responses to grief Who is Nina? Nina is Senior Research Fellow at the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice, University of Strathclyde. Her key research interests are the experience and impact of loss, bereavement and trauma in young people and how these experiences interface and shape contact with the justicesystem. Of particular interest is the overrepresentation of young men in justice-settings, and how their exposure to loss, bereavement and trauma might shape their developing masculinities identities, behaviours and outcomes. As a result, she is also interested in institutional and organisational responses to trauma, and the realities of trauma-informed approaches in practice. Nina was also the PI on Men Minds, a coproduced research project exploring masculinities and mental health with marginalised young men. Resources When People Die Men Minds comic, whichopens with a story of bereavement in prison The prevalence study isopen access and is available here. How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists? To cite this episode, you can use the following citation: Vaswani, N. (2026) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 2 January 2026. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.31224109
January 2 · 1 hr 15 min
Joshua Hurtado Hurtado on postmortal futures, future studies, de-growth, immortality imaginaries, future collective death, Westworld, and promoting your work in 2026
What's the episode about? In this episode, hear Joshua Hurtardo Hurtardo on postmortal futures, future studies, de-growth, immortality imaginaries, future collective death, Westworld, and promoting your work in 2026 Who is Joshua? Joshua Hurtado Hurtado is a Mexican interdisciplinary researcher, currently finalising his PhD research at the University of Helsinki, Finland. He studied International Relations for his Bachelor’s degree at the Tecnológico de Monterrey university,in Mexico. He obtained his first Master’s degree in International Relations as well, specialising in Ideology and Discourse analysis, from the University of Essex, in the United Kingdom. He did a second Master’s degree at the University of Turku, in Finland, this time in Futures Studies. After that, he began hisPhD research at the University of Helsinki, Finland, in Interdisciplinary Environmental Sciences. He uses his expertise in several disciplines and fields of study to conduct theoretical and empirical research on the topics of death and immortality, as well as on the topics of degrowth and sustainability more generally. Scholars in the DeathStudies field will find his articles ‘Towards a postmortalsociety of virtualised ancestors? The Virtual Deceased Person and the preservation of the social bond’, ‘Envisioning postmortalfutures: six archetypes on future societal approaches to seeking immortality’, and ‘Exploited in immortality: Techno-capitalism and immortality imaginaries in the twenty-firstcentury’ published in the journal Mortality, his article ‘Fight, or flee, the future: Affect in contrasting responses against future collective death’ published in the journal Journal of Sociology, and his book chapters ‘Westworld, Morality, and Digital Afterlives’ in the edited collection Depicting the Afterlife in Contemporary Film and Media: Morality, Religion and Death byAngelique Nairn, and ‘Death, Relationality, and Resistance against Necropolitical Violence in Latin America’ in the upcoming edited book Decolonising Death Studies by Panagiotis Pentaris, Stacey Pitsillides and Hajar Ghorbani. In addition to his academic trajectory, he has also worked at the Ministry of Social Development at the local level in Nuevo León, Mexico, in the roles of policy analyst and later chief of research. He has taught courses at the Undergraduate level at Tecnológico de Monterrey, in Mexico, on Business Models andEntrepreneurship (despite his insistent anti-capitalist critiques) and at the Master’s level at the University of Helsinki, on Organizations and EconomicDegrowth. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, watching films and TV series, and playing with Luna, his family’s dog. You can contact him via the following email addresses: joshua.hurtado.h@gmail.com (personal), and joshua.hurtado@helsinki.fi (institutional, as of January 2026). You can find him at BlueSky at @joshuahh.bsky.social How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists? To cite this episode, you can use the following citation: Hurtado Hurtado, J. (2026) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 2 January 2026. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com,DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.30987202What next? Check out more episodes or find out more about the hosts!Got a question? Get in touch.
Dec 1, 2025 · 1 hr 14 min
Professor Douglas Davies on the development of death studies, ‘words against death’, the ‘dividual’, religion, ‘sacred secrets’, the ‘opacity of the self’ and the ‘curated everything’
What's the episode about? In this episode, hear Professor Douglas Davies on thedevelopment of death studies, ‘words against death’, the ‘dividual’, religion, ‘sacred secrets’, the ‘opacity of the self’ and the ‘curated everything’, keeping a dream diaries since 1979, the over-optimism of posthumanism, wealth inequality, & the privilege of intellectuals as ‘people who think’. Who is Douglas? This introduction to Douglas Davies was written by DrGeorgina Robinson, who awarded Douglas with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2025 Death, dying and Disposal Conference in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Douglas Davies is a name known to all who work in theinterdisciplinary field of Death Studies. From early career scholars, fresh in the field, through to senior colleagues who have themselves deeply influenced the field, the stories that people tell of their experiences of Douglas are always warm and encouraging, yet unique to the individual: the time and careDouglas gives to all who encounter him is a true testament of his character. As a founding member of ASDS and editorial board member ofMortality Douglas has always offered a home to Death Studies scholars, having hosted numerous Death Studies events, including the International Conference onthe Social Context of Death, Dying, and Disposal and the inaugural International Symposium of the Death Online Research Network (DORS#1), as well as events for funerary professionals, including numerous Summer Schools of theNational Association of Funeral Directors. Alongside these external events, Douglas has also welcomedcountless students, researchers, and professional colleagues to Durham during his time as Director of Durham University’s Centre for Death and Life Studies through visiting professorships, library scholarships to work in the Archivesof the Cremation Society of Great Britain, alongside conferences hosted by the Centre. What is unique about Douglas is that despite his countless works whichhave deeply influenced scholarly thinking within the field, more often than not, it is a conversation or engagement with him that sticks with Death Studies scholars: his kindness and encouraging nature are second-to-none. Nevertheless, the significant impact that his countlessworks have had – both academically and practically, with his work impacting policy changes and the funeral sector itself – must not be understated (e.g., Mors Britannica, 2015; Death, Ritual and Belief, 3 editions 1997, 2002, 2017;Natural Burial, 2012; A Brief History of Death, 2005; Theology of Death, 2008). Significantly, 2025 marks 50 years of Douglas's career in academia: how fitting that the association he was formative in establishing would award him with thehonour of Lifetime Achievement Award this year. How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists? To cite this episode, you can use the following citation: Davies, D. (2025) Interview on The Death StudiesPodcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 1 December 2025.Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.30752183 What next? Check out more episodes or find out more about the hosts! Gota question? Get in touch.
Nov 1, 2025 · 1 hr 6 min
Dr. Jessica Young on assisted dying, the New Zealand End of Life Choice Bill, culturally responsive research, end of life care and decision making, and sociological approaches
What's the episode about? In this episode, hear Dr Jessica Young on assisteddying, the New Zealand End of Life Choice Bill, culturally responsive research, end of life care and decision making, and sociological approaches. Who is Jessica? Dr Jessica Young is a Senior Research Fellow at Victoria University of Wellington and the University of Auckland, and an adjunct senior lecturer in the Australian Centre for Health Law Research, Queensland University of Technology. She is a sociologist specialising in death, dying andassisted dying. She completed her PhD in 2020 at the University of Otago and received a prestigious post-doctoral fellowship from the Cancer Society of New Zealand. Since the End of Life Choice Bill was introduced in NewZealand, Dr Young has been building a programme of research to investigate multiple facets of assisted dying. She leads and contributes to several projects on assisteddying, most recently ‘Exploring the early experiences of the assisted dying service in Aotearoa’, funded by the Health Research Council. Dr Young has led impactful research in end-of-life care, securing over $3 million in competitive funding. She is the founder and co-chair of New Zealand’sAssisted Dying Research Network and was appointed by the Director-General of Health to the Support and Consultation for End of Life in NZ (SCENZ) Group (2021–2023). Her work has directly shaped national policy: 13 of her team’s recommendations were adopted in the Ministry of Health’s 2024 End of Life Choice Act Review. She has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles, six editorials, and three book chapters. To ensure her research goes beyond academia, she activelyengages with media. She is passionate about improving end-of-life experiences for patients, whānau/families and health practitioners. Committed to ethical, inclusive, and culturally responsive research, she seeks to involve tangatawhenua (indigenous people of NZ), stakeholders and communities. You can find Jessica on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-young-7097a722/ The book introduced in the episode introduction is Death, Commemoration, and Cultural Meaning Past and PresentEdited by Robert Spinelli and Robyn S. Lacy. How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists? To cite this episode, you can use thefollowing citation: Young, J. (2025) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 1 November 2025. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.30507878 What next? Check out more episodes or find out more about the hosts! Gota question? Get in touch.
Oct 1, 2025 · 1 hr 39 min
DDD17: The 2025 Death, Dying and Disposal Conference
What's the episode about? In this episode, get an overview of the 2025 Death, Dying and Disposal Conference held in Utrecht in the Netherlands What was the conference about? The below information was taken from the conference website. 'Death is political and performs the political. This is evident not only in death itself, but also in the dead (who can become political actors), their bodies, the process of dying (which is, amongst others, infrastructurally related to political discourse and inequalities), and bereavement (which can also become apolitical act). The political aspects of this theme extend beyond national or international political institutions (such as governments, state actors, multinational corporations, or political or religious alliances) to encompass everybody and everything that has to do with (the exercise of) power andmoralities, e.g., families, kin, neighbourhoods, friendship networks. Our time together at DDD17 – as a short, but hopefully (partly)lasting DDD17 community – has come to a close. Over these past days, we’ve explored, listened, debated, and imagined — and we want to thank you for bringing such openness and curiosity to the theme of the Politics of Death. This may be the end of the conference, but we hope it is only the beginning of conversations on this theme. Let’s continue them in whatever ways we can — in our research, our writing, our teaching, our work, our communities. We hope you are leaving as inspired as we are. Thanks to everybody who made this conference what is has been. A conference is made by its participants – together we were a fantastic community.' How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists? To cite this episode, you can use the following citation: Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. (2025) DDD17. The DeathStudies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 1October 2025. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com,DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.30256387 What next? Check out more episodes or find out more about the hosts! Got a question? Get in touch.
Aug 1, 2025 · 57 min
Dr. Kaylee Alexander on digital humanities, being a research data librarian, visual culture, cemeteries, French cemetery laws, cemetery sculpture, ethically sound data visualisation and survival bias
What's the episode about? In this episode, hear Kaylee Alexander discuss the digital humanities, being a research data librarian, visual culture, cemeteries, French cemetery laws, cemetery sculpture, ethically sound data visualisation and survival bias Who is Kaylee? Dr. Kaylee P. Alexander is a Research Data Librarian at the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library. She holds a Ph.D. in Art History and Visual Culture from Duke University and specializes in nineteenth-century visual culture, monuments, and funerary material culture. Her research is embedded in transdisciplinary practices at the intersection of visual studies, cultural economics, sociology, and data science. You can find a list of her publications on her website. She is the author of A Data-Driven Analysis of Cemeteries and Social Reform in Paris, 1804–1924 (Routledge 2024). How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists? To cite this episode, you can use the following citation: Alexander, K. (2025) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 1 August 2025. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.29763560 What next? Check out more episodes or find out more about the hosts! Gota question? Get in touch.
Jul 3, 2025 · 1 hr 19 min
Professor Patricia MacCormack on philosophy, death activism, veganism, antinatalism, necrosexuality, the Anthropocene, dudebros in academia, and a loving and vitalist relationship to death
What's the episode about? In this episode, hear Patricia MacCormack on philosophy, death activism, veganism, antinatalism, necrosexuality, the Anthropocene, dudebros in academia, and a loving and vitalist relationship to death Who is Patricia? Professor Patricia MacCormack is Professor of Continental Philosophy. She is the author of Cinesexuality (Routledge2008) and Posthuman Ethics (Routledge 2012) and the editorof The Animal Catalyst (Bloomsbury 2014), Deleuze andthe Animal (EUP 2017), Deleuze and the Schizoanalysis ofCinema (Continuum 2008) and Ecosophical Aesthetics (Bloomsbury 2018) and The Ahuman Manifesto: Activisms for the End of the Anthropocene. She recently completed a Leverhulme Fellow researching and developing Death Activism and completing the monograph Death Activism for Bloomsbury (2025), which we will talk about today. She is also the author of numerus journalarticles and anthology chapters and the author of fiction. Patricia’s photo is of her on Mary Wollstonecraft's former grave. How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists? To cite this episode, you can use the following citation: MacCormack, P. (2025) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 3 July 2025. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.29473577 What next? Check out more episodes or find out more about the hosts! Got a question? Get in touch.
Jun 1, 2025 · 1 hr 16 min
Dr. Terri Daniel on toxic theology, healthy theology, complicated grief, being a non-religious chaplain, hospice and loss
What's the episode about? In this episode, hear Dr. Terri Daniel on toxic theology, healthy theology, complicated grief, being a non-religious chaplain, hospice and loss. Who is Terri? Dr. Terri Daniel is an inter-spiritual hospice chaplain, end-of-life educator, and grief counselor certified in death, dying and bereavement by the Association of Death Education and Counseling and in family-focused grief therapy by ThePortland Institute for Loss and Transition. She conducts workshops throughout the U.S. and is an adjunct instructor in thanatology and chaplaincy at Marian University, the University of Maryland and the Graduate Theological Union. She is also the founder of The Conference on Death, Grief andBelief, and the Ask Doctor Death podcast. Terri's academic credentials include a B.A. in Religious Studies from Marylhurst University, an M.A. in Pastoral Care from Fordham University, and a DMin from the San Francisco Theological Seminary. Over the years Terri has helped hundreds of people learn to live, die and grieve more consciously. Her work is acclaimed by hospice professionals, spiritual seekers, counselors, theologians, and academics worldwide. She is the author of four books on death, grief and beyond. A Swan in Heaven: Conversations Between Two Worlds (2007) Embracing Death: A New Look at Grief, Gratitude andGod (2010) Turning the Corner on Grief Street: Loss and Traumaas a Journey to Awakening (2014) Grief and God: When Religion Does More Harm ThanHealing (2019) Want to complete the compassionate communities, atlas survey mentioned at the start of the episode? See below for more information! This atlas will showcase local and global efforts, connect like-minded communities, and inspire others around the world. We invite you and your members to take part in a short survey (approx. 10 minutes) about your experiences. Your inputwill help. Participation is anonymous and voluntary, and you can stop at any time. The survey can also be translated into your preferred language. For more information and toparticipate, click here. How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists? To cite this episode, you can use thefollowing citation: Daniel, T. (2025) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 1 June 2025. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.29207024 What next? Check out more episodes or find out more about the hosts! Gota question? Get in touch.
May 1, 2025 · 1 hr
Dr. Sydney Campbell on Medical Assistance in Dying for mature minors, children’s participation, policy, assisted dying, childism, participatory research and end-of-life contexts
What's the episode about? In this episode, hear Sydney Campbell on Medical Assistance in Dying for mature minors, children’s participation, policy, assisted dying, childism, participatory research and end-of-life contexts Who is Sydney? Dr. Sydney Campbell is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University. She completed her PhD in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto wherein she generated conceptual and empirical evidence to inform ongoing discussions related to Medical Assistance in Dying for mature minors in Canada. As a whole, Sydney’s work aims to advance perspectives on the participation and engagement of young people, rethinking policy action and analysis with a child-inclusive lens, and improving children’s overall health and well-being inseveral facets of their lives, including in end-of-life contexts. What was the conference mentioned at the start of the episode? The conference 'Funeral and Death Ritual for the Modern World. Co-creation, participation, exploration' is on 14th June 2025 at Natural Endings in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, UK. It's a gathering of undertakers , ceremonialists, writers/authors, artists and theatre makers. How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists? To cite this episode, you can use thefollowing citation: Campbell, S. (2025) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 1 May 2025. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.28911446 What next? Check out more episodes or find out more about the hosts!Got a question? Get in touch.
Apr 1, 2025 · 42 min
Professor Claire Nally on literature, Goth, Steampunk, death memoirs, representations of dead women, death positive libraries & working in academia
What's the episode about? In this episode, hear Claire Nally on literature, Goth, Steampunk, death memoirs, representations of dead women, death positive libraries & working in academia Who is Claire? Claire Nally is Professor of Modern and Contemporary Literature at Northumbria University, UK, where sheresearches Irish Studies, Neo-Victorianism, Gender and Subcultures. She published her first monograph, Envisioning Ireland: W. B. Yeats’s Occult Nationalism, in 2009, followed by her secondbook, Selling Ireland: Advertising, Literature and Irish Print Culture 1891–1922 (written with John Strachan). She has co-edited a volume on Yeats, and two volumes on gender, as well as the international library series ‘Gender and Popular Culture’ for Bloomsbury (with Angela Smith). She has written widely on a number of modern and contemporary topics, and her most recent monograph is Steampunk: Gender, Subculture and the Neo-Victorian, published by Bloomsbury in 2019. She was co-I (with Stacey Pitsillides) on the Death Positive Library Project. Her next book is entitled The Death Memoir in ContemporaryCulture. How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists?To cite this episode, you can use the following citation: Nally, C. (2025) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 1 April 2025. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.28704131 What next? Check out more episodes or find out more about the hosts! Gota question? Get in touch.
Mar 11, 2025 · 1 hr
Death and Institutions: Processes, Places and the Past
What's the episode about? In this episode, get an overview of the 2025 Edited Collection Death and Institutions: Processes, Places and the Past What is the Book About? Institutions play a crucial role in shaping experiences of end-of-life care, dying, death, body disposal and bereavement. However, there has been little holistic or multidisciplinary research in this area, with studies typically focusing on individual settings such as hospitals and cemeteries, or being confined to specific disciplines. This interdisciplinary collection combines chapters on process, place and the past to examine the relationships both within and between institutions, institutionalization and death in international contexts. Of broad appeal to students and academics in areas including social policy, health sciences, sociology, psychology, anthropology, cultural studies, history and the wider humanities, this collection spans multiple disciplines to offer crucial insights into the end of life, body disposal, bereavement and mourning. Introduction - Kate Woodthorpe, Helen Frisby and Bethan Michael-Fox 1. Culture as an Institution: Assessing Quality of Death in China - Chao Fang 2. The Market for Human Body Parts: Institutions,Intermediaries and Regulation - Lee Moerman and Sandra van der Laan 3. Secrecy, Judgement and Stigma: Assisted Dying inAotearoa New Zealand - Rhona Winnington 4. Institutional Thoughtlessness: Prison as a Place forDying - Renske Visser 5. Out of the Ashes in New York City: Body StorageBottleneck in COVID-19's First Wave - Sally Raudon 6. Governing the Dead's Territory - Hajar Ghorbani 7. 'The Bluecoat Boys to Walk and Sing an Anthem before the Corpse': The Children of Christ's Hospital in London Funerals of the 18th Century - Dan O'Brien 8. Inside-Out and Outside-In: Learned Institutions andGarden Cemeteries in 19th-Century Britain - Lindsay Udall 9. ‘They Attached No Blame to the Staff in Charge': TheRole of Dublin Workhouse Administration in Preventing and Contributing to Institutional Mortality, 1872–1913 - Shelby Zimmerman 10. Tenets and Tensions: A Critical Exploration of the Death Positive Movement - Anna Wilde 11. Representations of Immortality and Institutions in 21st-Century Popular Culture - Devaleena Kundu and Bethan Michael-Fox 12. ‘I Was So Lost … and Who Brought You Back? Me.' - Deathstyle Gurus and the New Institutional Logics ofMourning on Instagram - Johanna Sumiala and Linda Pentikäinen Afterword - Kate Woodthorpe, Helen Frisby and Bethan Michael-Fox Want to publish with Bristol University Press and the Death and Culture series? Find out more. How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists? To cite this episode, you can use the following citation: Woodthorpe, K., Frisby, H. and Michael-Fox, B. (2025) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R.Published 11 March 2025. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.28572215 What next? Check out more episodes or find out more about the hosts! Got a question? Get in touch.
Mar 4, 2025 · 1 hr 31 min
The 7th International Symposium of the Death Online Research Network (DORS#7) and Tamara Kneese on digital death, genAI, ethics, data, society & collective action
What's the episode about? In this episode, hear highlights from the 7th International Symposium of the Death Online Research Network (DORS#7) and Tamara Kneese on digital death, genAI, ethics, moving from academia to the private sector, data, society & collective action What was DORS#7? The 7th International Symposium of the Death Online ResearchNetwork (DORS#7) on October 3rd–5th, 2024 was titled Digital Death: Transforming History, Rituals and Afterlife. Hear soundbites and learn about the conference presentations and events in this episode! Who is Tamara? Dr. Tamara Kneese directs Data & Society Research Institute's Climate, Technology, and Justice program. Previously, she led Data & Society's Algorithmic Impact Methods Lab (AIMLab). Before joining D&S, she was lead researcher at Green Software Foundation, director of developer engagement on the Green Software team at Intel, and assistant professor of Media Studies and director of Gender and Sexualities Studies at the University of San Francisco. She is the author of ⁠Death Glitch: How Techno-Solutionism FailsUs in This Life and Beyond⁠ (Yale University Press, 2023). Tamara holds a PhD in Media, Culture and Communication from NYU. ⁠www.⁠⁠tamarakneese.com⁠ | ⁠@tamigraph.bsky.social⁠ How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists? To cite this episode, you can use the following citation: Kneese, T. (2025) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox,B. and Visser, R. Published 4 March 2025. Available at: ⁠www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com⁠, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.28531994 What next? Check out more ⁠episodes⁠ or find out more about the ⁠hosts! ⁠Got a question? ⁠Get in touch⁠.