Grave Matters

SBS

While death may be one of life’s only certainties, most of us are woefully unprepared for it. In Grave Matters, hosts Anthony Levin and Nadine J. Cohen explore grief, death care and the business of dying, asking experts the questions we’re all too scared to ask. You’ll hear from a forensic scientist, a First Nations grief counsellor, a Muslim death doula, a tech innovator, funeral director and other inspiring, passionate people whose life's work is helping us to better navigate death. Lift your spirits with Grave Matters: a lively look at death.

  • 42 minutes 37 seconds
    Ray of light: Ray Martin ponders death & the afterlife
    American broadcaster Diane Sawyer once said that a good journalist follows their curiosity like a cat. If the adage is true, then Ray Martin has nine lives. At age 79, and with five Gold Logies on the mantle, Ray has finally turned his attention to what he says is the best question there is: death. He joins us on this special bonus episode of Grave Matters to discuss his new series for SBS, Ray Martin: The Last Goodbye.
    7 August 2024, 11:00 pm
  • 44 minutes 39 seconds
    Saying Fur-well: Pets, Vets & the Afterlife
    We're back with a special bonus episode to cap off the series. We’ve spent the season exploring the myriad ways we respond to people dying and what it means to have a good death. But what does this mean for our pets? It turns out losing a furry friend can be just as challenging as losing a human one.
    14 May 2024, 10:44 pm
  • 43 minutes 49 seconds
    Everybody Dies: Ben Lee on Life, Death, and Ayahuasca, Baby
    You may know him as the singer songwriter behind worldwide hits including Catch My Disease and We’re All In This Together. But there’s more to Ben Lee than clever lyrics and catchy hooks. Why is he on a podcast about death and dying? Good question.
    7 May 2024, 11:00 pm
  • 48 minutes 39 seconds
    No Planet B: Coming to Terms with Climate Collapse
    Would you live your life differently if you thought humanity was doomed? You don’t have to be a nihilist to wonder whether we can survive the climate crisis. We find hope where it seems there is none and examine the idea of dying well, together. We face facts with climate policy expert and communicator David Spratt, and get a virtual hug from psychotherapist Carolyn Baker.
    29 April 2024, 11:00 pm
  • 44 minutes 11 seconds
    Trauma’s Children: Life in the shadow of massive loss
    We inherit many things from our families - heirlooms, habits, humour. But what about psychological wounds? In this episode, we discuss epigenetics, intergenerational trauma and how collective memory helps us work through catastrophic loss with Linda Thai, a therapist and former child refugee.
    23 April 2024, 11:00 pm
  • 44 minutes 58 seconds
    Rise of the Death Robots: Will Death Tech change the way we die?
    In this Golden Age of Innovation, we’re accustomed to making room for new technologies in daily life. But what about when we die? It turns out that breakthroughs like AI, empathic robots and ‘smart’ memorial plaques are disrupting the deathcare sector too, from how we support end-of-life to the way we memorialise. Dr Hannah Gould joins us to explain her research into DeathTech and new traditions and technologies of death rites.
    16 April 2024, 11:00 pm
  • 40 minutes 32 seconds
    Weird Science: How Chemistry is Helping One Woman Solve Crimes
    You know how in TV crime shows, the police can always pinpoint a body’s exact time of death? Well, it seems we’ve been lied to. Forensic science hasn’t advanced quite far enough for such accuracy. But one facility in Sydney is working hard to change this. In this episode we meet Dr Maiken Ueland, Director of the Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research (AFTER) - Australia's first facility to study the decomposition of human corpses.
    9 April 2024, 11:00 pm
  • 39 minutes 42 seconds
    21st-Century Plague: Has COVID-19 Changed Us Forever?
    How has coronavirus changed our experience and perceptions of dying? We look at some of the socio-political implications of the pandemic and whether it will have lasting impacts on how we mourn and dispose of the dead.
    2 April 2024, 10:00 pm
  • 27 minutes 24 seconds
    Panning for Gold: A Death Doula’s Guide to Living and Dying
    We introduced you to the concept of death doulas in the first episode of Grave Matters. But what do they actually do? We asked Sarah Tolmie, consummate death doula and possibly the nicest woman in the world, about the specifics of doula work.
    28 March 2024, 10:15 pm
  • 45 minutes 29 seconds
    Hospitals and Hijabs: One Woman’s Mission to Raise Death Literacy in Her Community
    Have you had a near-death experience? Was there a bright light? A shadowy figure? Did your life flash before your eyes? A terrifying near-death experience changed Mariam Ardati’s whole perspective and led her to her life’s great purpose - educating her community about the practicalities of death and dying as a death doula, funeral director and educator.
    26 March 2024, 10:00 pm
  • 41 minutes 8 seconds
    Body and Soil: Exploring a Greener Alternative to Burial and Cremation
    It’s no secret that burial and cremation are environmentally unsustainable. So how can we dispose of bodies in new, climate-friendly ways? Alternatives to burial and cremation that have a lower carbon footprint are disrupting the funeral industry all over the world. This episode explores natural organic reduction, aka human composting or terramation. It's an emerging, greener alternative to the “big two”.
    19 March 2024, 10:00 pm
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