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In this episode, Professor Sonia Kumar, founding Executive Dean of Medicine at St. Mary’s University's new School of Medicine, shares her vision for a more compassionate, values-driven approach to medical education. 

She discusses the importance of human connection, spirituality, and supporting both patients and doctors through death, dying, and grief. 

With moving stories from her career as a GP, Professor Kumar explains how the new school will prepare future doctors to care for the whole person — body, mind, and spirit — during and at the end of life.

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The world is aging rapidly. People are living longer. Everyone wants their death to be calm, peaceful and reconciled - ideally at home, and in the presence of family and loved ones.

End of life care, and in particular, specialised palliative care, is increasingly important and can radically enhance quality of life for both patients and their families. But how can you explain the merits of this compassionate care when in some countries, the sheer mention of the D-word is so taboo it can be interpreted as wishing ill on the very person you want to help?

This is the case in parts of East and South East Asia. Many countries have reached, or will soon reach, super-aged status. That is the UN definition for a country where over 20% of its population is aged 65 or older. Singapore is projected to become a super-aged society in 2026, so extolling the virtues of palliative care in a culture that would, perhaps, rather not have the conversation about death and dying is a significant challenge.

For this Art of Dying Well podcast, we speak to Dr Su Lin Yeo, an Associate Professor of Communication Management at Singapore Management University. Professor Yeo has conducted ground-breaking research on palliative care communication in Singapore. We have a fascinating discussion about how cultural taboos in Asian societies about death and dying can make for difficult end-of-life conversations. We talk about how Professor Yeo's research has provided valuable insights that have improved communication strategies on this tricky subject.

We also investigate how knowledge, attitude, and receptiveness can inform public health communication and advance the understanding of palliative care in Singapore.

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Understanding the shock, pain, and anxiety that comes after a terminal diagnosis is often best articulated through first-person stories. For the first Art of Dying Well podcast of 2025, we're speaking to Matt Parkes about how he cared for his dad, Jeff, at the end of his life.

Jeff became aware something was seriously wrong health-wise in 2011. Something had changed. Something felt different. He had a number of episodes where he would lose his balance, and eventually he was diagnosed with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a rare brain condition that causes problems with movement, vision, speech, and swallowing.

Not wanting to 'diminish', Jeff decided he wanted to end his life and was initially actively suicidal. Matt, a Catholic, managed to steer him away from that course of action - with his wife’s loving help - and spent many years as Jeff's primary carer.

This was obviously a very difficult time, but in those final years, there were remarkable, poignant moments of love and reconciliation that never would have experienced had he followed his initial desire to end his life.

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Since the dawn of time, people have been asking those huge existential questions: What comes next? What happens to us after we die? These questions have preoccupied artists, writers, thinkers, medics, teachers, religious leaders – pretty much all of us at one time or another. 

Art and the Afterlife was an event held at The Exchange, a theatre in Twickenham run by St Mary’s University. It was part of an ongoing project exploring the many ways people understand and reflect on death and the afterlife with a view to improving our shared literacy around death - particularly in end-of-life contexts.

This 20-minute podcast was recorded just before the three panelists stepped out on stage. We spoke to ebullient art historian Lynne Hanley, former Sotheby’s auctioneer and founder of the brilliant christian.art website, Father Patrick van der Vorst, and the knowledgeable, and ever-wise Baroness Sheila Hollins who, as well as discussing her series of marvellous word-free picture books, also shared her granddaughter’s award-winning and poignant artwork that looks through Mary's eyes as she mourns Jesus on the cross.

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With parents, grandparents, and guardians all getting into the flow of the dreaded autumnal 'back to school' routine, it seemed appropriate for us to revisit a topic we first looked at back in September 2021 - bereavement in education.

Earlier this year, St Mary's University and The Art of Living and Dying Well (note our new name) held a summit to gather experts from across the sector to examine how death literacy can be improved in our schools and colleges, and how policies and training can be shaped to ensure that knowledge and visibility of a young person's grief lies at the heart of our response. 

For this 'Art of Dying Well' podcast, we want to build on the conversations started at the summit. You'll hear four important voices – a primary school teacher, a director of Initial Teacher Training at a university in the east of England, and two young pupils who suffered a bereavement early in their lives.

With thanks to:

Daniel and Matthew, primary school teacher Paige McCarthy, and Jenny Fogarty, Director of Initial Teacher Training at Anglia Ruskin University.

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Hospices - places you go to die, right? Horizontal in a bed for the last months of your life? Decades ago, perhaps, but the modern hospice offers a wide variety of services - all designed to provide high quality, compassionate care for the dying person.

In fact, around 50% of people that use the facilities and treatments go home at the end of the day. It's time to challenge the stereotypes, bust the myths and go behind the scenes to find out just how hospices work and how they are the jewel in the crown when it comes to end of life care.
 
For this special episode of the Art of Dying Well podcast, we visit a truly remarkable place - St Joseph’s Hospice in Hackney, East London. 

Most people want their death – or that of a loved one or friend – to be comfortable and reconciled. A dignified death. At St Joseph’s Hospice the dying person always comes first so why not listen to find out more?

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On this episode of the Art of Dying Well podcast, we're breaking the taboo around end of life planning.

Host James Abbott sits down with Matthew Hutton, the author of a very useful book called Your Last Gift - an accessible guide to getting your affairs in order.

Matthew Hutton is a man who wears many professional hats – lawyer, one intimately acquainted with drawing up Wills and administering probate; tax adviser; estate planning expert; farmer (!) and Church of England minister.

He shares his wisdom on topics such as the importance of having a Will, and setting up lasting powers of attorney, as well as examining the emotional and philosophical dimensions of confronting mortality, leaving a legacy, and finding meaning in the face of death.

Through their conversation, Abbott and Hutton aim to break the taboo surrounding end of life planning and encourage listeners to take proactive steps in preparing for the inevitable - ultimately providing peace of mind for themselves and their loved ones.

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The first Art of Dying Well podcast of 2024 looks at coma recovery, second chances and spiritual awakening.

James Macintyre, a freelance journalist and biographer, describes his extraordinary near-death experience giving a first-hand account of the life-threatening pancreatitis he endured in May 2023 that led to a five-week coma and four-month hospitalisation.

James was admitted to the intensive care unit at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in a critical condition. Doctors informed him that he was suffering from severe pancreatitis that could be fatal. After a difficult week involving blunt conversations with medical staff about the possibility of dying, he was placed in a medically-induced coma to aid his breathing and survival.

Whilst in a coma,  James nearly died when doctors performed emergency tracheostomy surgery. Thankfully he pulled through, but awoke to the devastating news that his mother had died while he was unconscious.

James credits his survival and new outlook to the excellent hospital care he received as well as his Christian faith. He now hopes to impart lessons about valuing each day, having an attitude of gratitude, and centering one’s life on eternity, rather than worldly pursuits.

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Traditionally November is the month for remembering; for remembrance services; the lighting of candles; special prayers and the blessing of graves.

In this special episode of the podcast, made in partnership with the Catholic Church in England and Wales, we offer an opportunity for reflection and remembrance in the company of Father George Bowen as he takes us on a tour of the beautiful London Oratory.

And on Remembrance Sunday itself we pause to reflect on the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany on the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918. Not only do we stop to remember our dead, but to hope and pray for peace in the world today.

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In part two of our special episode in support of Baby Loss Awareness Week in the UK, our host James Abbott speaks to two wonderful people who took their own trauma and grief and did an incredible thing with it. They founded a charity to help people in the same painful position they were in – a position nobody wants to find themselves in - facing the death of a baby.

Jo and David Ward went through the tragedy of the death of their daughter, Abigail, who was stillborn at 41 weeks, and they’re here to share their story with us now and to talk about their marvellous charity Abigail’s Footsteps set up in memory of Abigail.

With still births and neonatal deaths standing at around 14 a day in England and Wales – sadly one of the highest rates in the developed world - the work of the charity has never been more important.