💐 Episode Summary

In our season 1 finale, Dinah and John bond over their mutual emotional depth, sharing the same birthday, and being weepy. The music choices will touch your heart and make you nostalgic for what was yet keep you hopeful about what can possibly be in the future. John doesn’t shy away from the deep grief and tragedy that have touched his life, and gives us all some much needed wisdom on what’s important and how to capture the joy in the every day moments. We’ll talk Billy Joel, Bette Midler, the soundtrack to “Coco” and so much more. 

💿 Songs Mentioned

1. “Summer, Highland Falls” by Billy Joel 

2. “One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)” by Bette Midler

3. “Closing Time” by Semisonic 

4. “Copperline” by James Taylor

5. “Times Of Your Life” by Paul Anka

6. “All I Want Is You” by U2

7. “Remember Me” by Gael Garcia Bernal

8. “The Freshman” by The Verve Pipe

9. “In My Life” by The Beatles

10. “It’s Such A Good Feeling” by Fred Rogers

11. “Time Of My Life” by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes

John's Playlist: https://tinyurl.com/537pwvfn

🎙 About the Guest

With over 30 years of experience in human resources, John remains deeply passionate about empowering individuals and organizations to achieve success. As a sought-after keynote speaker at both U.S. and international conferences, John delivers impactful insights on leadership, collaboration and innovation, employee success, organizational design and development, and diversity and inclusion. John’s expertise has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and SHRM Publications, and he is a regular contributor to the Humareso Blog, where he shares thought leadership on HR trends and strategies. Additionally, he co-hosts the wildly popular LinkedIn Live webcast, “But First Coffee,” where he engages audiences with dynamic discussions on workplace culture and leadership.

Currently, John serves as the President of Humareso, a global human resource consulting firm dedicated to helping organizations align their people strategies with business goals. Beyond his professional accomplishments, John is proud to be the husband of one awesome wife and the father of three amazing young adults.

🙏🏽Thank You to Our Supporters

Major shoutout to our show’s supporters:

TremFit: Discover Tremfit by Kara Tremel, a boutique online training experience designed to help every body feel strong, confident, and cared for. 

Second Home First: What if your 401(k) came with a fire pit and alake view? That’s the question behind the hit podcast, Second Home First, which explores an untraditional approach to homeownership and wealth-building. If you thought owning any home, let alone a ‘second’ home was out of reach, this is the show for you. 

🌹 About Play This At My Funeral

Play This At My Funeral is a deeply fun, slightly macabre, always heartwarming show about the songs that shape our lives — and the ones we’d play at our funerals. Each episode invites a guest to curate the playlist for their own (hypothetical) send-off and share the stories that made those songs matter. 

Host Dinah and the guest talk through the soundtrack of their life: the songs that have held them in moments of anguish, haunted them on the regular, and maybe just maybe even saved them. It’s a cozy journey through meaningful lyrics, vivid memories, and the emotional mixtapes that mark our most human moments.

The show is created and hosted by Dinah Susan Alobeid and is edited and co-produced by Alice Marcondes. 

💜 Stay Connected

• Subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts

• Please leave a 5-star review and share with someone who’s quietly building their own “funeral playlist” (or should be!)

• You can watch the podcast video episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WriteDanceRepeat/playlists