450. How to Be Better at Death

Stephen Dubner had an idea for a new project. So he drove to Connecticut and knocked on the door of the master. Dubner’s new TV talk show Better in Person launches July 14 on the Freakonomics YouTube channel. SOURCES: Dick Cavett, writer, former talk show host. RESOURCES: Eye on ...  Show more

Dartmouth president Sian Beilock, a psychologist by training, made her name studying why people choke. Now she’s applying those insights to one of the most scrutinized jobs in America. No pressure! SOURCES: Sian Beilock, president of Dartmouth College. RESOURCES: "Growing share o ...  Show more

What consists of a good death? According to Caitlin Doughty, It is staring down your death fears—whether it be your own death, the death of those you love, the pain of dying, the afterlife (or lack thereof), grief, corpses, bodily decomposition, or all of the above. Accepting tha ...  Show more

Alternative mortician, YouTube personality, and New York Times bestselling nonfiction author of From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death, Caitlin Doughty, rang me up this week to chat about changing the West’s relationship to death, the challenges of runn ...  Show more

Writer and producer Katie Engelhart, author of the new book “The Inevitable: Dispatches on the Right to Die,” speaks with us about the underground euthanasia movement, the differing perspectives on assisted suicide in countries around the world, and the problems with the media’s ...  Show more

Sarah Jaffe is the author of Work Won’t Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keep Us Exploited, Exhausted, and Alone. She and Chris discuss the emotional toll of modern work culture and the importance of community. They also dive into Sarah’s newest book, From the Ashes: Grief ...  Show more