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When We Die Talks

Zach Ancell

When We Die Talks is a collection of real conversations with real people about death, meaning, and what it’s like to be human.


Each week, host Zach Ancell speaks with an anonymous caller. It begins with one question: What do you think happens when we die? From there, the conversation goes wherever it goes. Belief. Doubt. Loss. Relief. Fear. Sometimes even laughter.

These aren’t experts or public figures. Just everyday people saying the quiet parts out loud. The result is raw, unpredictable, and deeply human.


New anonymous calls every Tuesday.


Want to add your voice? Apply to be a caller at whenwedietalks.com. Leave a voicemail and share a belief, a question, or a moment you can’t shake about death: 971-328-0864.

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  • 23 episodes
  • weekly
  • Avg 53 min
  • English

Episodes 23

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  • #55
    April 28 · 1 hr 6 min

    Bonus — Don Sires: Exit Interview

    This one is different. When We Die Talks is built around anonymous conversations — people calling in to talk about death, dying, and what they think comes next. No names, no faces, just honest conversation. This episode breaks that format entirely, and I think once you hear it you'll understand why it had to. Don Sires was one of the very first guests on this podcast. Over a year ago he sat down with me, not anonymously, by his own choice, and talked about living with ALS, his Baha'i faith, and what he believed waited on the other side. That episode, Episode 8, became one of the most listened to conversations this show has ever had. It's still the one I get contacted about the most. A few weeks ago Don texted me. His nurse had given him four to six weeks to live. And then he asked if I wanted to do a wrap-up interview. That's very Don. I went to his home and we sat down one more time. This conversation is quieter than the first one. Slower. The Don you met in Episode 8 is still very much there, the curiosity, the warmth, the willingness to go deep, but you'll notice the difference. He wanted to wrap things up, offer some final thoughts, and leave something behind. If you haven't heard Episode 8, please start there. Get to know him first. Then come back. I'm honored that Don trusted me with his story over a year ago. I'm even more honored that he trusted me with this. Video Episode: If you’d like to watch this conversation instead of just listening, you can find the video version on YouTube About When We Die Talks: When We Die Talks is a podcast built around anonymous conversations about death, loss, and how contemplating mortality shapes the way we live. If you’re new here, start with the Episode Guide. It’s designed to help you find conversations that match where you’re at—curiosity, grief, hesitation, or openness. Stay Connected 🌐 Website: whenwedietalks.com 📰 Substack: When We Die Talks 📸 Instagram: @whenwedietalks ▶️ YouTube: When We Die Talks ✉️ Email: zach@whenwedietalks.com Want to share your thoughts? Leave a voicemail at 971-328-0864 and share what you believe happens when we die. Messages may be featured in a future episode. If you’d like to have a full conversation, you can apply to be an anonymous caller at whenwedietalks.com.

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  • #54
    April 21 · 46 min

    Anonymous #33 — Why Does Some Grief Get to Be Spoken Out Loud and Some Doesn't?

    This week's caller has been living with grief long enough to become a student of it. They lost their mom at twenty-two. Then their cat. Then their soul dog thirteen months ago. This is a conversation about grief that doesn't rank itself, animals as family, and what it means to believe your soul chose this life even when this life has been really hard. We talk about losing a parent young and what it does when no one ever talked about death before it happened. We get into ecological grief, the mourning of a world as it used to be, and how a hottest summer on record in Greece sent this caller on a path toward becoming a grief recovery specialist. We talk about souls, reincarnation, the possibility that time doesn't exist where our animals go, and the very real question of whether you'll get to meet your dog again. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, we end up laughing about whether the old souls are just patiently waiting while the young souls keep coming back around to figure it out. In this conversation: Ecological grief and why grieving a changing world is not a disorder, it's a response Anticipatory grief — the kind that starts before you've lost anyone Why they found it harder to lose their cat than their mother, and why that makes complete sense The case for anti-speciesism in grief work — why every animal deserves to be mourned without shame A few lines from the call: "Death is the only thing that is sure that's gonna happen to our body after we're born, and yet no one speaks about it." "I didn't even want to live anymore." What losing their soul dog did, said plainly. "We don't overcome grief. We learn how to live with grief." Book recommendation: The Wild Edge of Sorrow by Francis Weller More book recommendations from past episodes: View the full list Video Episode: If you’d like to watch this conversation instead of just listening, you can find the video version on YouTube Nemosené: Your Life Story A guided audio interview to capture your story in your own words for the people you love. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. About When We Die Talks: When We Die Talks is a podcast built around anonymous conversations about death, loss, and how contemplating mortality shapes the way we live. If you’re new here, start with the Episode Guide. It’s designed to help you find conversations that match where you’re at—curiosity, grief, hesitation, or openness. Stay Connected 🌐 Website: whenwedietalks.com 📰 Substack: When We Die Talks 📸 Instagram: @whenwedietalks ▶️ YouTube: When We Die Talks ✉️ Email: zach@whenwedietalks.com Want to share your thoughts? Leave a voicemail at 971-328-0864 and share what you believe happens when we die. Messages may be featured in a future episode. If you’d like to have a full conversation, you can apply to be an anonymous caller at whenwedietalks.com.

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  • #53
    April 14 · 37 min

    Anonymous #32 — What Do You Do With a Faith That Can't Explain the Worst Thing That Happened to You?

    Note: This episode includes an open discussion of suicide and suicide loss. Please listen when you're in a good place to do so. This week's caller has lived through a concentrated stretch of loss that would bring most people to their knees. A beloved grandmother who raised them. Another grandmother, expected but still hard. And then, in March of 2021, their husband — suddenly, traumatically, in a way that left no warning and no clean answers. They came to this conversation not from a place of unresolved pain, but from one of hard-won peace. And they wanted to talk about how they got there. At the center of it is a belief they've held since childhood and leaned on through every loss: that no one dies without a final chance. That in the last moments of any life, there is still an opening — for forgiveness, for grace, for something that doesn't close until it actually closes. In this conversation: Losing three significant people in three years and how each grief felt entirely different What it means to find your grandmother on the floor and just know before you know Surviving the death of a spouse by suicide Why the caller believes their husband is in heaven and the theological reasoning that got them there The difference between religion and relationship, and why that distinction mattered most when the questions got hardest What it means to be a widow in your forties when you were expecting to grow old together A few lines from the call: "I didn't know up from down. I was totally crushed." "He didn't commit suicide. He died by suicide." "In those last twinkling moments — every single person has that one last opportunity." "When it's my time, I'll be ready. And not fearful." Book mentioned in this episode: The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein More book recommendations from past episodes: View the full list Video Episode: If you’d like to watch this conversation instead of just listening, you can find the video version on YouTube Nemosené: Your Life Story A guided audio interview to capture your story in your own words for the people you love. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. About When We Die Talks: When We Die Talks is a podcast built around anonymous conversations about death, loss, and how contemplating mortality shapes the way we live. If you’re new here, start with the Episode Guide. It’s designed to help you find conversations that match where you’re at—curiosity, grief, hesitation, or openness. Stay Connected 🌐 Website: whenwedietalks.com 📰 Substack: When We Die Talks 📸 Instagram: @whenwedietalks ▶️ YouTube: When We Die Talks ✉️ Email: zach@whenwedietalks.com Want to share your thoughts? Leave a voicemail at 971-328-0864 and share what you believe happens when we die. Messages may be featured in a future episode. If you’d like to have a full conversation, you can apply to be an anonymous caller at whenwedietalks.com.

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Showing 21–23 of 23 episodes