Disrupting Death

Disrupting Death

Conversations about Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada

  1. Jun 19

    Spirituality, Mortality, and Exits: Disrupting Death with David Maginley

    “ I'm not sure what my hopes are. I hope we learn how to die well, and that doesn't mean dying efficiently. It means deep dying infused with wonder and mystery and waiting in the unknown.” This month, Kathy and Keri-Lyn are excited to discuss spirituality, mortality, and exits with David Maginley. David Maginley is a Canadian psychospiritual specialist, educator, and award-winning author with over 25 years of clinical experience supporting individuals facing serious illness, grief, and end-of-life transitions. As a long-time healthcare chaplain, his work has focused on the inner dimensions of suffering—particularly the existential and spiritual distress that often emerges when life is most uncertain. David is the author of Early Exits: Spirituality, Mortality, and Meaning in an Age of Medical Assistance in Dying, which received the Best Indie Book Award (Medical). In it, he explores how many MAiD requests are driven not only by physical symptoms, but by deeper struggles with identity, meaning, and loss of control. His work invites a broader understanding of suffering as not only something to relieve, but also something that can be engaged as part of a transformative human process. A four-time cancer survivor, David brings both clinical expertise and lived experience to his work. A near-death experience during his second cancer diagnosis profoundly shaped his understanding of consciousness, identity, and the nature of reality—informing his grounded, non-dogmatic approach to spirituality. Today, David offers psychospiritual counselling, teaching, and speaking for individuals, healthcare professionals, and organizations. His work bridges psychology, spirituality, and clinical care, helping people navigate the deeper questions that arise in the face of illness and mortality. Learn more at: www.davidmaginley.com Music for Disrupting Death was created by the ever-lovely Sarah McInnis. Sarah is a music therapist, a songwriter, a multi-instrumentalist and End-of-Life Doula. In 2021, Sarah began The Legacy Song Project, writing original songs for folks at the end-of-life, and for folks who have lost loved ones. To learn more about Sarah, visit her website https://sarahmcinnis.com. This episode of Disrupting Death was produced by Keri-Lyn Durant.

    57 min

  2. May 15

    Disrupting Death: The Alberta Episode

    This month's episode is a double interview with three Albertans: in part 1 we speak with Dr. Stacy Hume about her father and his unfulfilled choice of MAiD at end of life. In part 2, Dr. Tracy Powell and Tania Stilson share updates about Bill 18 and its implications for Alberta and the rest of the country.

    1h 15m

  3. Apr 17

    Dignity, Equity, and Justice-orientated Healthcare: Disrupting Death with Dr. Naheed Dosani

    “So I think it's on all of us to hold multiple truths at once, to respect autonomy, but also advocate for the conditions that make autonomy meaningful for people, and to ensure that when we talk about death, we're actually equally committed to talking about life.” Kathy and Keri-Lyn are very pleased and privileged to be sitting down with Dr. Naheed Dosani, to talk about dignity, equity, and why he can be called an Original Death Disruptor.  As a palliative care physician and health justice advocate, Dr. Naheed Dosani is dedicated to advancing equitable access to care for people experiencing structural vulnerabilities such as poverty and homelessness. He is the Founder and Lead of the Palliative Education and Care for the Homeless (PEACH) Program at Inner City Health Associates in downtown Toronto and serves as the Medical Director of Kensington Hospice (Kensington Health). He is also a Health Equity Expert Advisor at the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. Dr. Dosani shares his passion for palliative care and health equity with learners as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. As a researcher, he is an Investigator with the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, with a focus on health system innovation and advancing access to equity-oriented care for structurally vulnerable populations. As a health systems leader, he serves on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Medical Association. Dr. Dosani has received many prestigious honours for his trailblazing work. These include the Meritorious Service Cross for Humanitarianism from Canada’s Governor General (2018), the Award for Humanitarianism from the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians (2019), and the Early Career Leader Award from the Canadian Medical Association (2020). Most recently, he received an Honorary Doctorate (Doctor of Laws) from Ontario Tech University (2022), the Dr. Earl Dunn Award from the University of Toronto Department of Family and Community Medicine (2024), and the Dr. S. Lawrence Librach Award from Hospice Palliative Care Ontario (2024). In 2025, he was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal, recognizing Canadians whose work strengthens their communities and country. Music for Disrupting Death was created by the ever-lovely Sarah McInnis. Sarah is a music therapist, a songwriter, a multi-instrumentalist and End-of-Life Doula. In 2021, Sarah began The Legacy Song Project, writing original songs for folks at the end-of-life, and for folks who have lost loved ones. To learn more about Sarah, visit her website https://sarahmcinnis.com. This episode of Disrupting Death was produced by Keri-Lyn Durant.

    49 min

  4. Mar 20

    Autonomy, Safety, and Social Suffering: Disrupting Death with Dr. Ramona Coelho

    But for a lot of people, especially my patients, and I'm not just talking about MAiD, I'm talking about in life in general, the concept of autonomy is highly limited by what is actually available to them, right? So in terms of what are my options for life might be very different for what my patients' options are. This month, Kathy and Keri-Lyn are grateful to sit down with Dr. Ramona Coelho to talk about the necessity for safeguards, regarding MAiD and across healthcare systems in general.  Dr. Ramona Coelho is a family physician based in London, Ontario, and an Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry. She began her career providing home-based care in Montreal, working closely with patients facing serious illness, disability, addictions, and end-of-life needs. Her clinical practice now focuses on people with complex medical, mental health, and social vulnerabilities.  Dr. Coelho is a Senior Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. She has served as an expert witness before federal and international parliamentary committees on assisted dying and currently sits on Ontario’s Chief Coroner’s MAiD Death Review Committee. She is the co-editor of Unravelling MAiD in Canada: Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide as Medical Care (MQUP, 2025), and her most recent co-authored work appears in BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care (https://spcare.bmj.com/content/early/2026/01/27/spcare-2025-006046).  A recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal, she is recognized for her contributions to medicine and public service. In this conversation, she speaks in a personal capacity. Links to works cited in episode:  Article - Safeguard failures in Canada’s MAiD system https://spcare.bmj.com/content/16/2/333 Book – Unravelling MAiD in Canada: Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide as Medical Care https://www.mqup.ca/Books/U/Unravelling-MAiD-in-Canada2 Music for Disrupting Death was created by the ever-lovely Sarah McInnis. Sarah is a music therapist, a songwriter, a multi-instrumentalist and End-of-Life Doula. In 2021, Sarah began The Legacy Song Project, writing original songs for folks at the end-of-life, and for folks who have lost loved ones. To learn more about Sarah, visit her website https://sarahmcinnis.com. This episode of Disrupting Death was produced by Keri-Lyn Durant.

    51 min

  5. Feb 20

    Systems and Saying Goodbyes: Disrupting Death with Cindy Lang

    “And through both experiences, what became clear to me is that systems do not only determine access to death, they shape how families are able to show up for one another before and after it.” Kathy and Keri-Lyn are privileged to share this special February episode in which guest Cindy Lang recounts her story of the important work she does and the loss of two beloved people in her family.  Cindy J. Lang, RSW is a grief and life-transition specialist, registered social worker, and ontological coach in private practice living in Calgary, AB. She supports individuals, families, leaders, and organizations navigating all forms of loss and major life disruption. Her work is shaped by both professional practice and lived experience. Cindy has accompanied loved ones through serious illness, anticipated loss, and death. Cindy also mentors leaders and teams in developing grief-informed communication and more compassionate workplace cultures. Cindy's work is grounded in an understanding that we often care deeply and still feel tender and uncertain in the presence of grief, in ourselves and with one another. She creates spaces rooted in compassion and an understanding of grief as a shared human experience. You can find out more about Cindy and her work at: www.cindyjlang.com Music for Disrupting Death was created by the ever-lovely Sarah McInnis. Sarah is a music therapist, a songwriter, a multi-instrumentalist and End-of-Life Doula. In 2021, Sarah began The Legacy Song Project, writing original songs for folks at the end-of-life, and for folks who have lost loved ones. To learn more about Sarah, visit her website https://sarahmcinnis.com. This episode of Disrupting Death was produced by Keri-Lyn Durant.

    28 min

  6. Jan 16

    Suffering, Track Two, and Finding Common Ground in the Grey: Disrupting Death with Barb Pesut

    ”And so, in my perfect world, over the next decade, we would … really dwell in the grey a little bit more and be honest with one another about how we're making sense of this, about what we feel comfortable with, what we don't feel comfortable with. Because if you can't have those conversations, everything ends up on one side of the divide or the other, and we go forward in a polarised manner.” In the first episode of 2026, Kathy and Keri-Lyn have the privilege and pleasure of speaking with Dr. Barb Pesut about suffering, Track Two, and finding common ground in the grey.  Barb Pesut is a Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. She holds a Principal Research Chair in Palliative and End of Life Care and has been doing research in MAID since 2017. Music for Disrupting Death was created by the ever-lovely Sarah McInnis. Sarah is a music therapist, a songwriter, a multi-instrumentalist and End-of-Life Doula. In 2021, Sarah began The Legacy Song Project, writing original songs for folks at the end-of-life, and for folks who have lost loved ones. To learn more about Sarah, visit her website https://sarahmcinnis.com. This episode of Disrupting Death was produced by Keri-Lyn Durant.

    56 min

  7. 12/19/2025

    Arts-based Knowledge Translation: Disrupting Death with Sarina Isenberg

    “I think if the exhibit is able to motivate a conversation between someone and another person in their life about what their wishes might be I think we will have succeeded.”  December has Kathy and Keri-Lyn excited to be sitting down to chat about palliative and end-of-life research and exhibits with Dr. Sarina Isenberg, Chair in Mixed Methods Palliative Care Research at Bruyère Research Institute.  Dr. Isenberg is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine and School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa. Her mixed methods research focuses on ensuring that all people (regardless of background or health condition) receive the highest possible quality of palliative care. She often uses the following methods: cohort studies using large health administrative datasets; economic evaluations using administrative and Electronic Medical Records (EMR) data; systematic reviews and meta-syntheses; qualitative and mixed methods studies; participatory design and patient and caregiver engagement; and arts-based knowledge translation.   Dr. Isenberg has been a nominated principal or co-principal investigator on 32 research projects (totaling $4.9 million) and a co-investigator on 34 research projects (totaling $51.4 million) supported by national and international funding agencies. She has published over 120 peer-reviewed publications. Her achievements were recognized by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Rising Star Award in Health Services and Policy Research (2022), University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine Early Career Researcher of the Year Award (2022), and the University of Ottawa Department of Medicine PhD Scientist Award (2022).  Dr. Isenberg has a PhD in Social and Behavioural Sciences from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a Masters of Arts in English Literature from Queen’s University, and a Bachelors of Arts in English Literature from McGill University.  Links to follow Dr. Isenberg's work: Art of a good death competition: https://www.isenberglab.com/a-good-death-art-competiton Roots of wisdom: https://www.isenberglab.com/roots-of-widsom Music for Disrupting Death was created by the ever-lovely Sarah McInnis. Sarah is a music therapist, a songwriter, a multi-instrumentalist and End-of-Life Doula. In 2021, Sarah began The Legacy Song Project, writing original songs for folks at the end-of-life, and for folks who have lost loved ones. To learn more about Sarah, visit her website https://sarahmcinnis.com. This episode of Disrupting Death was produced by Keri-Lyn Durant.

    46 min

  8. 11/21/2025

    Ethics and MAiD: Disrupting Death with Eric Mathison

    “People should be allowed to be authors of their own lives to make decisions for themselves if they have the capacity to do and having doctors say, or having the government say we don't think you're actually, able or qualified to make this decision. You need our approval. I think that's ethically unjustified.” In this episode, Kathy and Keri-Lyn wax philosophical with Eric Mathison, PhD, contemplating clinical and practical ethical questions about medical assistance in dying (MAiD).  Eric Mathison is an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto Scarborough, where he researches bioethics, including ethical questions about MAiD. Prior to this, Eric was a clinical ethicist for Alberta Health Services, which involved working with healthcare providers to address ethical questions that arose in patient care. He also did policy work related to the pandemic, including on the ethics of mandatory vaccination policies, distributing scarce resources fairly, and incentivizing people to get vaccinated. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Baylor College of Medicine and has a PhD from the University of Toronto. Music for Disrupting Death was created by the ever-lovely Sarah McInnis. Sarah is a music therapist, a songwriter, a multi-instrumentalist and End-of-Life Doula. In 2021, Sarah began The Legacy Song Project, writing original songs for folks at the end-of-life, and for folks who have lost loved ones. To learn more about Sarah, visit her website https://sarahmcinnis.com. This episode of Disrupting Death was produced by Keri-Lyn Durant.

    47 min
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Conversations about Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada

Information

  • Creator
    Disrupting Death
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    45
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2023 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Disrupting Death

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