What made the American funeral industry what it is today? Why do we embalm? How do societal status & funeral styles overlap?

Gary Laderman, PhD, is the Goodrich C. White Prof of Amer Religious History & Cultures at Emory University in Georgia, the author of multiple books & featured on The Mortician: an HBO documentary covering a 1980s funeral home who exploited grieving families.

In this episode, you’ll hear how funeral rituals went from DIY to the elaborate & long list of menu options today, how those options supported or detracted from family status, the spooky status of the death worker themselves, how embalming changed everything (hello capitalism!) & the growing resistance towards the commodification of death

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 278: MORBID OR SACRED? LET’S TALK ABOUT DEATH (WITH A DEATH DOULA)

Guest:

https://garyladerman.com/ 

https://www.instagram.com/garyladerman/ 

Sponsors: 

https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/ 

https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/ 

04:00 — Death for Sale

05:30 — When Death Was a Family Affair

09:20 — Strange Death Rituals in America

12:00 — A Patchwork of Beliefs

13:20 — The Birth of the Funeral Industry

15:30 — Respect, Race, and Funeral Culture

17:00 — Profit Meets Death

20:30 — Death Moves to the Hospital

27:00 — Animals, Intoxication, and Curiosity

29:00 — Religion or Escape?

30:30 — The Power of Ritual

32:00 — The Embalming Shift

32:30 — Lincoln’s Death Tour

36:30 — JFK and Public Mourning

39:30 — Exposing the Death Industry

40:45 — Our Obsession with Famous Deaths

42:30 — Bringing Death Back Home

45:30 — When Options Become Overwhelm

46:00 — Life After Religion

47:30 — Reclaiming Death Traditions

48:45 — Designing Your Own Goodbye

Request to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/

Follow me in all the places:

https://www.meredithforreal.com/  

https://www.instagram.com/the_curiousintrovert/ 

[email protected]

https://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal 

https://www.facebook.com/curiousintrovert