Death and Other Stories

Technology is transforming our relationship with dying and grief. Michelle Desmond is a successful corporate business leader turned thanatologist (expert in death and all types of bereavement) who has experienced a lifetime of close personal losses. Michelle has a passion for the impact tech has (and will have) on these essential human experiences. Through engaging conversations on a range of topics, as well as science-backed analysis, she uncovers the stories, ideas, and innovations changing the way we approach grief and death.  In this episode, Michelle speaks with Angela Lean about the long illness and death of her husband Walter Harp. They discuss the realities of life with cancer, how technology came into play throughout Walt's illness and following his death, and what an AI-powered grief experience might look and feel like. You can find Walt's book, "Into the Fun House", here on Amazon. References:  Gillies, J., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2006). Loss, grief, and the search for significance: Toward a model of  meaning reconstruction in bereavement. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 19(1), 31–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/10720530500311182 Jiménez-Alonso, B., & Bresco de Luna, I. (2022). Griefbots. A new way of communicating with    the dead? Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, 57, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-022-09679-3 Reynolds, L., & Botha, D. (2006). Anticipatory grief: Its nature, impact, and reasons for contradictory findings. Counselling, Psychotherapy, and Health, 2(2), 15–26.    

Technology is transforming our relationship with dying and grief. Michelle Desmond is a successful corporate business leader turned thanatologist (expert in death and all types of bereavement) who has experienced a lifetime of close personal losses. Michelle has a passion for the impact tech has (and will have) on these essential human experiences. Through engaging conversations on a range of topics, as well as science-backed analysis, she uncovers the stories, ideas, and innovations changing the way we approach grief and death.  In this episode, Michelle speaks with Laura Zale about her brother Dan – his life, his cancer, his death, and what happened online through it all. The conversation is followed by analysis of how technology plays a role in grief, including what happens before and after death, and touches on the societal expectations and impacts on how we choose to engage online about these difficult topics. To learn more about Fibrolamellar Hepatocellular Carcinoma, visit https://fibrofoundation.org   References:  Moyer, L. M., & Enck, S. (2020). Is my grief too public for you? The digitalization of grief on FacebookTM. Death Studies, 44(2), 89–97. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2018.1522388        Rossetto, K. R., Lannutti, P. J., & Strauman, E. C. (2015). Death on Facebook: Examining the roles of social media communication for the bereaved. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 32(7), 974–994. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407514555272.           Stroebe, M & Schut, H. (1999). The dual process model of coping with bereavement: Rationale and description. Death Studies, 23(3), 197–224. https://doi.org/10.1080/074811899201046

Technology is transforming our relationship with dying and grief. Michelle Desmond is a successful corporate business leader turned thanatologist (expert in death and all types of bereavement) who has experienced a lifetime of close personal losses. Michelle has a passion for the impact tech has (and will have) on these essential human experiences. Through engaging conversations on a range of topics, as well as science-backed analysis, she uncovers the stories, ideas, and innovations changing the way we approach grief and death.  In this episode, Michelle speaks with Liz Willis (a business leader and mother of three with numerous personal interests) about death postivity, what happens to our bodies when we die, and how we celebrate lives - all with a focus on the role of technology. The conversation is followed by an analysis of the dynamics of the disposition and funeral industries, including how technology affects them.      References: Cirigliano, D. L. (2023). Natural organic reduction as a means of body disposition. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying, 88(2), 765-773. https://doi.org/10.1177/00302228231160341 Crawford, J. E., & Holaway, R. (2020). To everything there is a season–A time to live and a time to die: A case study of the history, customs, emerging trends, and market responses in the final disposition industry. Atlantic Marketing Journal,9(2), 5. Dawson, G. D., Santos, J. F., & Burdick, D. C. (1990). Differences in final arrangements between burial and cremation as the method of body disposition. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying, 21(2), 129–146. https://doi.org/10.2190/BVE1-11TH-E6JM-TLVP DeBerry-Spence, B., & Trujillo-Torres, L. (2022). "Don't give us death like this!" Commemorating death in the age of COVID-19. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 7(1), 27–35. https://doi.org/10.1086/711832 Dickinson, G. E. (2012). Diversity in death: Body disposition and memorialization. Illness, Crisis & Loss, 20(2), 141–158. https://doi.org/10.2190/IL.20.2.d Gibbs, M., Meese, J., Arnold, M., Nansen, B., & Carter, M. (2015). # Funeral and Instagram: Death, social media, and platform vernacular. Information, Communication & Society, 18(3), 255–268. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2014.987152 Irion, P. E. (1991). Changing patterns of ritual response to death. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying, 22(3), 159–172. https://doi.org/10.2190/1MY9-7P2B-GWF2-A53X Mitima-Verloop, H. B., Mooren, T. T. M., & Boelen, P. A. (2021). Facilitating grief: An exploration of the function of funerals and rituals in relation to grief reactions. Death Studies, 45(9), 735–745. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2019.1686090 Nansen, B., Kohn, T., Arnold, M., van Ryn, L., & Gibbs, M. (2017). Social media in the funeral industry: On the digitization of grief. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 61(1), 73–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2016.1273925 Ramshaw, E. (2010). The personalization of postmodern post-mortem rituals. Pastoral Psychology, 59(2), 171–178. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-009-0234-6 Sarra, C. (2022). Physical and virtual spaces of grieving: Redefining commemoration via digital tools in COVID-19. https://repository.tudelft.nl/islandora/object/uuid%3A728a9f63-fb8c-49fe-a814-2b6dd44bcb28 Sheng, X., Simpson, P. M., & Siguaw, J. A. (2019). Emotions, deliberations, and end‐of‐life products. Psychology & Marketing, 36(7), 659–674. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21203 Van Ryn, L., Meese, J., Arnold, M., Nansen, B., Gibbs, M., & Kohn, T. (2019). Managing the consumption of death and digital media: The funeral director as market intermediary. Death Studies, 43(7), 446–455. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2018.1522387 Walter, T., Hourizi, R., Moncur, W., & Pitsillides, S. (2012). Does the internet change how we die and mourn? Overview and analysis. Omega-Journal of Death and Dying, 64(4), 275–302.    

Technology is transforming our relationship with dying and grief. Michelle Desmond is a successful corporate business leader turned thanatologist (expert in death and all types of bereavement) who has experienced a lifetime of close personal losses. Michelle has a passion for the impact tech has (and will have) on these essential human experiences. Through engaging conversations on a range of topics, as well as science-backed analysis, she uncovers the stories, ideas, and innovations changing the way we approach grief and death.  In this episode, she speaks with Adrienne Dewey. Adrienne is an executive with a young family and a personal brand she manages. Michelle and Adrienne discuss what it looks like to plan for one's end of life in the digital age, followed by a deep dive into the theoretical implications of what it means to plan for one's digital remains as well as the possibilities technology offers for new ways to commemorate the dead. Much is yet to be defined decades into the age of the Internet, and innovation offers solutions the might help, or might hinder, the grief process.      References:  Bassett, D. (2015). Who wants to live forever? Living, dying, and grieving in our digital society. Social Sciences, 4(4), 1127–1139. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci4041127 Daniels, G., Klein, H. (Executive Producers). (2020-present). Upload [TV Series]. Deedle Dee Productions; 3 Arts Entertainment; Reunion Pacific Entertainment; Amazon Studios. Dark-Freudeman, A., Terry, C., Fleming, J., Hollander, J., & Bensadon, B. (2021). Planning in advance: Exploring end-of-life hopes and fears among healthy young people. Mortality, 26(3), 316–325. https://doi.org/10.1080/13576275.2020.1796612 Jandric, P. (2020). Postdigital afterlife: A philosophical framework. In M. Savin-Baden & V. Mason-Robbie (Eds.), Digital afterlife: Death matters in a digital age (pp.173-187). CRC Press. Kelly, C., Masters, J., & DeViney, S. (2013). End-of-Life planning activities: An integrated process. Death Studies, 37(6), 529–551. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2011.653081 Klass, D., Silverman, P., & Nickman, S. (1996). Continuing bonds: New understandings of grief. Washington, D.C.: Taylor & Francis. Mali, P., Prakash G, A. (2019). Death in the era of perpetual digital afterlife: Digital assets, posthumous legacy, ownership, and its legal implications. National Law School Journal. Meese, J., Nansen, B., Kohn, T., Arnold, M., & Gibbs, M. (2015). Posthumous personhood and the affordances of digital media. Mortality, 20(4), 408–420. https://doi.org/10.1080/13576275.2015.1083724 Moorman, S. M. & Inoue, M. (2013). Persistent problems in end-of-life planning among young- and middle-aged American couples. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 68(1), 97–106. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbs103 Morse, T., Birnhack, M. (2020). Digital remains: The users' perspectives. In M. Savin-Baden & V. Mason-Robbie (Eds.). Digital afterlife: Death matters in a digital age (pp. 108-126). CRC Press Obenshain, M., & Leftwich, J. (2015). Protecting the Digital Afterlife: Virginia's Privacy Expectation Afterlife and Choices Act. Rich. JL & Pub. Int., 19, 39. Öhman, C., & Floridi, L. (2018). An ethical framework for the digital afterlife industry. Nature Human Behaviour, 2(5), 318–320. Özdemir, V., Springer, S., Yıldırım, A., Biçer, Ş., Kendirci, A., Şardaş, S., Kılıç, H., Hekim, N., Kunej, T., & Arga, K. Y. (2021). Thanatechnology and the living dead: New concepts in digital transformation and human-computer interaction. OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology, 25(7), 401–407. Savin-Baden, M., Mason-Robbie, V. (2020). Perspectives on digital afterlife. In M. Savin-Baden & V. Mason-Robbie (Eds.). Digital afterlife: Death matters in a digital age (pp. 11-25). CRC Press. Woosley, A., Danes, S., & Stum, M. (2017). Utilizing a family decision-making lens to examine adults' end-of-life planning actions. Journal of Family & Economic Issues, 38(1), 33–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-016-9497-0    

In this solo episode, Michelle discusses the history of the Internet as relates to death and grief (aka thanatechnology). Topics include the generations of the Internet (including the emergence of Web 3), the role of smartphones and social media, and the associated impacts on how we communicate about death and grief. This episode also lays out what the rest of the season will cover, with topics across the spectrum of dying and bereavement - from end of life planning to ongoing grief, with a focus on how tech affects these practices.      References:  Doka, K. J. (1985). Expectation of death, participation in funeral arrangements, and grief adjustment. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying, 15(2), 119–129. https://doi.org/10.2190/HG24-EBR1-503H-C69V Refslund Christensen, D., & Gotved, S. (2015). Online memorial culture: An introduction. New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia, 21(1-2), 1-9. Sofka, C. J. (1997). Social support" internetworks," caskets for sale, and more: Thanatology and the information superhighway. Death Studies, 21(6), 553-574. https://doi.org/10.1080/074811897201778  

Technology is transforming our relationship with dying and grief. Michelle Desmond is a successful corporate business leader turned thanatologist (expert in death and all types of bereavement) who has experienced a lifetime of close personal losses. Michelle has a passion for the impact tech has (and will have) on these essential human experiences. Through engaging conversations on a range of topics, as well as science-backed analysis, she uncovers the stories, ideas, and innovations changing the way we approach grief and death.  On the first season of the Death and Other Stories podcast, Michelle blends her decades of enterprise leadership experience with her thanatology expertise to answer the question "how can we ensure that death tech is informed by both scientific and ethical considerations—so that we can provide the most helpful solutions for the people who need them?"