[SPONSORED] Empowering families with ways to manage end-of-life matters is a challenge that requires the acceptance of mortality.
To address the topic of death, which is part of our design, AVBOB partnered with a local podcast series – How to Die – to help South Africans talk about life, death and dying.
Currently in its fourth season, the How to Die podcast features discussions on a variety of topics related to death, grief, and end-of-life care as well as different funerary traditions. The podcast is a life-affirming initiative.
Producer and host Sean O’Connor says his aim with the show, which is supported by AVBOB, is to help people talk about death.
How to Die features diverse local and international guests who share their experience of what death has taught them about life.
“Without fail, every guest says the same thing in a different way: that life is short, and that we need to find ways to savour every moment of it. The ancients understood this; that an acceptance of mortality is what makes life sweet. Death is part of our design.”
Although death is inevitable, it remains one of the most difficult topics to discuss for many people, irrespective of age, gender, etc.
“Through the How to Die podcast, we want to make the topic more affable as we dissect the many aspects of death and bring them to the audience on a more personal level, which is also relatable,” says Adriaan Bester, AVBOB Executive: Funeral Products and Services.
Season 4 of How to Die features candid conversations with a dementia carer, breast cancer warrior, Ghana coffin maker, an anatomist, and a forensic anthropologist, among others.
Season 3 episodes are available for download on the AVBOB website under the Newsroom section (www.avbob.co.za). The archive features compelling interviews with a paramedic, forensic pathologist, tombstone maker, death row chaplain in the United States, forensic artist, and more.
Each guest provides a unique perspective on an aspect of death that has proven useful to the show’s listenership.
As a family-centred organisation, AVBOB also empowers small businesses, assists in the fight against gender-based violence, and supports national primary education through initiatives such as the AVBOB Road To Literacy campaign and Container Library project.
The How To Die podcast is freely available on howtodie.co.za and popular podcasting platforms such as Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and https://www.avbob.co.za/newsroom/podcasts/.