Death Wish

Kaylin, Caitlin, Megan, and Kris

Four elder millennials prepare for death.

Episodes

  1. Mar 6

    10. Season Finale

    In this episode, the girls prepare for death by reflecting on everything they’ve learned in season one. Good news: we’re making Season 2.  Slightly inconvenient news: you’ll have to wait for it.  The solution? We launched a Death Wish Substack! Same vibe, different medium to grapple with all the big, weird, funny questions we have about death. Subscribe at substack.com/@thedeathwishpodcast. Text us to let us know what you think of the episode! Follow us on Instagram and Substack for more.

    37 min

  2. Feb 27

    9. Do Not Resuscitate Orders

    In this episode, the girls prepare for death by considering Do Not Resuscitate orders. We recommend: Caitlin: the 1964 vintage horror film, The Masque of the Red Death Kaylin: the protest song, Coffin for a Head of State, by Fela Kuti Kris: the November 2025 BBC coverage of the Thai woman who was nearly cremated alive Megan: the Guardian article, Incredible story of Irish labourer buried alive in coffin for 61 days told in new documentary, about the Irish language film, Buried Alive We referenced: Doctors Saved Her Life. She Didn’t Want Them To.Overview of Legal and Ethical Issues in Health CareVariation Found Among Hospitals in Carrying out DNR OrdersPatients with do-not-resuscitate orders have worse outcomes, higher death rates, study findsHospital DNR Orders – WTF (Why They Failed)Can a DNR be Revoked by Family? What You Need to KnowWhat Does a Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) Order Mean and Why Are They Used?Text us to let us know what you think of the episode! Follow us on Instagram and Substack for more.

    48 min

  3. Feb 20

    8. Your Dream Funeral

    In this episode, the girls prepare for death with some preliminary funeral plans. We recommend: Caitlin: The Golden Girls: S5.E7, “Not Another Monday”, aired Nov 11, 1989 for how it tackles Medical Assistance in Dying  Kaylin: the classic, gothic novel, Wuthering Heights, specifically the scene where a grieving Heathcliff exhumes his lover, Cathy’s, corpse  Kris: The X-Files; S1.E13 “Beyond the Sea,” and how that episode depicts grief  Megan: the 2001 novel, Year of Wonders, by Geraldine Brooks, for its portrayal of an English town in 1666 touched by mass death We referenced: After. (n.d.). Memorial service vs. funeral: What’s the difference?https://www.after.com/articles/memorial-service-vs-funeral Dignity Memorial. (n.d.). Trends in celebration-of-life planning.https://www.dignitymemorial.com/memorial-services/planning-a-celebration-of-life/trends Order of the Good Death. (n.d.). History of the death positive movement.https://www.orderofthegooddeath.com/history-of-death-positive-movement/ Wildflower Funeral Concepts. (2026, January 8). 9 ways the funeral industry is changing in 2026 and beyond.https://www.wildflowerfuneralconcepts.com/post/9-ways-the-funeral-industry-is-changing-in-2026-and-beyond CNBC Select. (2025, February 20). How much does a funeral cost?https://www.cnbc.com/select/how-much-does-funeral-cost/ Text us to let us know what you think of the episode! Follow us on Instagram and Substack for more.

    1h 7m

  4. Feb 13

    7. Mourning Rituals

    In this episode, the girls prepare for death by getting into mourning traditions. We recommend: Caitlin: the 2025 book, Morbidly Curious: A Scientist Explains Why We Can't Look Away by Coltan Scrivner, PhD Kaylin: the 2025 FX/Hulu series, Dying for Sex, for its complex depiction of a woman’s final months of life Kris: the 2025 HBO series, The Pitt, for its trauma-informed storytelling about death in an ER Megan: the 2024 spy thriller series, Day of the Jackal, which made her root for an assassin We referenced: Forget me not – revealing Victorian… | National Trust for Scotland How rituals around Irish deaths, wakes and funerals have changed 7 Unique Burial Rituals Across the World | Britannica Funeral practices and beliefs about the afterlife in South and Southeast Asia | Pew Research Center Text us to let us know what you think of the episode! Follow us on Instagram and Substack for more.

    1h 14m

  5. Feb 6

    6. Final Disposition: Part 2

    In this episode the girls prepare for death by considering “sustainable” body disposal practices. We recommend: Caitlin: the Apple TV series, Pluribus for depicting body disposal labor Kaylin: the 2019 film, The Lighthouse, and Peacock’s Pokerface season 2 episode 2 for knowing cremated remains are pulverised bones Kris: The Pitt season 2 for continuing to raise DNR awareness, and Netflix’s His and Hers Megan: the Netflix series, Derry Girls for the Irish wake scene We referenced: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jul/09/greener-way-to-go-eco-friendly-way-dispose-of-body-burial-cremationhttps://recompose.life/https://www.webmd.com/balance/what-is-human-composting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_composting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_American_Way_of_Deathhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promessionhttps://earthfuneral.com/resources/sky-burials-eco-friendly-funerals/https://www.conservationburialalliance.org/http://www.naturaldeath.org.uk/index.php?page=find-a-natural-burial-sitehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burial_at_seahttps://www.epa.gov/marine-protection-permitting/burial-sea#instructionshttps://resomation.com/https://ncceh.ca/resources/evidence-reviews/alternative-disposition-services-green-burial-alkaline-hydrolysis-andhttps://curious.earth/blog/sustainable-green-burials/https://www.eternalreefs.com/https://www.eternalreefs.com/the-eternal-reefs-story/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_cremationhttps://www.greenmatters.com/p/eco-friendly-burial-methodshttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1126630/https://funerals.org/get-help/green-options/https://www.interraburial.com/ecological-burial-optionshttps://davidsuzuki.org/living-green/green-end-of-life-options/Text us to let us know what you think of the episode! Follow us on Instagram and Substack for more.

    1h 2m

  6. 12/10/2025 ·  Bonus

    Bonus Episode: Holiday Hiatus Announcement and Culture Recommendations

    We're not dead yet! Just taking a break for the holidays. Listen to this bonus episode for media recommendations to fulfill all your wildest death wishes for the holiday season. We recommend: Strange Houses (book by Uketsu, translated from Japanese)Tonight Show clip with Matthew Rhys on Welsh New Year’s Day traditionCannonball with Wesley Morris podcast episode on D’Angelo and the Power of Last Albums28 Years Later (film, directed by Danny BoyleText us to let us know what you think of the episode! Follow us on Instagram and Substack for more.

    5 min

  7. 11/28/2025

    5. Final Disposition: Part 1

    In this episode the girls prepare for death by weighing the tradeoffs of caskets v. cremation. We recommend: Caitlin: the original 1922 film, Nosferatu, and the I Think You Should Leave sketch, CornCob TV’s Coffin Flop (season 2, episode 1) Kaylin: the 1992 film, Death Becomes Her, for its look at corpse upkeep Kris: the Apple TV series, Shrinking, for its message on processing grief Megan: that classic comfort watch, Law and Order We referenced:  Apawu, M. (2025, September 13). Ghana’s fantasy coffins are a colorful celebration of life and legacy. AP News.https://apnews.com/article/ghana-fantasy-coffins-funerals-accra-tradition-01220db5b2e240a12ae8e4ba8820f993 Cremation Association of North America. (n.d.). History of cremation.https://www.cremationassociation.org/historyofcremation.html National Funeral Directors Association. (2023, December 8). 2023 NFDA General Price List Study shows inflation increasing faster than the cost of a funeral.https://nfda.org/news/media-center/nfda-news-releases/id/8134/2023-nfda-general-price-list-study-shows-inflation-increasing-faster-than-the-cost-of-a-funeral National Funeral Directors Association. (2024, July 25). U.S. cremation rate is projected to climb to 61.9 % in 2024.https://nfda.org/news/media-center/nfda-news-releases/id/8944/us-cremation-rate-is-projected-to-climb-to-619-in-2024 National Funeral Directors Association. (n.d.). Statistics. https://nfda.org/news/statistics Vaughn Greene Funeral Services. (2022, March 13). Casket vs. Coffin: Six key differences you should know. https://vaughncgreene.com/blogs/blog-entries/3/News-Events/178/Casket-vs-Coffin-Six-Key-Differences-You-Should-Know.html Text us to let us know what you think of the episode! Follow us on Instagram and Substack for more.

    1h 7m

  8. 11/21/2025

    4. Deathbed Rituals

    In this episode the girls prepare for death by considering various deathbed rituals. We recommend: Caitlin: the Netflix TV series, Bojack Horseman, and the internet discourse around the death of the United Healthcare CEO Kaylin: the Oct. 1, 2024 episode of the podcast Good on Paper to learn about organ donation Kris: the FX TV series, Say Nothing, about The Troubles in Northern Ireland Megan: the episode Grief is Like a Fingerprint on the podcast Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel We referenced: Catholic Last Rites - Scripture Catholic Death and Mourning in Judaism Islamic death rituals - The Art of Dying Well Death and mourning - Practices in Buddhism - GCSE Religious Studies Revision - Eduqas - BBC Bitesize Give My Body to the Birds: The Practice of Sky Burial - Atlas Obscura Frequently Asked Questions About Hospice Care | National Institute on Aging Palliative Care: Purpose & What To Expect Text us to let us know what you think of the episode! Follow us on Instagram and Substack for more.

    1h 12m

  9. 11/14/2025

    3. Swedish Death Cleaning

    In this episode the girls prepare for death by exploring the tradition of Swedish death cleaning. **Listeners have reported a slight audio issue on episode 3 that has given us a death wish. Please accept our many apologies. We’ll do better next time! We recommend Caitlin: the TV series, Chucky (2021-2024) Kaylin: Rachel Bloom’s Netflix special, Death, Let Me Do My Special (2024) Kris: the TV show, Grotesquerie (2024) Megan: the 2003 book, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach We referenced Magnusson, M. (2017). The gentle art of Swedish death cleaning: How to free yourself and your family from a lifetime of clutter. Simon & Schuster. Platt, C. A. (2021). The Afrominimalist's guide to living with less. Tiller Press. Text us to let us know what you think of the episode! Follow us on Instagram and Substack for more.

    1 hr

  10. 11/07/2025

    2. Medical Assistance in Dying

    In this episode the girls prepare for death by taking a look at Medical Aid in Dying and its impact on vulnerable communities. We recommend Caitlin: the Turkish comedy series, Gibi, and the film, Alien: Romulus (2024) Kaylin: the K-drama, Crash Landing on You (2019) Kris: the dead girl murder mystery series, The Perfect Couple (2024), and Marvel series, WandaVision (2021) Megan: the writings of Liz Bruenig on the death penalty at the Atlantic, and the film, Children of Men (2006) We referenced: Dying With Dignity Canada. (n.d.). Get the facts: Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAID) law. https://www.dyingwithdignity.ca/end-of-life-support/get-the-facts-on-maid/ (Dying With Dignity Canada) Government of Canada. (2025, August 27). Medical assistance in dying: Overview. Health Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-services-benefits/medical-assistance-dying.html Haring, C. (2024, January 30). D.C. can be a blueprint for Maryland aid-in-dying law. Death with Dignity. https://deathwithdignity.org/news/2024/01/dc-can-be-blueprint-for-md-dwd-law/ M, B. (2017, September 21). People with disabilities often fear they’re a burden. That’s why legal assisted suicide scares me. Vox. https://www.vox.com/first-person/2017/9/21/16307868/assisted-suicide-disabilities-legal NPR. (2022, December 11). Canada is expanding categories for medically assisted death. https://www.npr.org/2022/12/11/1142141146/canada-is-expanding-categories-for-medically-assisted-death Seucharan , C. (2021, October 25). “I die when I run out of money”: How disability and poverty are driving medical assistance in dying in Canada. CANADALAND. https://www.canadaland.com/madeline-medical-assistance-in-dying-priced-out-of-life/  Text us to let us know what you think of the episode! Follow us on Instagram and Substack for more.

    1h 22m

  11. Season 1, Episode 1 Trailer

    1. When Are You Dead?

    In this episode the girls prepare for death by grappling with what it is medically, and how that has shifted throughout the centuries. We recommend  Caitlin: the album Death Consciousness (2008) by Have a Nice Life Kaylin: WikiHow Article Collection on Death  Kris: the TV series, Six Feet Under (2001-2005) Megan: the film, The Nun (2018) We referenced Bondeson, J. (2001). Buried alive: The terrifying history of our most primal fear. New York and London: W. W. Norton.  Text us to let us know what you think of the episode! Follow us on Instagram and Substack for more.

    1h 8m

Trailer

5
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

Four elder millennials prepare for death.

Information

  • Creator
    Kaylin, Caitlin, Megan, and Kris
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    11
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Death Wish
  • Show Website
    Death Wish