Death Wish

We're not dead yet! Just taking a break for the holidays. Listen to this bonus episode for media recommendations to fulfill all your wildest death wishes for the holiday season.

We recommend:

• Strange Houses (book by Uketsu, translated from Japanese)
• Tonight Show clip with Matthew Rhys on Welsh New Year’s Day tradition
• Cannonball with Wesley Morris podcast episode on D’Angelo and the Power of Last Albums
• 28 Years Later (film, directed by Danny Boyle

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In this episode the girls prepare for death by weighing the tradeoffs of caskets v. cremation.

We recommend:

Caitlin: the original 1922 film, Nosferatu, and the I Think You Should Leave sketch, CornCob TV’s Coffin Flop (season 2, episode 1)

Kaylin: the 1992 film, Death Becomes Her, for its look at corpse upkeep

Kris: the Apple TV series, Shrinking, for its message on processing grief

Megan: that classic comfort watch, Law and Order

We referenced: 

Apawu, M. (2025, September 13). Ghana’s fantasy coffins are a colorful celebration of life and legacy. AP News.https://apnews.com/article/ghana-fantasy-coffins-funerals-accra-tradition-01220db5b2e240a12ae8e4ba8820f993

Cremation Association of North America. (n.d.). History of cremation.https://www.cremationassociation.org/historyofcremation.html

National Funeral Directors Association. (2023, December 8). 2023 NFDA General Price List Study shows inflation increasing faster than the cost of a funeral.https://nfda.org/news/media-center/nfda-news-releases/id/8134/2023-nfda-general-price-list-study-shows-inflation-increasing-faster-than-the-cost-of-a-funeral

National Funeral Directors Association. (2024, July 25). U.S. cremation rate is projected to climb to 61.9 % in 2024.https://nfda.org/news/media-center/nfda-news-releases/id/8944/us-cremation-rate-is-projected-to-climb-to-619-in-2024

National Funeral Directors Association. (n.d.). Statistics. https://nfda.org/news/statistics

Vaughn Greene Funeral Services. (2022, March 13). Casket vs. Coffin: Six key differences you should know. https://vaughncgreene.com/blogs/blog-entries/3/News-Events/178/Casket-vs-Coffin-Six-Key-Differences-You-Should-Know.html

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In this episode the girls prepare for death by considering various deathbed rituals.

We recommend:

Caitlin: the Netflix TV series, Bojack Horseman, and the internet discourse around the death of the United Healthcare CEO

Kaylin: the Oct. 1, 2024 episode of the podcast Good on Paper to learn about organ donation

Kris: the FX TV series, Say Nothing, about The Troubles in Northern Ireland

Megan: the episode Grief is Like a Fingerprint on the podcast Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel

We referenced:

Catholic Last Rites - Scripture Catholic

Death and Mourning in Judaism

Islamic death rituals - The Art of Dying Well

Death and mourning - Practices in Buddhism - GCSE Religious Studies Revision - Eduqas - BBC Bitesize

Give My Body to the Birds: The Practice of Sky Burial - Atlas Obscura

Frequently Asked Questions About Hospice Care | National Institute on Aging

Palliative Care: Purpose & What To Expect

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In this episode the girls prepare for death by exploring the tradition of Swedish death cleaning.

**Listeners have reported a slight audio issue on episode 3 that has given us a death wish. Please accept our many apologies. We’ll do better next time!

We recommend
Caitlin: the TV series, Chucky (2021-2024)
Kaylin: Rachel Bloom’s Netflix special, Death, Let Me Do My Special (2024)
Kris: the TV show, Grotesquerie (2024)
Megan: the 2003 book, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach

We referenced

Magnusson, M. (2017). The gentle art of Swedish death cleaning: How to free yourself and your family from a lifetime of clutter. Simon & Schuster.

Platt, C. A. (2021). The Afrominimalist's guide to living with less. Tiller Press.

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In this episode the girls prepare for death by taking a look at Medical Aid in Dying and its impact on vulnerable communities.

We recommend
Caitlin: the Turkish comedy series, Gibi, and the film, Alien: Romulus (2024)
Kaylin: the K-drama, Crash Landing on You (2019)
Kris: the dead girl murder mystery series, The Perfect Couple (2024), and Marvel series, WandaVision (2021)
Megan: the writings of Liz Bruenig on the death penalty at the Atlantic, and the film, Children of Men (2006)

We referenced:

Dying With Dignity Canada. (n.d.). Get the facts: Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAID) law. https://www.dyingwithdignity.ca/end-of-life-support/get-the-facts-on-maid/ (Dying With Dignity Canada)

Government of Canada. (2025, August 27). Medical assistance in dying: Overview. Health Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-services-benefits/medical-assistance-dying.html

Haring, C. (2024, January 30). D.C. can be a blueprint for Maryland aid-in-dying law. Death with Dignity. https://deathwithdignity.org/news/2024/01/dc-can-be-blueprint-for-md-dwd-law/

M, B. (2017, September 21). People with disabilities often fear they’re a burden. That’s why legal assisted suicide scares me. Vox. https://www.vox.com/first-person/2017/9/21/16307868/assisted-suicide-disabilities-legal

NPR. (2022, December 11). Canada is expanding categories for medically assisted death. https://www.npr.org/2022/12/11/1142141146/canada-is-expanding-categories-for-medically-assisted-death

Seucharan , C. (2021, October 25). “I die when I run out of money”: How disability and poverty are driving medical assistance in dying in Canada. CANADALAND. https://www.canadaland.com/madeline-medical-assistance-in-dying-priced-out-of-life/ 

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In this episode the girls prepare for death by grappling with what it is medically, and how that has shifted throughout the centuries.

We recommend 

Caitlin: the album Death Consciousness (2008) by Have a Nice Life

Kaylin: WikiHow Article Collection on Death 

Kris: the TV series, Six Feet Under (2001-2005)

Megan: the film, The Nun (2018)

We referenced

Bondeson, J. (2001). Buried alive: The terrifying history of our most primal fear. New York and London: W. W. Norton. 

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