Peaceful Exit

Joél Simone Maldonado is a licensed funeral director and embalmer, spiritual death care educator and the founder of the Multicultural Death & Grief Care Academy. She's helping to revolutionize the death care industry by educating practitioners about culturally sensitive protocols and death care for communities of color. In this episode, we talk about everything from restorative art, to various disposition methods, to how Covid ...

Rabbi Neil Blumofe is the senior rabbi at Congregation Agudas Achim in Austin, Texas, and has been part of that community for 26 years! Rabbi Blumofe and I talk about how music can help facilitate community and spirituality. If life is improvisation, then Judaism is jazz. And sometimes rock 'n roll. We also talk about forgiveness, belonging, what makes something sacred and how forgiveness is possible at any time.

You can learn m...

Daryl Horton is the senior pastor at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Austin, Texas. He explains why community is a key tennant of his faith and why it's so critical that we preserve Black churches. We also talk about the death of his brother, getting the call to ministry and how the church can be a critical voice in the conversation about racial justice.

You can learn more about Pastor Horton's work here: https://www.mtzion-baptist.o...

Like authors, faith leaders are a great source for language about life and death. Venerable Jue Ji is a Buddhist nun who grew up in Taipei, Taiwan, and now calls Austin, Texas, home. Death is a key focus in Buddhism and Venerable shares ways that we can incorporate the idea of impermanence in our daily lives. We talk about how nature reflects impermance back to us, the afterlife, the death of her mother, and how her take on meditat...

Dr. Michael J Moore is a veterinary scientist who spent his entire career studying and advocating for the North Atlantic Right Whale. This is a critically endangered species, on the brink of extinction, due in large part to commercial fishing and shipping in the waters where they live. We talk about the critical role right whales play in the ocean's biodiversity and why biodiversity is so important to human survival. We explore wha...

We live in a culture that avoids talking about death and Peaceful Exit is an invitation to be in candid conversation about it. In season five, host Sarah Cavanaugh is talking with writers, artists, musicians and other creatives who have explored death through their art, to help us demystify and normalize this very human experience.

There's no guarantee of a peaceful exit, but imagining into the experience you want can help buil...

As the show begins to switch gears a bit, from talking with authors to talking with artists, theologians, musicians, poets –creatives of all kinds – we take a moment to reflect on what we’ve learned over the years making the show. Sarah talks with Larj Media’s Principle Creative, Tina Nole, to talk about why she began these conversations and the many ways making the Peaceful Exit podcast has impacted her.

This podcast is produce...

As Sarah looks forward to the future of a Peaceful Exit, we take a look back at some memorable moments of the past year with some of her most impactful guests. 

Link to Katy Butler’s book:

http://www.katybutler.com/author/the-art-of-dying-well/

Link to Louisa Zondo’s book:

https://www.amazon.com/Dearest-MaRiky-Mothers-Journey-through-ebook/dp/B0C81LH954

Link to Mary-Frances O’Connor

https://maryfrancesoconnor.org/

Lin...

Sarah talks with multidisciplinary artist Alixa Garcia about Alixa's transformative experiences with art, her powerful personal stories of loss, and her impassioned work in social and climate justice.  Alixa reflects on the role of imagination during times of collapse and the importance of creativity, awareness, and community in fostering resilience and healing. The episode includes an int...

Steven Tomlinson, Episcopal priest, playwright, and former economist, shares his personal journey through grief and healing after the sudden loss of his partner, David. Tomlinson reflects on how community, faith, and the process of writing his play Curb Appeal helped him navigate the complexities of loss. 

With wisdom drawn from his unique career in theology, theater, and business, Steven explores the raw realities of grief...

In this episode of Peaceful Exit, host Sarah Cavanaugh interviews Gabi Lowe, author of Get Me to 21: The Jenna Lowe Story. Gabi shares her deeply personal journey of love, loss, and resilience. Following the devastating diagnosis and eventual loss of her daughter Jenna to a rare lung condition, Gabi discusses how writing her book became both a mission to save lives and a profound act of healing. From battling South Africa’s healthc...

Michelle Hord, author of 'The Other Side of Yet,’ recounts the devastating loss of her daughter, Gabrielle, who was murdered by her ex-husband. The conversation delves into how Michelle navigated her grief and transformed it into action, hope, and resilience. She reflects on her faith, the support of her community, and how starting the nonprofit Gabrielle's Wings has helped pain into action. Michelle also discusses the personal imp...

In this episode, we talk with Luke Lorentzen and Mati Engel about their intimate documentary, 'A Still, Small Voice'.  The film features Mati as a hospital chaplain during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The conversation delves into the emotional impact of chaplaincy, the challenges of burnout, and the importance of human connection in end-of-life care. Luke and Mati explore themes of witnessing, trauma, and the struggle ...

In this episode of Peaceful Exit, host Sarah Cavanaugh interviews Carole Fisher, who shares her deeply personal journey through experiences of grief, denial, and the healing power of community in the hit podcast The Girlfriends. 

Carole discusses ho...

In this episode of Peaceful Exit, host Sarah Cavanaugh interviews an anthropologist who immersed herself in the world of assisted dying in Oregon, Anita Hannig. Anita shares the methodology of participant observation, the emotional dynamics of end-of-life experiences, and the distinction between assisted dying and suicide. Her extensive research and personal reflections, highlight the differences in cultural practices and legal fra...

Brittani Ard, from the podcast "You Probably Think This Story's About You", shares her raw, unfiltered story of navigating loss and a manipulative relationship, revealing how personal tragedy became the catalyst for her opening up  and mission to help other women. She offers a unique perspective on healing, discussing the unexpected empathy she developed for her ex-partner Kanan and...

Kumi Naidoo is a prominent global activist. He is the former Secretary General of Amnesty International and Executive Director of Greenpeace. Kumi shares his life story from growing up in Apartheid South Africa to becoming a global activist for social and environmental justice. He talks about how personal tragedies, especially his mother's death by suicide when he was 15, and his son's d...

Alua Arthur is an entrepreneur, death doula, and New York Times bestselling author, who recently published her book, 'Briefly Perfectly Human.' Alua shares her life story from fleeing Ghana as a child to finding her calling after an unexpected conversation on a bus. In this episode, Alua discusses the transformative nature of starting conversations about mortality, the universal wisdom f...

From growing up in Apartheid South Africa to helping write the country's constitution, Louisa Zondo's life story is nothing short of extraordinary. We talk about her experiences as a young mother, her high-profile career, and the heartbreaking loss of her son Rikhado to suicide in 2022. Louisa shares openly about her grief and how she’s finding healing.

...