Farewelling: The Podcast

In Part 2 of this Bonus Minisode, we go inside a special podcast booth at the Farewelling Launch Party in New York City! Party guests sip Champagne and step into the world of farewelling, where they freely share their opinions and feelings about death, dying, and how they want to be remembered. From stories of one woman’s grandfather etching his own tombstone (!) to children fighting over their parents’ estates, folks of all ages and backgrounds open up about how death touches us and whether we should even think about it.

New Year, New Bucket List! Farewelling Founder Karen Bussentravels to California to the home of Dierdre Wolownick, extreme climber and author of “The Sharp End of Life: A Mother’s Story.” Over strawberry cake and coffee, Dierdre tells Karen the fascinating story of how she became, at age 66, the oldest woman to climb Yosemite’s monstrous “El Capitan,”which she did at the side of her son, the world’s most famous free-solo climber (and subject of the movie “Free Solo”) Alex Honnold. She talks marriage, living without fear, and pursuing your dreams, no matter your age or stage in life.

Hard-hitting journalist, tech celebrity, and podcast superstar Kara Swisher of Recode Decode is known for her tough questions and provocative interview style. But when we ask her one of the most personal questions ever--What do you want for your own farewelling?--she is remarkably candid, funny, and creative.

Karen Bussen welcomes author Sallie Tisdale for a chat about accepting help when you need it, why being morbid isn’t what you think, and why you should choose a healthcare proxy who’s also a badass.

Farewelling friends and co-founders Karen Bussen and Elizabeth Karansky get personal this week, with an episode that dives into the transformation Elizabeth (or Liz, as we call her) experienced after the death of her father when Liz was twenty-one. Liz tells us how she questioned what death was, where her father had gone, and how she discovered that helping other families helped her, too.

Farewelling co-founders Karen Bussen and Elizabeth Karansky get an invite to the rockin’ opening night reception at the 2019 National Funeral Directors Association Conference in Chicago (hint: it’s a Blues Brothers-theme party!). They talk to industry veterans and newcomers about what’s surprising in the business, what they do on their rare days off, and what they want for their own funerals.

Guests at the glittering Farewelling Launch Party enjoyed Champagne, sangria, charcuterie, Impossible Burger sliders...and a LIVE podcast booth where the editaud.io team welcomed everyone to share thoughts, feelings and ideas about death and dying--or as we call it, farewelling. Should we plan for our own death or leave it to our families? Is it okay to laugh at funerals? And how do we want to be remembered?

Former art and culture critic--and current obituary writer--Neil Genzlinger joins Karen from his office at The New York Times. They discuss the elements that make an obituary great, who he’d want to write his obit when the time comes, and how he won three (3!) Moth Open-Slam Storytelling competitions.

Karen has a surprisingly upbeat conversation about end of life planning with Licensed Behavioral Therapist Grace Y. Lin. They talk “Swedish Death Cleaning” (yep, that’s a thing!), our American obsession with happiness, and how a healthy dose of self-awareness about our mortality brings greater fulfillment in our everyday lives.

Since he was a child, humorist Mo Rocca has been fascinated by obituaries. Host Karen Bussen asks him why on this episode of Farewelling: The Podcast. Mo answers that question, plus gives us his thoughts on why we don’t talk about death, why he created a podcast called “Mobituaries,” and what three items he’d pack for the afterlife.