Conversations on Death

Lorena Alvarez Ruiz

This podcast explores death, dying, and the afterlife from multiple perspectives - physical, psychological, spiritual, ethical, historical, societal, and more. Join me on my mission to make death less taboo by bringing forward the many lessons death can teach the living, so that we can live more intentional and purposeful lives.

  • 54 minutes 48 seconds
    Child Loss with Barb Higgins

    On this episode I talked to Barb Higgins who is a mother, author, podcaster, coach, and teacher. We chat about her life story - of losing children, her grief journey and how she was able to find joy and meaning in the face of tragedy. Beautiful yet difficult story worth listening to. Enjoy!
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    Connect with Barb!
    Website
    Molly B. Foundation
    Instagram
    Podcast
    Book

    Check out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positive spaces 🖤

    15 October 2024, 8:00 pm
  • 59 minutes 47 seconds
    The Witch’s Door with Ryan Matthew Cohn & Regina Marie Rossi

    On this episode, I chat with Ryan Matthew Cohn and Regina Marie Rossi about their upcoming book, The Witch’s Door: Oddities & Tales from the Esoteric to the Extreme, and their experience collecting oddities and curiosities. We talk about how they met, their beginnings of collecting, some of their favorite items, potentially haunted dolls they owned, Ryan’s involvement in the reality TV show Oddities, Regina’s Oddities Flea Market, and much more. This is a fun one! Enjoy!

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    Connect with Ryan & Regina!
    Oddities Flea Market Website
    Oddities Flea Market Instagram
    Ryan's Instagram
    Regina's Instagram

    GET THE BOOK HERE!

    Check out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positive spaces 🖤

    1 October 2024, 8:00 pm
  • 44 minutes 51 seconds
    Pet Loss & Grief with Stephanie Rodriguez

    Stephanie Rodriguez is a certified Grief Counselor with specializations in Child and Adolescent Grief and Animal Companion Loss Support. She has been a practicing Grief Counselor, Support Group Facilitator, Death Midwife, and End-of-Life Speaker and Educator since 2004. 

    We chat about pet hospice, decision making process for euthanizing your pet, disenfranchised grief, rituals for honoring your pet, adapting to a new loss, and  navigating your grief.

    Hope this episode helps you or a loved one! Enjoy!

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    Connect with Stephanie!
    Website
    Tiktok
    YouTube
    Facebook
    Instagram

    Check out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positive spaces 🖤

    17 September 2024, 5:00 pm
  • 53 minutes 19 seconds
    Modern Memorial Planning with Jennifer Muldowney

    Jennifer Muldowney, also known as The Glam Reaper, is a modern memorial planner, author, and speaker dedicated to transforming the funeral industry with a focus on personalized planning, digital legacies, and environmental impact. Through her business, Muldowney Memorials, Jennifer helps families create meaningful and unique farewells for their loved ones. We chat funeral industry, her work as a celebrant, and digital legacies! She is so freaking fun - enjoy! 

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    Connect with Jennifer Muldowney!

    Website
    Instagram (Jennifer's)
    Instagram (Muldowney Memorials')
    Twitter
    LinkedIn

    TEDx Talk

    Check out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positive spaces 🖤

    3 September 2024, 4:00 pm
  • 40 minutes 23 seconds
    18th Century Funerals with Dr. Dan O'Brien

    Dr Dan O’Brien is a historian of death in eighteenth century England. His research focuses on the development of the funeral trade and the funerals which it performed. He has also focused on funerary journeys and the exciting topic of death at sea. And these are all the cool things we talk about on this episode! Enjoy!

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    Connect with Dr.  O'Brien!

    Twitter
    Instagram
    Threads
    Bluesky

    Check out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positive spaces 🖤

    20 August 2024, 5:00 pm
  • 1 hour 16 seconds
    19th Century New York Witches with Marie Carter

    Marie Carter is a writer, tour guide, and tour guide developer. Her Scottish upbringing is responsible for her fascination with macabre, strange, forgotten, and ghostly histories. Combining that with her passion for New York City, she became a licensed tour guide, as well as researcher and developer with Boroughs of the Dead over nine years ago.

    Her most recent book, Mortimer and the Witches: A History of 19th-Century Fortune Tellers, was released this year and that’s what we talk about on this episode along with 19th century NYC dealings with death, spiritualism, fortune tellers, Mortimer’s Thomson’s obsession to bring these “witches” down, NYC cemeteries, The General Slocum Disaster, super cool ghost tours at Boroughs of the Dead AND Roosevelt Island’s dark history.

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    Connect with Marie!

    Instagram
    Website
    Boroughs of the Dead Tours

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    Connect with me!

    Facebook
    Instagram
    Email Me

    Check out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positive spaces 🖤

    6 August 2024, 9:00 pm
  • 51 minutes 28 seconds
    Alternative Treatments for Patients with Candice Johnson

    Candice Johnson is a transformational coach, but she's also an alternative cancer treatment advocate and concierge nurse and death doula. Her vision in the clinical industry is for patients and family members to understand what other options outside of the pharmaceutical fear complex are available for them and their treatments.

    On this episode, she shares with us her experience as a nurse and the what and how behind her advocacy towards a different way of tackling cancer and the dying process as a whole.
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    Helpful Links

    Book: A World Without Cancer
    Death Cafes

    Connect with Candice!

    Facebook
    Youtube
    Instagram
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    Connect with me!

    Facebook
    Instagram
    Email Me
    Design Studio Website

    Check out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positive spaces 🖤

    23 July 2024, 2:00 pm
  • 46 minutes 18 seconds
    Anatomical Specimens with Aoife Sutton-Butler

    Aoife is a doctoral researcher at the University of Bradford in archaeological and forensic sciences. Her research focuses on the display and acquisition of 18th-19th century anatomical specimens, and how they are viewed in museums today. She runs a blog called Pathological Bodies Project and an online magazine called Mortiferous Muse. She is also a trustee of the Victorian era Undercliffe Cemetery.

    We chatted about the history of anatomical specimens, the different types that exist, their uses of the past and today, and also chatted about celebrity deaths (particularly Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Amy Winehouse, and celebrity ship Titanic). Enjoy!
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    Connect with Aoife!

    Instagram
    Blog
    X

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    Connect with me!

    Facebook
    Instagram
    Email Me

    Check out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positive spaces 🖤

    9 July 2024, 8:00 pm
  • 54 minutes
    Death in New York with K. Krombie

    K. Krombie is the author of "Death in New York: History and Culture of Burials, Undertakers and Executions", a freelance writer, journalist, and founder of boutique NYC walking tour company Purefinder New York. She's a fucking blast, full of knowledge based on deep research, and gives some amazing tours! 

    On this episode, we chat about all things NYC and death! If you love this episode and wanna go even deeper, there's thousands on things we didn't get to cover that you'll find more of in her book Death in New York! Also... another book coming out soon: The Psychiatric History of New York.

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    Connect with Joanna!

    Website
    Instagram
    Purefinder New York (Tour Company)
    Death in NY (Book)

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    Connect with me!

    Facebook
    Instagram
    Email Me

    Check out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positive spaces 🖤

    25 June 2024, 8:00 pm
  • 36 minutes 12 seconds
    Memento Mori with Joanna Ebenstein

    Joanna Ebenstein is a Mexico-based author, photographer, curator and designer. She is the founder and creative director of Morbid Anatomy, an organization that has been exploring the interstices of art and medicine, death and culture, since 2007. She traces her lineage back to Judah Loew ben Bezalel, credited with creating the Golem in 16th century Prague. She is also a proud member of The Order of the Good Death.

    Her books include Anatomica, Death: A Graveside Companion, The Anatomical Venus, The Morbid Anatomy Anthology, (with Colin Dickey) and Walter Potter’s Curious World of Taxidermy (with Dr Pat Morris). Her writing and photography have appeared in The New York Times, K48, Women’s Studies Quarterly, and V Magazine.

    On this episode, we talk about Joanna's view on death, her upcoming book Memento Mori: The Art of Contemplating Death to Live a Better Life, Morbid Anatomy, and a ton of other juicy death related things that will make you think and wanna dig into these topics more! Joanna is full of knowledge, so enjoy!

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    Connect with Joanna!

    Morbid Anatomy
    Website
    Instagram
    Upcoming Book

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    Connect with me!

    Facebook
    Instagram
    Email Me


    Check out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positive spaces 🖤

    11 June 2024, 4:00 pm
  • 1 hour 48 seconds
    Living with Grief with Shelby Forsythia

    Shelby Forsythia (she/her) is a grief coach author, and podcast host. In 2020, she founded Life After Loss Academy, an online course and community that has helped dozens of grievers grow and find their way after death, divorce, diagnosis, and other major life transitions.

    Following her mother’s death in 2013, Shelby began calling herself a “student of grief” and now devotes her days to reading, writing, and speaking about loss. Through a combination of mindfulness tools and intuitive, open-ended questions, she guides her clients to welcome grief as a teacher and create meaningful lives that honor and include the heartbreaks they’ve faced. Her work has been featured in Huffington Post, Bustle, and The Oprah Magazine.

    On this episode, we mainly dive into Shelby's framework on how to build a life after loss. Extremely helpful episode! Plus, you'll get to hear Jiji, Shelby's cat, chat with us too! :)

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    Connect with Shelby!

    Free workshop
    Website
    Instagram
    Book:Your Grief, Your Way

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    Connect with me!

    Facebook
    Instagram
    Email Me


    Check out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positive spaces 🖤

    28 May 2024, 3:00 pm
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