So, Life Wants You Dead is a weekly podcast of intimate patient interviews from around the world and the narrative of one woman’s experience of illness. It's a show about illness, trauma, creativity and disability hosted by Nora Logan, a writer, well-being advocate and liver transplant recipient. Nora went into unexpected liver failure in 2015 at age 28 whilst working in late-night comedy TV. She received a life-saving liver transplant a few weeks later. Whatever caused her liver to fail was never diagnosed and remains a mystery to this day. She has tried to make sense of her calamity through writing and sharing her experience and by connecting with the patient community. In this show, Nora creates the space to have honest, funny and expansive conversations with people who have an illness, disability or chronic condition and who just so happen to be creatives, too.
Carolina Barlow on Deepening Empathy and Making it Funny
In this episode, Nora speaks to writer and producer Carolina Barlow about her life-altering car accident at the age of 28. Nora and Carolina discuss the commonalities in what they’ve been through (and how they both thought maybe astrology would save us — it didn’t), how much humour helps in recovery, and the inevitable depth of empathy gained through having a “before and after”: whether that’s an accident, illness, or loss. They also both agreed that balloon bouquets should be left off gift l...
14 Feb 2025
Georgia Fenwick on Sobriety and Creativity
In this episode, Nora speaks to Georgia Fenwick, an entrepreneur, writer, and mother who got sober at 22. We discuss how Georgia got sober, the impact it has had on her creativity, the challenges she faced in shutting down her creative side as she focused on being functional, and what has helped her reconnect with her full self. We also talk about motherhood, her business and her thoughts on the concept of home. Find Georgia's work here. Find Papo's Bagels here.
7 Feb 2025
Daisy Friedman on Tradition, Filmmaking and Embodiment
In this episode, Nora speaks to Daisy Friedman, a writer, director, and multi-organ transplant recipient. We talk about Daisy’s story: she received critical transplants as a child which led to her current work as a filmmaker exploring themes of tradition, intimacy, embodiment, and disability. We discuss the complexities of chronic illness, societal perceptions of disabled bodies, and the empowerment found in creative expression. Daisy talks about her latest short film, Unholy, and how p...
1 Oct 2024
Ashley Eakin on Filmmaking, Representation and Creative Triumphs
In this episode. Nora speaks to writer and director Ashley Eakin. Ashley has directed projects for Disney+, Apple TV+ and Netflix. Her AFI Directing Workshop for Women short film Single, won the 2020 SXSW Special Jury Recognition Award and is being developed into a TV show with FX. Eakin discusses her experiences growing up with Maffucci syndrome, a rare bone disease, and how it has influenced her career in filmmaking. They talk about overcoming internalized ableism, the need for authentic re...
17 Sept 2024
Harshada Wagner On the Blessing in Illness, Existential Brokenness and His Art Practice
In this episode, Nora speaks to Harshada David Wagner, a master meditation instructor, author, artist, dad, and wisdom teacher, about being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and having an ileostomy at 27 and how it has shaped his life, art, and teaching. Harshada shares candidly about his initial denial and resistance to Western medicine, his experiences with both Eastern and Western medical approaches, and the significant impact of these experiences on his creative and spiritual endeavors....
3 Sept 2024
Ethan Lipsitz on Embracing Mortality, Artistic Exploration and Parenthood
In this episode, Nora speaks to social practice artist Ethan Lipsitz. Diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017, Ethan discusses how his diagnosis shifted his perspective, the roles of curiosity and acceptance in his journey, and the evolution of his artistic practices. Their conversation delves into the impact of their respective health crises on their identities, the balance between embracing love and mortality, and the subtleties of connecting with others through transformative experiences. Et...
20 Aug 2024
Dr Akilah Cadet on Dismantling White Supremacy, Living Fully and the Power of Self-Advocacy
In this episode, Nora talks to Dr. Akilah Cadet, who shares what it's like living with rare genetic conditions, the challenges of being believed as a Black woman in the American healthcare system, and the impact of white supremacy in healthcare. She discusses the grief of living with a disabled body and the constant calculations she has to make to live her life, about facing death and how it has influenced her to live unapologetically. She highlights the financial burden of disability and t...
13 Aug 2024
Jezz Chung on Transformation, Neurodivergence and the Power of Imagination + Community
In this episode, Nora interviews Jezz Chung, a Korean-American writer, facilitator, and performer based in NYC. This Way to Change, their debut book of prose, poems, and practices, came out earlier this year. Jezz discusses their experiences with neurodivergence and disability and how these aspects of their identity intersect with their creative endeavors. The conversation delves into the power of imagination, the importance of disabled representation in media, and the impact of collective li...
6 Aug 2024
Chris Tartaro on Facing Mortality Twice, Creativity and Balancing Parenting with Illness
In this episode of So Life Wants You Dead, Nora sits down with Chris Tartaro. Chris Tartaro is a television director from Queens, NY, who currently works on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He is a father of 3 and a husband of 1. He is also half of “blazrdog” [pronounced Blazer Dog] Their music can be found on all streaming platforms. For more info head to blazrdog.com. Chris has faced significant health challenges, including a Hodgkin's Disease diagnosis at age 16 and a benign brain ...
30 Jul 2024
Disability Pride Month: Live from Soho House with Kendall Ciesemier
In this episode, we talk to Kendall Ciesemier, a writer, producer, reporter, and health and disability advocate. Nora celebrated the launch event of So, Life Wants You Dead during Disability Pride Month last July when we recorded this conversation. We're so excited to launch our second season with this conversation. Kendall discusses her experience with liver transplant, navigating disability disclosure, and the societal stigmas associated with the term 'disability.' Both Nora and Kend...
24 Jan 2023
Ronaé Fagon On Navigating a Medical System Not Set Up to Cater to a Mystery Illness
In this episode, we talk to Ronaé Fagon, a sustainability thought leader, illustrator, fashion designer, and co-founder of the sustainable e-commerce platform SlowCo. We talk about Ronaé’s experience living with a mystery chronic illness for which she’s yet to receive a diagnosis, how grinding at a demanding job contributed to burning out in 2018, and what it’s like to navigate the medical system when you don’t have a diagnosis. Follow us on socials: Instagram Tiktok Youtube Sign up for...
17 Jan 2023
Claudia Walder on Shame, Community + Finding New Ground after Disability
In this episode, Nora talks to Claudia Rose Walder, a London-based editor and creative director working within the realms of styling, image direction and journalism. She is also a disability activist, model and the founder of Ablezine, a magazine dedicated to disabled and chronically ill communities, young people and creatives. We talk about Claudia’s experience living with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, the difficulty of finding appropriate care, her creative outlets and what led her to create A...
10 Jan 2023
Playwright Matilda Ibini on Humour and Writing Your Way Through
In this episode, Nora talks to Matilda Ibini. Matilda is a Nigerian Londoner and an award-winning bionic, Queer playwright and screenwriter with Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy. Their work often centres women, disabled people, Queer people and the Black British experience seen through a magical realist lens. Today we talk about their work as a playwright and screenwriter, what it was like to grow up with Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy, the 90s and finding Black role models in girl bands, the...
4 Jan 2023
Alexa Wilding on Caregiving, Minor-Major Characters in Your Story & Two Cancer Diagnoses in One Family
In this episode, Nora talks to Alexa Wilding, a writer, musician, and mother of two whose cancer and caregiving experience has both built community and informed her creative life. We talk about what it’s like to be a caregiver and mother of twins, dubbed on her Instagram #twinmagic, her own breast cancer experience, her writing practice and what it means to reframe resilience. We talk about the book Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad, the writer Kate Bowler and US Poet Laureate Joy Harj...
20 Dec 2022
Charlie Fitz On Using Art to Reclaim the Medical Narrative
In this episode, we talk to Charlie Fitz. Charlie is a UK-based sick and disabled artist, arts practitioner, writer, co-director of the remote artist studio TRIAD³ c.i.c and medical humanities postgraduate at Birkbeck, where she is a recipient of the Wellcome Trust studentship. Since becoming sick, Fitz has turned to her art practice as a meditative process, a form of disability activism, and as a means to understand and reclaim her experiences of illness and trauma. In today’s ...
13 Dec 2022
Poet Tonya Ingram on Navigating the Organ Donor System
In this episode, we talk to Tonya Ingram, a poet and mental health advocate living with Lupus. During our conversation, we discuss Tonya’s experience being on the kidney transplant waiting list, the darker side of the organ transplant process and OPOs, her poetry practice, and choosing to blossom — despite the conditions of the soil. Follow us on socials: Instagram Tiktok Youtube Sign up for our newsletter here.
4 Dec 2022
Nora’s Story of Liver Failure, Reimagining Dreams and the 'Why' of So, Life Wants You Dead
In this episode, Nora talks about her illness, what happened when she went into liver failure, and her subsequent liver transplant surgery. Speaking to her friend and former colleague Christine Cestaro, she talks about why she wanted to start So, Life Wants You Dead, the power of community, and what this show is all about. Follow us on socials: Instagram Tiktok Youtube Sign up for our newsletter here.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
2,328
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.8 / 5
18 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 56 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
47
Social presence
94
YouTube
68
Engagement
51
Host of So, Life Wants You Dead?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
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
