When We Die

Hospital chaplains play an important role in helping the person who is dying, but also in comforting the family members who are grieving. In this episode, we interview three chaplains who tell their individual stories of serving those at the end of life and their families, striving to demystify death and remove the fear which accompanies it.

While most have heard of “Near-Death Experiences” (or NDEs), many doubt their reality. In this episode, a journalist shares her story of transformation from not believing in an “afterlife” to becoming convinced that there is a “life beyond”—all through studying the lives of dozens of “death travelers” who have seen the beyond and come back to tell about it. This episode of "When We Die" highlights the experiences of two people and the remarkable things they learned while they were “dead.”

Funeral traditions vary from religion to religion and culture to culture. However, all are designed as a rite of passage and as a vehicle to help those who have lost a loved one to cope more effectively with that loss. In this episode, we learn about death rituals, what they mean for those who participate in them, and how they facilitate a “good goodbye” between the living and the dead.