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"You can't redead the dead by you saying something shit," says Cariad Lloyd of Griefcast and author of You Are Not Alone; nevertheless when you're bereaved, people still are usually so nervous to say the wrong thing that they often don't say anything at all. And especially not the word 'dead'. Maybe what we need, says council funeral officer Evie King, author of Ashes To Admin, is a "jazzy snazzy term for death, the 'bottomless brunch' of death..."
Content warning: this episode is about death*. And it contains mentions of cancer and Parkinson’s, and there are several category B swears and one category A swear.
*But it’s a pretty fun listen, it doesn't get sad.
EXTRA MATERIALS:
Our lovely palcast Ologies recently revisited their Thanatology episode as well as releasing a new one.
And they’ve covered several other death-related -ologies before, including mortuary makeup, skeletons and body farms, and crow funerals.
What people’s last words usually are.
Ben Zimmer on the origin of the term ‘bucket list’.
The 12-part podcast Goodbye to All This by my friend Sophie Townsend is about “Losing the thing you are most sure of and coming out the other side - a story about life, love and loss.”
There’s an episode of The Untold about one of Evie’s cases, where she had to organise a funeral for someone nobody could identify. (Don’t be confused, Evie is a pen name.)
There’s a book for you to write out your wishes for what happens to you after you die, so the people who have to deal with you know what to aim for.
Otherlusionists: you can hear my dad on the very first episode of the Allusionist, Ban The Pun. And I recommend listening or relistening to Additions and Losses where Christa Couture talks about how people have responded to her losses.
Christa’s new animated series about loss, How To Lose Everything, is available via the CBC, and I particularly recommend episode 5, Grape Soda in the Parking Lot.
Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you also get behind-the-scenes glimpses about every episode, regular livestreams, the marvellous Allusioverse Discord community, AND you get to listen to a one-off show I made with Arnie Niekamp of Hello from the Magic Tavern where we planned our own funerals!
YOUR RANDOMLY SELECTED WORD FROM THE DICTIONARY:
bum-bailiff, noun, historical, derogatory: a bailiff who collected debts or arrested debtors. Origin 17th century from bum, so named because of the association of an approach from behind.
CREDITS:
Cariad Lloyd is a comedian and improviser and the host of the podcast Griefcast, and the author of the new book You Are Not Alone, about the things she has learned from her own grief and other people’s.
Evie King is a council funeral officer, arranging funerals for people who don’t have anyone else who can do it, and she has written all about what that job involves in her fascinating new book Ashes To Admin.
This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman. The original Allusionist music is by Martin Austwick. Download his songs at palebirdmusic.com and listen to his podcasts Song By Song and Neutrino Watch.
Find the Allusionist at youtube.com/allusionistshow, twitter.com/allusionistshow, facebook.com/allusionistshow, twitter.com/helenzaltzman and instagram.com/allusionistshow.
