End of Life Conversations

About End of Life Conversations

Death touches us all, and yet our culture rarely makes space to talk about it openly. Why is it so hard to have honest conversations about death, dying, and loss with the people we love? What do we do with grief when it inevitably arrives? End of Life Conversations is a podcast dedicated to normalizing these essential conversations. Hosts Reverent Mother Annalouiza Armendariz and Reverend Wakil David Matthews — both seasoned hospice chaplains and end-of-life companions — invite experts and everyday voices alike: funeral directors, death doulas, poets, researchers, grief counselors, and people who've walked right up to the edge of life and returned. Together, they explore what it means to prepare for death, sit with loss, and grieve in ways that are as individual as we are. And weekly, we share a conversation with our friend Sam Zemke about something that is currently speaking to us. Whether you're supporting a loved one through a terminal illness, searching for the right words to start a difficult conversation, or simply curious about what a more death-positive life might look like, this podcast meets you where you are. No question is too strange. No path looks the same. Subscribe, reach out, and join the conversation. Because the time to talk about it is now. endoflifeconvo@gmail.com (mailto:endoflifeconvo@gmail.com) | endoflifeconvos.substack.com (http://endoflifeconvos.substack.com/) We want to thank our excellent editor, Sam Zemkee. We also acknowledge that we live and work on unceded indigenous peoples' lands. We thank them for their generations of stewardship, which continues to this day, and honor them by doing all we can to create a sustainable planet and support the flourishing of all life, both human and more-than-human.

Publisher

Rev Annalouiza Armendariz & Rev Wakil David Matthews

Category

education · religion & spirituality · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

1 Nov 2023

Latest episode

10 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

175 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   10 Oct 2026

   Alzheimer's Caregiving, Grief & Loss: Suzy McNamara on Loving Someone Through Dementia

   Send us Fan Mail What happens when you begin grieving someone you love long before they die? Alzheimer's caregiving can bring profound grief, isolation, and difficult decisions that few people outside the experience fully understand. In this episode, Suzy McNamara shares her personal journey of caring for her husband, Bob, who lived with early-onset Alzheimer's. Through her story, we explore the emotional realities of dementia caregiving, anticipatory grief, caregiver isolation, and the chal...

2. 

   5 Oct 2026

   What Are We Doing, Men? Patriarchy, Violence & the Responsibility to Act | Weekly Dispatch

   Send us Fan Mail What does it mean for men to take responsibility for violence, patriarchy, and the culture that allows harm to continue? In this Weekly Dispatch, we look beyond the latest story of sexual violence or abuse and ask a harder question: What keeps these patterns happening again and again? The conversation explores how patriarchy is sustained by fear, control, silence, and the normalization of harmful behavior. But it also asks what becomes possible when we move from domination to...

3. 

   3 Oct 2026

   Tarot, Mediumship & Grief: Can We Connect With Loved Ones After Death? | Jenna Matlin

   Send us Fan Mail What happens to our relationships when someone we love dies? For many people, grief doesn't end the relationship. We may still want to talk with someone who has died, feel their presence, seek closure, or wonder whether there are ways to remain connected. But where do tarot and mediumship fit into that experience? In this conversation, Jenna Matlin, tarot practitioner and author of The Tarot Book of the Dead, explores the intersection of tarot, mediumship, grief, and contin...

Who has been a guest on End of Life Conversations

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Jay Deitcher
• Dr Sheila K Collins
• Timothy Arsenault
• Rusty Rosman
• Marci Donaldson

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

8 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Contact End of Life Conversations

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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