Grave Matters

While death may be one of life’s only certainties, most of us are woefully unprepared for it. In Grave Matters, hosts Anthony Levin and Nadine J. Cohen explore grief, death care and the business of dying, asking experts the questions we’re all too scared to ask. You’ll hear from a forensic scientist, a First Nations grief counsellor, a Muslim death doula, a tech innovator, funeral director and other inspiring, passionate people whose life's work is helping us to better navigate death. Lift your spirits with Grave Matters: a lively look at death.

Episodes

Ray of light: Ray Martin ponders death & the afterlife

August 7, 2024 • 42 mins

American broadcaster Diane Sawyer once said that a good journalist follows their curiosity like a cat. If the adage is true, then Ray Martin has nine lives. At age 79, and with five Gold Logies on the mantle, Ray has finally turned his attention to what he says is the best question there is: death. He joins us on this special bonus episode of Grave Matters to discuss his new series for SBS, Ray Martin: The Last Goodbye.

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Saying Fur-well: Pets, Vets & the Afterlife

May 14, 2024 • 44 mins

We're back with a special bonus episode to cap off the series. We’ve spent the season exploring the myriad ways we respond to people dying and what it means to have a good death. But what does this mean for our pets? It turns out losing a furry friend can be just as challenging as losing a human one.

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Everybody Dies: Ben Lee on Life, Death, and Ayahuasca, Baby

May 7, 2024 • 43 mins

You may know him as the singer songwriter behind worldwide hits including Catch My Disease and We’re All In This Together. But there’s more to Ben Lee than clever lyrics and catchy hooks. Why is he on a podcast about death and dying? Good question.

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No Planet B: Coming to Terms with Climate Collapse

April 29, 2024 • 48 mins

Would you live your life differently if you thought humanity was doomed? You don’t have to be a nihilist to wonder whether we can survive the climate crisis. We find hope where it seems there is none and examine the idea of dying well, together. We face facts with climate policy expert and communicator David Spratt, and get a virtual hug from psychotherapist Carolyn Baker.

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Trauma’s Children: Life in the shadow of massive loss

April 23, 2024 • 44 mins

We inherit many things from our families - heirlooms, habits, humour. But what about psychological wounds? In this episode, we discuss epigenetics, intergenerational trauma and how collective memory helps us work through catastrophic loss with Linda Thai, a therapist and former child refugee.

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Rise of the Death Robots: Will Death Tech change the way we die?

April 16, 2024 • 44 mins

In this Golden Age of Innovation, we’re accustomed to making room for new technologies in daily life. But what about when we die? It turns out that breakthroughs like AI, empathic robots and ‘smart’ memorial plaques are disrupting the deathcare sector too, from how we support end-of-life to the way we memorialise. Dr Hannah Gould joins us to explain her research into DeathTech and new traditions and technologies of death rites.

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Weird Science: How Chemistry is Helping One Woman Solve Crimes

April 9, 2024 • 40 mins

You know how in TV crime shows, the police can always pinpoint a body’s exact time of death? Well, it seems we’ve been lied to. Forensic science hasn’t advanced quite far enough for such accuracy. But one facility in Sydney is working hard to change this. In this episode we meet Dr Maiken Ueland, Director of the Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research (AFTER) - Australia's first facility to study the decomposition ...

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21st-Century Plague: Has COVID-19 Changed Us Forever?

April 2, 2024 • 39 mins

How has coronavirus changed our experience and perceptions of dying? We look at some of the socio-political implications of the pandemic and whether it will have lasting impacts on how we mourn and dispose of the dead.

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Panning for Gold: A Death Doula’s Guide to Living and Dying

March 28, 2024 • 27 mins

We introduced you to the concept of death doulas in the first episode of Grave Matters. But what do they actually do? We asked Sarah Tolmie, consummate death doula and possibly the nicest woman in the world, about the specifics of doula work.

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Hospitals and Hijabs: One Woman’s Mission to Raise Death Literacy in Her Community

March 26, 2024 • 45 mins

Have you had a near-death experience? Was there a bright light? A shadowy figure? Did your life flash before your eyes? A terrifying near-death experience changed Mariam Ardati’s whole perspective and led her to her life’s great purpose - educating her community about the practicalities of death and dying as a death doula, funeral director and educator.

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Body and Soil: Exploring a Greener Alternative to Burial and Cremation

March 19, 2024 • 41 mins

It’s no secret that burial and cremation are environmentally unsustainable. So how can we dispose of bodies in new, climate-friendly ways? Alternatives to burial and cremation that have a lower carbon footprint are disrupting the funeral industry all over the world. This episode explores natural organic reduction, aka human composting or terramation. It's an emerging, greener alternative to the “big two”.

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Good Grief: The Importance of Rituals for Healing After Loss

March 12, 2024 • 48 mins

Over thousands of years, cultures around the world have developed rituals to express and process grief. Research shows that these rituals are crucial to accepting loss. But what happens when established rituals and traditions fail to provide comfort or closure? We talk to clinical psychologist Dr Paul M. Martin and grief counsellor Rosemary Wanganeen about what to do when mourning traditions fail to satisfy us, and how we can creat...

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Dead Curious: How Can We Do Death and Dying Better?

March 5, 2024 • 45 mins

Life as we know it is changing, and so too is death. From death doulas to death cafes, bespoke funerals, and human composting, Grave Matters is your crash course in the end-of-life revolution. In this first episode, hear a fireside chat with one Australian woman leading the field. Bec Lyons is an end-of-life doula, independent funeral director, death literacy educator and family-led death care advocate.

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Introducing Grave Matters

February 20, 2024 • 1 min

From death doulas to death cafes, bespoke family-led funerals, and climate-friendly cremation, there's a lot of disruption happening in the business of dying. But most of us are woefully unprepared to face one of life’s few certainties. Grave Matters is an SBS podcast about grief, death care and the people helping us better understand what happens at the end of the road.

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Grave Matters

Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Ray of light: Ray Martin ponders death & the afterlife

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Saying Fur-well: Pets, Vets & the Afterlife

Everybody Dies: Ben Lee on Life, Death, and Ayahuasca, Baby

No Planet B: Coming to Terms with Climate Collapse

Trauma’s Children: Life in the shadow of massive loss

Rise of the Death Robots: Will Death Tech change the way we die?

Weird Science: How Chemistry is Helping One Woman Solve Crimes

21st-Century Plague: Has COVID-19 Changed Us Forever?

Panning for Gold: A Death Doula’s Guide to Living and Dying

Hospitals and Hijabs: One Woman’s Mission to Raise Death Literacy in Her Community

Body and Soil: Exploring a Greener Alternative to Burial and Cremation

Good Grief: The Importance of Rituals for Healing After Loss

Dead Curious: How Can We Do Death and Dying Better?

Introducing Grave Matters

Popular Podcasts

Ray of light: Ray Martin ponders death & the afterlife

Saying Fur-well: Pets, Vets & the Afterlife