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The Life and Death Podcast

The Life and Death Podcast

By: Ashgate Hospice
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About this listen

 Honest conversations about life, death and so much more. Your host, Stephen Rumford, talks to people who have experiences of death and dying to get a deeper understanding of what life and death means to them. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and keep up with us on our socials. Twitter: @Ashgate_Hospice Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AshgateHospiceInstagram: @ashgate_hospice The Life and Death Podcast is brought to you by Ashgate Hospice and produced by Reform Radio. Hygiene & Healthy Living Philosophy Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Relationships Social Sciences
Episodes
  • S6 Ep3: Death, beauty and the macabre: a conversation with Joanna Ebenstein

    S6 Ep3: Death, beauty and the macabre: a conversation with Joanna Ebenstein
    Jun 2 2025
    Artist, curator and writer Joanna Ebenstein joins host Stephen Rumford to explore the rich, sometimes eerie, but always fascinating ways we try to make sense of death.
    Joanna is the founder of the Morbid Anatomy project and author of Memento Mori, a beautiful collection of imagery showing how death has been depicted throughout history and across cultures. Her work invites us to consider what these depictions can teach us about grief, memory, and how we live alongside the knowledge that we’ll one day die.
    Together, Joanna and Stephen talk about why people are drawn to the macabre, how rituals and aesthetics can help us process mortality, and what happens when we stop turning away from death, and start looking more closely.
    This is a thought-provoking, tender conversation for anyone curious about the spaces where death, beauty and culture overlap.
    Follow Ashgate on Instagram: @ashgate_hospice
    Support resources: Ashgate Hospice Resource Centre
    Explore Joanna’s work: morbidanatomy.org
    This episode of The Life and Death Podcast was produced by Olivia Swift and it’s a Reform Radio production.
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    39 mins
  • S6 Ep2: How doodling helped Gary Andrews find hope after his wife’s death

    S6 Ep2: How doodling helped Gary Andrews find hope after his wife’s death
    May 19 2025
    When illustrator Gary Andrews’ wife, Joy, died suddenly from sepsis, everything changed in an instant. Left raising their two young children, aged 7 and 10 at the time, Gary picked up a pen and started doodling - not to create perfect pictures, but to let his feelings out, one sketch at a time.
    Those nightly doodles became a lifeline. He shared them online, where they struck a chord with thousands of people grieving or struggling with loss. Through simple drawings, some heartbreaking, some full of laughter, Gary showed what grief really looks like: messy, painful, but also threaded with love and hope.
    In this episode, Gary talks about how creativity helped him survive the hardest days, how a community grew around his drawings, and how it all led to his book, Finding Joy, a tribute to Joy, and to the small moments that keep us going.
    Follow us on Instagram: @ashgate_hospice
    Support resources: Ashgate Hospice Resource Centre
    Find out more about Gary and his work: www.garyscribbler.co.uk


    This episode of The Life and Death podcast was produced by Olivia Swift and it’s a Reform Radio production.
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    36 mins
  • S6 Ep1: How different cultures deal with death and grief

    S6 Ep1: How different cultures deal with death and grief
    May 5 2025
    In the first episode of season six, journalist and author Erica Buist opens up about how the sudden death of her father-in-law forced her to confront her own mortality. Her quest to understand how different cultures approach death took her across seven countries, from Mexico’s Day of the Dead to Indonesia’s corpse parades.
    Erica, author of This Party’s Dead, explores how these cultures celebrate death and allow grief to be expressed in ways that are communal and meaningful, in stark contrast to the isolated, sanitised practices common in the West. Along the way, she shares insights about grief, the role of humour in coping, and the liberating power of cultural rituals.
    This episode invites us to rethink our relationship with death and grief, and to consider how cultural practices can help us navigate death in a more open, less fearful way.
    Don’t miss this conversation that challenges taboos and reminds us of the importance of shared rituals in our journey with death.
    Follow us on Instagram: @ashgate_hospice
    Support resources: Ashgate Hospice Resource Centre
    Read more about Erica and her travels: ericabuist.com

    This episode of The Life and Death podcast was produced by Olivia Swift and it’s a Reform Radio production.
    Show More Show Less
    40 mins

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