This week we return to my conversation with Christopher Stoll, artist, illustrator, and my very dear friend. Chris is the owner and creator behind Multiverse Books and, as a very important person in my own life, is one of the people I most frequently talk with about hard things– like death. I wanted to have Chris on the show because until now, we’ve only featured people within the death care profession as guests. I thought it would be insightful and balanced to provide space for conversations about death with people who have experienced grief from the other side of things. Chris has a unique perspective because, like me, he is queer and polyamorous. This means that also like me, Chris has a unique take on traditional funerals and memorial services that aren’t necessarily designed with people like us in mind. In this conversation, we talk about funeral planning and traditional memorial services from a queer and polyamorous perspective.

Created and hosted by Aries Jo (they/them), Director of Outreach and Education at Parting Stone. Produced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Parting Stone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

For more Death Curious content get our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠newsletter,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Death Curious is produced by Parting Stone. To learn more about Parting Stone and solidified remains visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Parting Stone's website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This week I have the pleasure of talking with Faith Haug (she/her) Program Chair of the Mortuary Science program at Arapaho Community College. This conversation covers unique aspects of the Arapaho Mortuary Science program and more general mortuary program requirements. We also discuss the fact that Colorado doesn’t require funeral directors to be licensed individually. This conversation happened at the end of 2023, just a few weeks after a funeral care disaster was discovered at Return to Nature Funeral Home in Colorado Springs. Since then, colorado lawmakers have presented a bill to require individual funeral director licensing, like every other US state. However, my conversation with Faith will reveal, that licensing might not be the only answer to preventing tragedies like the one at Return to Nature.

Created and hosted by Aries Jo (they/them), Director of Outreach and Education at Parting Stone. Produced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Parting Stone⁠⁠⁠⁠.

For more Death Curious content get our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠newsletter,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Death Curious is produced by Parting Stone. To learn more about Parting Stone and solidified remains visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Parting Stone's website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This week we return to my conversation with Chase Downs (he/him), Demand Gen Specialist at Gather, an innovative technology platform built specifically for funeral homes, that helps both funeral directors and families. In this part of our conversation, Chase and I discuss AI and the future of Death Care… how AI could impact death care workspaces, the death planning process, memorial services, and more. We talk about the absolute necessity of personalization in death care practices, and where AI might fall short in delivering the services that grieving families deserve. 

We recorded this episode in the spring of 2023, and a lot has evolved in AI and its role in our world since then, so stay tuned after our convo for some extra content from me. 

Created and hosted by Aries Jo (they/them), Director of Outreach and Education at Parting Stone. Produced by ⁠⁠⁠Parting Stone⁠⁠⁠.

For more Death Curious content get our ⁠⁠⁠⁠newsletter,⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠. Death Curious is produced by Parting Stone. To learn more about Parting Stone and solidified remains visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠Parting Stone's website⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Content warning: this episode is all about suicide, and grief from suicide loss. This topic might be triggering or challenging for some people, so if that’s you, skip this one and join us next month. If you or a loved one struggle with suicidal ideation, call or text 988 to reach the national suicide and crisis hotline.

This week I’m so excited to bring Dr. Sara Murphy (she/her) back to the podcast to talk about destigmatizing suicide, suicidality, and surviving the loss of a loved one to suicide. Dr. Murphey is a death educator, Certified Thanatologist, and suicidologist with fifteen years of scholarly, pedagogical, and professional experience in the field. She is a faculty member at the University of Rhode Island where she teaches undergrad and graduate courses in the fields of thanatology and suicidology. In this episode, we dive into why suicide has always been a stigmatized cause of death (even though suicidality is a widespread occurrence across humanity) and ways that we can work toward dismantling that stigma. We also cover how dismantling suicide stigma helps folx who ideate suicide feel safer seeking and getting help, and also allows us to better support people who are grieving the loss of a loved one to suicide.

Created and hosted by Aries Jo (they/them), Director of Outreach and Education at Parting Stone. Produced by ⁠⁠Parting Stone⁠⁠.

For more Death Curious content get our ⁠⁠⁠newsletter,⁠⁠⁠ and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠. Death Curious is produced by Parting Stone. To learn more about Parting Stone and solidified remains visit ⁠⁠⁠Parting Stone's website⁠⁠⁠.

This week, I welcome Jennifer Muldowney (she/her), also known as The Glam Reaper, onto the podcast to talk about how death care is evolving around the world today. Jennifer founded Muldowney Memorials a death planning company that offers celebrant services and specialized memorial planning. She is also the creator of the Glam Reaper Podcast. In this episode, we talk about how Jennifer found her way into death care, the differences between the funeral service profession in America, and Ireland, where Jen is from, and the directions we see death care going in in the near future. 

This is part one of my talk with Jennifer.

Created and hosted by Aries Jo (they/them), Director of Outreach and Education at Parting Stone. Produced by ⁠Parting Stone⁠.

For more Death Curious content get our ⁠⁠newsletter,⁠⁠ and follow us on ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠. Death Curious is produced by Parting Stone. To learn more about Parting Stone and solidified remains visit ⁠⁠Parting Stone's website⁠⁠.

This week, I have the absolute pleasure of talking with Kiki Klonis (she/her) from Burning Sentients taxidermy. Kiki and I talk about processing grief in tangible ways, like creativity, art, and, for Kiki, taxidermy. We discuss how grieving actually led to Kiki’s career as a taxidermist, what that journey has entailed, and how, for many people, getting to have a continued relationship with the remains of our loved ones and pets can be a huge aid in moving through the grief process. Kiki is actually based here in Santa Fe, NM (Unceded Tewa Land) so this interview takes place in her home, which is full of truly incredible taxidermied animals. You’ll hear us reference some of her amazing pieces throughout the episode. Content warning: suicide, and details about the taxidermy process are talked about in this episode.

Created and hosted by and Alexandra Jo (they/them), Director of Outreach and Education at Parting Stone. Produced by Parting Stone.

For more Death Curious content get our ⁠newsletter,⁠ and follow us on ⁠TikTok⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠. Death Curious is produced by Parting Stone. To learn more about Parting Stone and solidified remains visit ⁠Parting Stone's website⁠.

This week we are doing things a little differently…  I’m joined by artist, illustrator, and my dear friend and loved one, Christopher Stoll (he/him). Chris is the owner and creator behind Multiverse Books As a very important person in my own life, Chris is one of the people I most frequently talk with about hard things– like death. I wanted to have Chris on the show, because until now, we’ve only featured people within the death care profession as guests. I thought it would be insightful and balancing to provide space for conversations about death with people who have experienced grief from the other side of things. Chris has a unique perspective because, like me, he is queer and polyamorous. Living in these so-called “alternative” worlds necessarily means that grief and interacting with systems like death care, are experienced differently by people like Chris and I. In this episode, we dive into how grief affects relationships, how our relationships inform our grief, and the nuances that come with being polyamorous and experiencing grief.

Created and hosted by and Alexandra Jo (they/them), Director of Outreach and Education at Parting Stone. Produced by Parting Stone.

For more Death Curious content get our newsletter, and follow us on TikTok and Instagram. Death Curious is produced by Parting Stone. To learn more about Parting Stone and solidified remains visit Parting Stone's website.

This week I’m delighted to talk with Brian Waters of Undertaking the Podcast. Brian is a licensed funeral director and CFSP. Our conversation was such an unexpected pleasure because it took some really unexpected turns and departures from what I was expecting, and is really different from what I usually cover in these interviews. In this episode, Brian and I both share our thoughts about what we think happens when people die– both physically and otherwise– and how being curious about the unknown plays a part in dealing with grief. 

Content warning: We both talk frankly about the loss of loved ones, and in my case, loss of a loved one to suicide and overdose.

Created and hosted by and Alexandra Jo (they/them), Director of Outreach and Education at Parting Stone. Produced by Parting Stone.

For more Death Curious content get our newsletter, and follow us on TikTok and Instagram. Death Curious is produced by Parting Stone. To learn more about Parting Stone and solidified remains visit Parting Stone's website.

This week I return to my conversation with Stephanie Poirier, Partner Success Manager at Parting Stone, to touch on why being a “death curious” person can be beneficial to your family, friends, and community. From starting difficult conversations, to protecting the rights of marginalized folx in end of life care, Death Curious people can help everyone confront death in healthier ways. 

Created and hosted by and Alexandra Jo (they/them), Director of Outreach and Education at Parting Stone. Produced by Parting Stone.

For more Death Curious content get our newsletter, and follow us on TikTok and Instagram. Death Curious is produced by Parting Stone. To learn more about Parting Stone and solidified remains visit Parting Stone's website.

This week I have the pleasure of talking to Eileen Hollis, Licensed Funeral Director at Hollis Funeral Home, about death on social media! Eileen runs the TikTok and Instagram accounts for Hollis Funeral Home and has built a following of nearly a million people between the two platforms. In this episode, we talk about why social media is a great place for death education, what content death curious folx are looking for on social media, and how the internet can actually be a really great place for building community.

Created and hosted by and Alexandra Jo (they/them), Director of Outreach and Education at Parting Stone.

For more Death Curious content get our newsletter, and follow us on TikTok and Instagram. Death Curious is produced by Parting Stone. To learn more about Parting Stone and solidified remains visit Parting Stone's website.

In this episode, I have the pleasure of chatting with Chase Downs (he/him), Demand Gen Specialist at Gather, to talk about Technology in the Death Care Profession. Gather is an innovative technology platform built specifically for funeral homes, that helps both funeral directors and families. Until the Covid-19 pandemic, death care was far behind other professions technology-wise. Chase and I discuss some of the benefits that have come from funeral services moving forward rapidly when it comes to things like live-streamed funeral services, remote memorial planning, and normalizing death care businesses having websites.

Created and hosted by and Alexandra Jo (they/them), Director of Outreach and Education at Parting Stone.

For more Death Curious content, get our ⁠newsletter and follow us on TikTok and Instagram. Death Curious is produced by Parting Stone. To learn more about Parting Stone and solidified remains visit Parting Stone's website.

This week I’m so excited to return to my conversation with Rev. Cat Webb (they/them), Metaphysical Celebrant, Spiritual Educator, and Psychopomp, to talk about the spiritual weight of death avoidance. Both death avoidance and grief avoidance are pervasive in our society. In this conversation, Rev. Cat and I take a deep dive into how death and loss became taboo subjects, and why avoiding the reality of human ephemerality can have major impacts on mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing.

Created and hosted by and Alexandra Jo (they/them), Director of Outreach and Education at Parting Stone.

For more Death Curious content, get our ⁠newsletter,⁠ follow us on TikTok and Instagram. Death Curious is produced by Parting Stone. To learn more about Parting Stone and solidified remains visit Parting Stone's website.

This week I’m excited to talk with Stephanie Poirier, Partner Success Manager at Parting Stone, about all things alkaline hydrolysis! Stephanie was instrumental in getting alkaline hydrolysis legalized in California, and explains this gentle, eco-friendly disposition option in detail for us. We also talk about the intense push-back this disposition method has gotten from funeral professionals, and how important it is to realize the benefits of making this option more widely available.

Created and hosted by and Alexandra Jo (they/them), Director of Outreach and Education at Parting Stone.

Death Curious is produced by Parting Stone. For more Death Curious content, get our ⁠newsletter,⁠ follow us on TikTok and Instagram. To learn more about Parting Stone and solidified remains visit Parting Stone's website.

Deathcare Decoded is expanding! We are rebranding to expand our content and mission statement, and in this special transitional episode, I will walk you through the inspiration behind this growth. Death Curious is a platform for death exploration and a community of like-minded, death positive people. We imagine a future in which talking about death is normalized, comfortable, and even encouraged. Through death positive education, our goal is to help you better understand your own mortality, gain confidence talking to others about theirs, and to build a supportive community of mortality explorers.

Created and hosted by and Alexandra Jo (they/them), Director of Outreach and Education at Parting Stone.

Produced by Parting Stone. To learn more about Parting Stone and solidified remains visit Parting Stone's website.

This week, we return to my conversation with Mark Harrison (he/him), President of Certified Safety Training, and Ebone Dukes (she/her), Funeral Service Program Director at Northwest Mississippi Community College to talk about the funeral rule, which was recently up for review. We talk about what the funeral rule is, what might be changing about it in the current review period, and the pros and cons that such a rule creates.

Produced and Hosted by and Alexandra Jo (they/them), Director of Outreach and Education at Parting Stone, and Co-Hosted by Justin Crowe (he/him), Founder & CEO of Parting Stone.

To learn more about Parting Stone and solidified remains visit Parting Stone's website.

This week I’m joined by Rev. Cat Webb (they/them), Metaphysical Celebrant, Spiritual Educator and Psychopomp to talk about spirituality at end of life and beyond. In this episode we talk about end of life work that occurs after someone has died, what it means to be a psychopomp, and why it’s important to offer support for diverse spiritual practices in end of life care. 

Produced and Hosted by and Alexandra Jo (they/them), Director of Outreach and Education at Parting Stone, and Co-Hosted by Justin Crowe (he/him), Founder & CEO of Parting Stone.

To learn more about Parting Stone and solidified remains visit Parting Stone's website.

In this episode I share research and data that I've been gathering, which shows that large numbers of death planners care about having more eco-conscious and green options in death care. We look at studies from Kates Boylston Publications, IBM Institute for Business Value, Passare, and Choice Mutual Insurance that break down what death planners care about, how they make choices, and what they will look for in the future. Spoiler alert: the demand for eco-conscious death care options is only going to grow! I also introduce a huge research project I undertook in 2022 called The Real Eco-Impact of Disposition Methods that reveals the total carbon footprint of the top five most common body disposition methods in the US today, as well as how to make the most harmful ones more environmentally friendly. I'll be releasing that research on this podcast in a series over the next few weeks. 

Produced and Hosted by and Alexandra Jo (they/them), Director of Outreach and Education at Parting Stone, and Co-Hosted by Justin Crowe (he/him), Founder & CEO of Parting Stone.

To learn more about Parting Stone and solidified remains visit Parting Stone's website. 

This week I return to my conversation with Mark Harrison (he/him), President of Certified Safety Training, and Ebone Dukes (she/her), Funeral Service Program Director at Northwest Mississippi Community College, to continue our discussion about equity over equality in the workplace. In this part of the conversation we dive deeper into how meeting people where they are and addressing individual needs, whether that’s your employees, or the families you serve, will make the death care profession a healthier space. We touch on generational, gender, orientation, and racial inequities, and how meeting the needs of all will better serve the whole.

Produced and Hosted by and Alexandra Jo (they/them), Director of Outreach and Education at Parting Stone, and Co-Hosted by Justin Crowe (he/him), Founder & CEO of Parting Stone.

To learn more about Parting Stone and solidified remains visit Parting Stone's website.

This week I have the pleasure of being joined by Mark Harrison, President of Certified Safety Training, and Ebone Dukes, Funeral Service Program Director at Northwest Mississippi Community College. We talk about the importance of funeral business regulation compliance and the effects that regulations can have on our profession as a whole. We discuss how regulations can help communicate the value of funeral home services to the public, and how CST’s practices are focused on making compliance an equitable experience for all deathcare professionals.

Produced and Hosted by and Alexandra Jo (they/them), Director of Outreach and Education at Parting Stone, and Co-Hosted by Justin Crowe (he/him), Founder & CEO of Parting Stone.

To learn more about Parting Stone and solidified remains visit Parting Stone's website.

This week I return to my conversation with Dianne Hullet, death educator, death doula, and founder of Best Life Best Death. In this episode, we continue our conversation about how more open and honest conversations about death and grief can improve the emotional and mental wellbeing of our society. In part two of our conversation we talk about how to explore what needs to be done in your life to prepare for a good death, and how to get started on your death curious journey. We cover some recommended reading from both Diane and myself, and the differences between living in a death denying culture, and a grief denying one.

Produced and Hosted by and Alexandra Jo (they/them), Director of Outreach and Education at Parting Stone, and Co-Hosted by Justin Crowe (he/him), Founder & CEO of Parting Stone.

To learn more about Parting Stone and solidified remains visit Parting Stone's website.