The Art of Dying Well
Our podcast aims to make death and dying something we can talk about openly without discomfort or fear. Presented by James Abbott, our award-winning show features James in conversation with a guest on a key topic related to the Art of Dying Well, taking in everything from being at the bedside of a dying loved one, to receiving a terminal diagnosis. Coping with grief, bereavement, death, dying, and much more are all under discussion.
Episodes
43 episodes
Art and the Afterlife | Episode 43
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 a...
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20:42
Bereavement in Education | Episode 42
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.E...
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Season 1
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Episode 42
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57:12
Hospices "help you live until you die" | Episode 41
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 dyin...
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Season 1
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Episode 41
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42:14
Where there's a Will there's a way | Episode 40
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 access...
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Season 1
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Episode 40
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37:00
Back to Life | Second chances and spiritual awakening | Episode 39
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...
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Season 1
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Episode 39
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29:22
How we remember the dead | A reflective tour of the beautiful London Oratory Church | Episode 38
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 Chur...
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Season 1
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Episode 38
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33:29
Still birth and Abigail's Footsteps | Baby Loss Awareness Week | Episode 37
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 ...
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Season 1
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Episode 37
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29:08
Grieving The Loss of a Child | Baby Loss Awareness Week | Episode 36
There can be few things more devastating than the death of a child. This incredibly emotive and difficult subject is the focus of this episode, which takes the form of two testimony-based podcasts. In part one we hear from Sa...
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Season 1
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Episode 36
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41:00
Listen to me, I'm dying! | Episode 35
This episode has the rather provocative title Listen to me, I’m dying! But what do we mean by that? Find out as host James Abbott discusses with our guests how much of a say do we really have over what happens when we die...
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Season 1
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Episode 35
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40:28
Eternity? What happens after we die | Episode 34
This episode of the Art of Dying Well podcast sees us ponder one of those huge existential questions – a question that has surely preoccupied every single one of us at some point... What comes next? What is on the other side after we d...
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Season 1
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Episode 34
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55:56
Healing Grief Through Sport | Episode 33
In this episode we speak to Dr Leanne Griffiths, the Dean of Sport, Allied Health and Performance Science at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, and founder of Sophie’s Stars, a charity dedicated to supporting family and love...
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Season 1
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Episode 33
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37:52
The Art of Dying Well - What Have We Learned? | Episode 32
In this Art of Dying Well podcast, we're dipping into our audio archives to celebrate the ground we’ve covered in nearly five years of broadcasting. When we started the podcast, one of our main aims was to make living and dying well so...
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Season 1
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Episode 32
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38:22
The Philosophy of Life and Death | Episode 31
What does it mean to live well and what impact can this have on our death? Can living well really help us achieve a so-called good death?These issues have preoccupied great minds throughout the ages, including Aristotle and Plato, begin...
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48:29
Why end of life companionship matters | Episode 30
Most of us would rather not be alone at the end of life, which is why so many organisations, charities and faith groups are coming together to find a solution. There are a number of very effective community groups, relying primaril...
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1:04:52
Living well, ageing well and dying well | Episode 29
As we embrace the Spring sunshine here in the UK we're looking forward to spending more time outside, meeting up with friends and loved ones, and generally enjoying the warmer weather. Living well entails noticing when life is good...
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Episode 29
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1:02:25
The Art of Listening Well | Episode 28
Well, we’re emerging into the light from the pandemic – much as it has not fully gone away - and we’re socialising and speaking to each other more. But how are our conversational skills? A bit rusty maybe? Conversing well requires a good listen...
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Episode 28
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1:06:58
Men and Grief | Episode 27
We've all heard the stereotypes... men aren't good with their emotions. Men don't talk about things close to their hearts. It's all 'stiff upper lip' and 'show must go on'. So what happens when a man's dying? Or suffers a bereavement?Wh...
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1:17:10
Grief in the Classroom | Episode 26
It has been a very strange 18 months for young people – not just at home but in our schools too. The pandemic has reminded us all of the nearness of death and how we as a society look after ourselves and each other. How often do we hear the wis...
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50:11
Diagnosing Dying | Episode 25
We're tackling a very difficult subject on this 'Art of Dying Well' podcast. What happens when you get the news that nobody wants? How do you cope with a diagnosis that changes everything? We're looking at how we can listen to, accompany and su...
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48:47
The Internet and End of Life | Episode 24
As we emerge into whatever version of 'normal' we end up with after the acute phase of the pandemic, some of us are seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Others, facing death or accompanying a dying loved one, may feel that light's a little fu...
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1:16:21
End of Life Accompaniment and Lone Deaths | Episode 23
In recent years we've seen signs that more and more people are able to talk about death and dying. However, many more list death - and particularly dying alone - as their number one anxiety.This podcast juxtaposes two end-of-life realities - on...
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59:00
Reporting on death and dying during the pandemic | Episode 22
Covid-19 has hit the UK hard. 100,000 deaths is a statistic. 1 is a tragedy. Each death leaves a family bereaved, each hospital admission results in a person facing a fight - loved-ones anxiously hoping for the best from a distance. Covid-19 pr...
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40:45
Bereavement and Remembrance in November | Episode 21
The 'Art of Dying Well' is exactly four years old and it's fitting we're in the month of November, or, as we call it, 'the month to remember'.Bereavement, grief, memories and remembrance make up the subject matter for this, our last Art of Dyin...
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49:25
Dying well starts with living well | Episode 20
We've long said it, but how you live has a bearing on how you die. Dying well starts with living well. Being ready, being prepared, being reconciled, being happy and at peace with the way you treat yourself and others - they're all factors. Eve...
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32:59
Lockdown, loss and pandemic trauma | Episode 19
This 'Art of Dying Well' podcast picks up where Episode 18 left off - counting the cost of COVID19 and how it has touched our lives and communities. Lockdown may be easing but the virus is certainly not a thing of the past. Politicians turn the...
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52:22
