43| Elizabeth Bruenig

Season 7, Episode 5: Jane Callahan on a Meaningful End Jane Callahan is an end-of-life doula and the author of A Death Doula’s Guide to a Meaningful End. In this conversation, Jane shares how the painful, medicalized death of her estranged mother set her on the path to becoming a death doula, and why most Americans are completely unprepared for one of the most universal human experiences. We talk about what it means to design your own death, the economics of dying with dignity, advance directives, the difference between fearing death and fearing dying, and what a “vigil” actually looks like when done right. More on Jane Callahan: https://www.janekcallahan.com/ Coaching with Hansa WeCroak on YouTube Download our app, as featured in 10% Happier, Atlantic Magazine and The New York Times, at WeCroak.com Support WeCroak on Patreon Ask Death Advice Column Sounds by James Mercer

What does it feel like to be in the room when a death sentence is carried out? In this episode we talk to The Atlantic Reporter Elizabeth Bruenig about her reporting that took her deep into how death penalties are carried out in America and stories of the people on death row. WeCroak on YouTube Download our app, as featured in 10% Happier, Atlantic Magazine and The New York Times, at WeCroak.com Support WeCroak on Patreon Ask Death Advice Column Sounds by James Mercer

Happy October! We have journalist and author Colin Dickey on the WeCroak podcast to talk about America’s obsession with ghost stories, the paranormal and occult. Careful not to say whether he believes or not, Dickey is more interested in what these stories say about us. WeCroak on YouTube Download our app, as featured in 10% Happier, Atlantic Magazine and The New York Times, at WeCroak.com Support WeCroak on Patreon Ask Death Advice Column Sounds by James Mercer

It was Epicurus that said, “Death is nothing to us, since when we are, death is not; and when death is, we are not.” Today we are joined by Tim O’Keefe, an expert on the philosophy of Epicurus and what this ancient practical philosophy brought to our understanding of the big questions of life and death. We talk about what this classical thinker can bring to a modern understanding of life. WeCroak on YouTube Download our app, as featured in 10% Happier, Atlantic Magazine and The New York Times, at WeCroak.com Support WeCroak on Patreon Ask Death Advice Column Sounds by James Mercer

The WeCroak Podcast is back with an episode on Nihlism with our Guest Brittney Hartley. She is the nihilism expert and survivor behind the popular channel No Nonsense Spirituality. Find out how to make life meaningful when nothing you used to believe in matters anymore. Heads up, explicit language is used. WeCroak on YouTube Download our app, as featured in 10% Happier, Atlantic Magazine and The New York Times, at WeCroak.com Support WeCroak on Patreon Ask Death Advice Column Sounds by James Mercer

Season 6, Episode 3: Alex Ebert on writing songs after a crisis of faith This is our second conversation of Alex Ebert, famous for his hit songs from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. We talk about some new music that comes from his meditations on death, and what he’s spent the last few years wrestling with, namely, a kind of crisis of faith of in the purpose of music.  Heads up, copious explicit language is used. New song: To Feel Alive by Alex Ebert Forthcoming Documentary: The Last Ecstatic Days Trailer Alex Ebert on Substack Download our app, as featured in 10% Happier, Atlantic Magazine and The New York Times, at WeCroak.com Support WeCroak on Patreon Ask Death Advice Column Sounds by James Mercer

Season 5, Episode 8: Lauren Kennedy on Pets, Death, and Dignity I found Lauren Kennedy on TikTok doing breathtaking end-of-life photography sessions for beloved family pets, often taken just hours before a schedule vet appointment. It turns out she also founded The Tilly Project, a national resource for creating end-of-life memories for families and their pets. Our conversation went deep on how we love and care for each other as well as our pets. Guest Website: The Tilly Project Download our app, as featured in 10% Happier, Atlantic Magazine and The New York Times, at WeCroak.com Support WeCroak on Patreon Ask Death Advice Column Sounds by James Mercer

Season 5, Episode 7: WeCroak Has A Baby: The Social Stomach App Hansa and Ian, the guys who brought the world WeCroak, announce their second app called Social Stomach. It’s an app for waking up to the power of social eating, one of the simplest lifestyle changes you can make, besides contemplating death often, to feel more satisfied with life. We go into the research and how it works. If you like the WeCroak style of apps, you might want to give this podcast a listen. New App! Social Stomach Download the WeCroak app, as featured in 10% Happier, Atlantic Magazine and The New York Times, at  Support WeCroak on Patreon Ask Death Advice Column Sounds by James Mercer

Season 5, Episode 6: Katie Engelhart’s Dispatches on the Right to Die I’ve never been so uncomfortable reading a book about death or having a discussion. Katie Englehart’s book The Inevitable: Dispatches on the Right to Die is a master work of journalism about people who say they are not suicidal and believe they have a right to die because of age or sickness. The issues raised in this book get to the heart of big questions like what real empathy looks like and how we think about the sanctity of life, capitalism and a host of other foundational ideas. It opens a pandora’s box of indictments only the brave may want to look at. I can’t stop thinking about this book or this discussion.  Guest Website: KatieEngelhart.com Download our app, as featured in 10% Happier, Atlantic Magazine and The New York Times, at WeCroak.com Support WeCroak on Patreon New: Ask Death Advice Column Sounds by James Mercer

Season 5, Episode 5: Massimo Pigliucci on Choosing a Good Life Massimo Pigliucci was the first guest we ever had on the WeCroak Podcast. In that episode we talked about his adult decision to commit to Stoicism as a life philosophy. Today, we talk about his new book, “How to Live a Good Life,” about all the best practical philosophies for living that he could find and what a life living along those principles might be like with guest essays from thinkers who have lived it. It’s like a menu of life philosophies for people who want to choose their path more proactively. Guest Book: “How to Live a Good Life” Download our app, as featured in 10% Happier, Atlantic Magazine and The New York Times, at WeCroak.com Support WeCroak on Patreon New: Ask Death Advice Column Sounds by James Mercer