What is it about the subject of death and grief that makes us so uncomfortable? We have been experts at avoiding the one thing we all face sooner or later. Death is something that happens to other people. But when it hits close, we are left scrambling.So, let’s talk about it. There is a lot to learn, not only about death, but about grief, communication and most importantly: life. Learning to Say Goodbye explores this tricky subject from all sides, covering views from different cultures, looking what religion and spirituality can teach us, hearing from people who have been through grief and close to death. We will learn how to help people going through loss, and how to talk about the one thing we all hate to talk about: death.
S02E06 - When Children Grieve with Dr. Robin Goodman
Dr. Robin Goodman, psychologist and art therapist, joins the host to explore how children process grief and what they truly need when a loved one dies.
18 Feb 2026
The Art of Ceremony - with Megan Sheldon
For most of human history, ritual shaped the rhythm of our lives. It helped us mark beginnings and endings, honour milestones, and make sense of the changes that quietly reshaped us. Rituals rooted communities, offered language for moments beyond words, and created a shared understanding of what it means to move through life together. Somewhere along the way, many of us drifted from these practices - or were never taught how to create them in the first place. And yet, especially in grief and ...
12 Jan 2026
After Death Planning - with Garrick Colwell
When was the last time you thought about your own death - not the medical decisions leading up to it, but the moment of death itself and what follows in the hours, days, and weeks afterward? In this episode, we explore what happens after the last breath. We talk about after-death care, the options available to us, and why planning for this phase matters just as much as advance medical directives. Far from being morbid, these conversations can bring clarity, ease the burden on loved ones, and ...
28 Dec 2025
End of Life Planning - with Garrick Colwell
What is the best way to show your love to the ones closest to you? Now, if you have been following this podcast for a while, you know that I am not talking about romantic gestures here, we are not talking roses and gifts, romantic dates or surprises (even though we all love them obviously). No, I am talking about the end of life. And the best gift you can give your loved ones is a plan for the end of your life. When death is near, the people around you are already carrying so much - fea...
15 Sept 2025
Death on my own terms - Medical Aid in Dying with Dan Diaz
I was sitting with my mother when she passed. It was not the kind of death I would have wished for her. She was under palliative sedation, which took away all opportunities to have those final words, those final goodbyes. She seemed without pain, which was a blessing, but it was not easy to watch. I often thought about how much suffering we let our loved ones go through at the end of life. It is painful for the one passing, but just as hard for the loved ones standing by helplessly watching a...
30 Aug 2023
Psilocybin at the End of Life with Dr. Paul Thambi
I remember the day my dad called me to tell me that I should come home. My mom was not getting better. There is something to be said about the mental state one goes into upon receiving a potentially terminal diagnosis. Everything changes in this one instance, when the end of life turns from an if, a possibility far off in the future, to a when with a ticking clock. It goes way beyond the physical symptoms that go along with a disease and has more to do with the feelings and emotions, the worr...
9 Jul 2022
10. When Grief becomes your Muse - with Gina Harris
What I find fascinating about human emotions such as grief, is that every one of us deals with them differently. Some people shut down and deal internally with their feelings, others need the support and shoulders of friends and family. But sometimes it is this deep emotional turmoil, that gives birth to some of the most amazing pieces of art because some people work through their grief by writing, painting or singing about it. It is those songs born out of pure emotions that give me all the ...
10 May 2022
09. Counterfeit Drugs - An American Nightmare - with Ruby Javed, Ph.D
This is what feels like the most important episode of LTSG to date. While my previous and future episodes are meant to open a discussion around the end of life, a reality we will all face sooner or later, THIS episode actually has the potential to save lives. So, if you are listening to this today and if you happen to work in marketing, PR, for a newspaper, radio or in a school or university and would like to help to get this message out, please do get in touch with me. You can em...
16 Apr 2022
08. Messages and Visions. Insights from a Medium - with Jen Shaffer
I have seen a few mediums in my time. Some were ok, one was downright awful, and I walked out after 10 minutes. But then there are those that just leave you amazed. One of them is Jen Shaffer. Jen is a world-renowned Psychic Medium. She has been on serval TV shows and movies on Gaia. She works with law enforcement on criminal cases and often hosts small group readings called Wine and Spirits. Maybe it was the name that drew me, but I did not know much about Jen, when I attended one of her Win...
9 Mar 2022
07. Emotions in Motion - How to let grief move through you - with Paul Denniston
Feelings are funny things. We think we experience them mostly on a mental level. Our brain makes sense of the things we feel, and we label them – as in “I feel happy” or “I feel sad, or anxious, or angry.” But it is in our body that most of these feelings settle in the end. How do we get rid of those tight muscles caused by anger, or the weight on our shoulders, where grief holds us down? This is what we will tackle in today’s episode. I had a chat with Paul Denniston, the founder of gr...
9 Feb 2022
06. Consciousness and the mind-brain-relationship - with Dr. Eben Alexander & Karen Newell
If I would ask you, “where does your consciousness reside?” your first instinct might be to say “well, the brain of course,” right? After all, isn’t that the part of our body that does all the thinking? Where our thoughts are turned to words, where we debate with others and most of the time with ourselves, where we define who we are? But is that true? What relationship do the brain and consciousness have? And what can we do to go beyond the brain and access deeper levels of awareness? Hear fr...
27 Jan 2022
05. What my Near Death Experience taught me - with Dr. Eben Alexander
Neurosurgeon and bestselling author Dr Eben Alexander never believed in life after death until he got a look behind the curtain when he experienced a Near-Death-Experience and came back to tell his story. When I came across his book while working through my own grief, I was blown away by the hope it instilled in me. Let his journey inspire you to look at death and what comes after from a new perspective. For Show notes and links to books and further resources please visit www.learningt...
31 Dec 2021
04. A personal story of loss and healing - with Ernst van Eeghen
I believe there is magic in the sharing of personal stories; the sharing of life and loss, but most importantly of survival and love. There is not one way to get through grief and not one solution that works for everyone. We are all unique and our relationships and our heartbreaks are individual experiences. But how we deal with those losses might guide others, might offer hope and direction to those needing them the most right now. Meet Ernst van Eeghen and hear his personal story of heartbr...
21 Dec 2021
03. Grief and the Holidays - with Garrick Colwell
Holidays – Christmas, Thanksgiving, anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, or birthdays, whatever it is you are celebrating, when you throw grief into the mix, things can change rapidly. How can we possibly celebrate when we are feeling the loss of a loved one? How can we even participate in events linked so closely to the memory of a partner, a parent, a sibling, a child, or a grandparent? How can we honor their memories and incorporate them into new traditions going forward? And what about the sup...
26 Nov 2021
02. How would God explain Death? - with Neale Donald Walsch
No matter what higher power you believe in, whether it is God, Allah, the One, the Source, or universal life-force energy, many of us find ourselves talking to God or directing our prayers to someone/something outside of ourselves. Some don’t believe in God per se but in something. They might not be able to verbalize it, but whatever it may be, we often turn to that - let me call it “Source” - for answers, guidance and help. We are used to conversations and prayers being pretty one-sided. But...
24 Oct 2021
01. Grief and the Polyvagal Theory - with Candyce Ossefort-Russell
What is grief? What does it do to our bodies and are we hardwired to grieve a certain way? Everyone has experienced grief to some extent, whether for the loss of a loved one, loss of a job, a move to a new city, or the end of a relationship. Every loss is experienced differently, but they all leave their marks on our lives. Candyce Ossefort-Russell uses the Polyvagal Theory to explain how we as humans deal with trauma and grief. Learn how to understand your emotions better and use that knowle...
24 Oct 2021
00. The Prequel - with host, Alexandra Dionisio
Before we jump head-first into a tough subject like death, it might be nice to know who it is you are listening to. Meet Alexandra Dionisio, the host of Learning to Say Goodbye and find out what on earth motivated her to start a conversation about death. This is just a little glimpse at what to expect, and why you – and everyone you know – should be listening to Learning to Say Goodbye. For show notes and further resources please visit www.learningtosaygoodbye.com A big THANK YOU to R...
Inside a recent episode
S02E06 - When Children Grieve with Dr. Robin Goodman
Published 18 Aug 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] And that may be very difficult for a caregiver to understand. So you want to create memories with a child, but also realize you can only do so much because then the rest of the work, there's only so much you can try to prevent in terms of then there's different work once somebody dies that you do with the child. Yeah. So what is the biggest misconception people have about grieving children? Yeah, you know, some is that they're too young to grieve. One is that it's going to kind of ruin them. They're going to be maladjusted adults. Also, that there's a right or a wrong way for kids to grieve or that there's a certain timeline for it, all of which just isn't true. […]
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
