Death Is Hilarious (Formerly the Dirty Bits Podcast)

This week Katie and Tawny talked about being a human first, how long is too long to grief, and what to do now to prepare yourself for eventual grief.Every Tuesday at 9 am pacific/noon eastern, I chat with Katie Zicarelli, one of the support group facilitators at Death is Hilarious Grief Relief Foundation who also happens to be a licensed grief therapist AND a widow. Join us on Instagram Live where we answer your questions and talk about hot topics in the grief community . You can submit your questions before the show on our website at Death is Hilarious.com/dearkatie or ask them during the live broadcast. Just as a reminder, this show is for education and entertainment purposes and is not a replacement for therapy. Special thanks to Jeff Jorgensen, Mary Jane Murphy, Nicole Cruz, Jeff Brower, Brian Jump, CJ Infantino, Lindsey C, Kevin McClowery, Cristina, Ruckus, Liz Moya, Sarah Long, and Trenton Bennet, our monthly donors at the $15 level. Your support helps us keep our services accessible for everyone. Learn how you too can support our mission by visiting Patreon.com/DeathisHilarious

This week Tawny and Katie talked about what to do when people are uncomfortable with your grief humor, if it's okay to make dead baby jokes, how to handle other peoples reactions to our grief, and the importance of setting boundaries.Every Tuesday at 9 am pacific/noon eastern, I chat with Katie Zicarelli, one of the support group facilitators at Death is Hilarious Grief Relief Foundation who also happens to be a licensed grief therapist AND a widow. Join us on Instagram Live where we answer your questions and talk about hot topics in the grief community . You can submit your questions before the show on our website at Death is Hilarious.com/dearkatie or ask them during the live broadcast. Just as a reminder, this show is for education and entertainment purposes and is not a replacement for therapy. Special thanks to Jeff Jorgensen, Mary Jane Murphy, Nicole Cruz, Jeff Brower, Brian Jump, CJ Infantino, Lindsey C, Kevin McClowery, Cristina, Ruckus, Liz Moya, Sarah Long, and Trenton Bennet, our monthly donors at the $15 level. Your support helps us keep our services accessible for everyone. Learn how you too can support our mission by visiting Patreon.com/DeathisHilarious

This week Tawny and BC talk about the baby steps required about the mental preparation for dating after loss, working through the denial, and a few questions from the audience lead down a path of talking hauntings from our dead spouses! Every Monday at 4 pm pacific/7 pm eastern, I chat with Brad Clark, one of the support group facilitators and the resident WidDad at Death is Hilarious Grief Relief Foundation. Join us on Instagram Live where we answer questions about dating while grieving. You can submit your questions before the show on our website at Death is Hilarious.com/griefdating or ask them during the live broadcast. Just as a reminder, Brad and I aren't mental health professionals and this segment is not a replacement for therapy. Special thanks to Bryan Ramsey, Jeff Jorgensen, Mary Jane Murphy, Nicole Cruz, Jeff Brower, Brian Jump, CJ Infantino, Lindsey C, Kevin McClowery, Cristina, Ruckus, Liz Moya, Sarah Long, and Trenton Bennet, our monthly donors at the $15 level. Your support helps us keep our services accessible for everyone. Learn how you too can support our mission by visiting Patreon.com/DeathisHilarious and DeathIsHilarious.com

I recently spoke with Andrea Entz, a fellow voice actor and one of my favorite comedians who also makes jokes about their dead loved ones. Andrea was kind enough to perform her grief set at our first comedy festival we hosted to raise money for the foundation and I was delighted to have her on the show.This episode first premiered on Instagram live. You can watch future episodes of Death is Hilarious live by following us on Instagram @thatdeathpod.Special thanks to Bryan Ramsey, Jeff Jorgensen, Mary Jane Murphy, Nicole Cruz, Jeff Brower, Brian Jump, CJ Infantino, Lindsey C, Kevin McClowery, Cristina, Ruckus, Liz Moya, Sarah Long, and Trenton Bennet, our monthly donors at the $15 level on Patreon.com/DeathIsHilarious. Your support helps us keep our services accessible for everyone!

I recently spoke with Lori LoCicero for the podcast, the creator of the Death Deck, a lively party game that allows you to explore a topic we're all obsessed with but often afraid to discuss. In this episode, we talk about using humor to cope, what inspired her to create the game, and play a few rounds together with listeners.This episode is brought to you by the Death Deck, a lively party game that allows you to explore a topic we're all obsessed with but often afraid to discuss. The Death Deck is made up of 112 cards with a mix of multiple choice and open-ended questions that are guaranteed to spark lively discussion around the topic of death. You can play with partners to try and predict each other's answers or all together in a group but no matter how you play, you'll learn some new things about your friends, your family, and likely yourself. Learn more and get your own deck at the deathdeck.comThis episode first premiered on Instagram live. You can watch future episodes of Death is Hilarious live by following us on Instagram @thatdeathpod. You can also watch the video recording of this episode and enjoy other bonus content (like commercial free episodes) by visiting Patreon.com/DeathisHilarious Special thanks to Bryan Ramsey, Jeff Jorgensen, Mary Jane Murphy, Nicole Cruz, Jeff Brower, Brian Jump, CJ Infantino, Lindsey C, Kevin McClowery, Cristina, Ruckus, Liz Moya, Sarah Long, and Trenton Bennet, our monthly donors at the $15 level. Your support helps us keep our services accessible for everyone. Learn how you too can support our mission by visiting Patreon.com/DeathisHilarious

Every Tuesday at 9 am pacific/noon eastern, I (Tawny) chat with Katie Zicarelli, one of the support group facilitators at Death is Hilarious Grief Relief Foundation who also happens to be a licensed grief therapist AND a widow. Join us on Instagram Live @thatdeathpod where we answer your questions and talk about hot topics in the grief community . You can submit your questions before the show on our website at Death is Hilarious.com/dearkatie or ask them during the live broadcast. Just as a reminder, this show is for education and entertainment purposes and is not a replacement for therapy. You can watch future episodes of Death is Hilarious live by following us on Instagram @thatdeathpod. You can also watch the video recording of this episode and enjoy other bonus content (like commercial free episodes) by visiting Patreon.com/DeathisHilarious Special thanks to Bryan Ramsey, Jeff Jorgensen, Mary Jane Murphy, Nicole Cruz, Jeff Brower, Brian Jump, CJ Infantino, Lindsey C, Kevin McClowery, Cristina, Ruckus, Liz Moya, Sarah Long, and Trenton Bennet, our monthly donors at the $15 level. Your support helps us keep our services accessible for everyone.

Every Monday at 4 pm pacific/7 pm eastern, I (Tawny) chat with Brad Clark, one of the support group facilitators and the resident WidDad at Death is Hilarious Grief Relief Foundation. Join us on Instagram Live where we answer questions about dating while grieving. You can submit your questions before the show on our website at Death is Hilarious.com/griefdating or ask them during the live broadcast. Just as a reminder, Brad and I aren't mental health professionals and this segment is not a replacement for therapy.You can watch future episodes of Death is Hilarious live by following us on Instagram @thatdeathpod. You can watch future episodes of Death is Hilarious live by following us on Instagram @thatdeathpod. You can also watch the video recording of this episode and enjoy other bonus content (like commercial free episodes) by visiting Patreon.com/DeathisHilarious Special thanks to Bryan Ramsey, Jeff Jorgensen, Mary Jane Murphy, Nicole Cruz, Jeff Brower, Brian Jump, CJ Infantino, Lindsey C, Kevin McClowery, Cristina, Ruckus, Liz Moya, Sarah Long, and Trenton Bennet, our monthly donors at the $15 level. Your support helps us keep our services accessible for everyone.

Every Tuesday at 9 am pacific/noon eastern, I (Tawny) chat with Katie Zicarelli, one of the support group facilitators at Death is Hilarious Grief Relief Foundation who also happens to be a licensed grief therapist AND a widow. Join us on Instagram Live where we answer your questions and talk about hot topics in the grief community . You can submit your questions before the show on our website at Death is Hilarious.com/dearkatie or ask them during the live broadcast. Just as a reminder, this show is for education and entertainment purposes and is not a replacement for therapy. You can watch future episodes of Death is Hilarious live by following us on Instagram @thatdeathpod. You can also watch the video recording of this episode and enjoy other bonus content (like commercial free episodes) by visiting Patreon.com/DeathisHilarious Special thanks to Bryan Ramsey, Jeff Jorgensen, Mary Jane Murphy, Nicole Cruz, Jeff Brower, Brian Jump, CJ Infantino, Lindsey C, Kevin McClowery, Cristina, Ruckus, Liz Moya, Sarah Long, and Trenton Bennet, our monthly donors at the $15 level. Your support helps us keep our services accessible for everyone.

Every Monday at 4 pm pacific/7 pm eastern, I (Tawny) chat with Brad Clark, one of the support group facilitators and the resident WidDad at Death is Hilarious Grief Relief Foundation. Join us on Instagram Live where we answer questions about dating while grieving. You can submit your questions before the show on our website at Death is Hilarious.com/griefdating or ask them during the live broadcast. Just as a reminder, Brad and I aren't mental health professionals and this segment is not a replacement for therapy.You can watch future episodes of Death is Hilarious live by following us on Instagram @thatdeathpod. You can watch future episodes of Death is Hilarious live by following us on Instagram @thatdeathpod. You can also watch the video recording of this episode and enjoy other bonus content (like commercial free episodes) by visiting Patreon.com/DeathisHilarious Special thanks to Jeff Jorgensen, Mary Jane Murphy, Nicole Cruz, Jeff Brower, Brian Jump, CJ Infantino, Lindsey C, Kevin McClowery, Cristina, Ruckus, Liz Moya, Sarah Long, and Trenton Bennet, our monthly donors at the $15 level. Your support helps us keep our services accessible for everyone.

This week I spoke with author and clinical Psychologist Sherry Walling about her circus show in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month and her upcoming book Touching Two Worlds. This episode first appeared on Instagram Live. You can watch future episodes of Death is Hilarious live by following us on Instagram @thatdeathpod or by following me on TikTok @tawnyplatis, You can watch the video recording and ad free version of this episode and enjoy other bonus content by visiting Patreon.com/DeathisHilarious Special thanks to Jeff Jorgensen, Mary Jane Murphy, Nicole Cruz, Jeff Brower, Brian Jump, CJ Infantino, Lindsey C, Kevin McClowery, Cristina, Ruckus, Liz Moya, Sarah Long, and Trenton Bennet, our monthly donors at the $15 level. Your support helps us keep our services accessible for everyone. Learn how you too can support our mission by visiting Patreon.com/DeathisHilarious Death is Hilarious Grief Relief Foundation is a nonprofit 501c organization that aims to provide daily virtual grief peer support groups, mentorships, content, and resources for grieving people who respond to a humorous, realistic, and death positive approach, all at no cost.

This week I spoke with Steven Ho (@steveioe), a first generation Vietnamese-American who started sharing comedic yet brutally honest ER skits online, eventually becoming known as “that ER guy” and launching his own brand tied to that sentiment – MuFKR. Now, with over 13 million followers across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, Steven creates funny, real, and informative (with a hint of profanity) content related to the ER, providing transparency and comedic relief around a place people often dread. Everything he shares with his audience is through the lens of honest ER experiences, letting them in on the joke no matter how ridiculous, traumatic, or silly. You're listening to Death is Hilarious, the podcast that talks about using humor and jokes to cope with grief. I'm Tawny Platis, your host and founder of the nonprofit Death is Hilarious Grief Relief Foundation- an organization that aims to provide daily virtual grief peer support groups, mentorships, content, and resources for grieving people who respond to a humerous, realistic, and death positive approach, all at no cost. Learn more about how you can access our services, or support our mission by volunteering or donating at deathishilarious.com Special thanks to Jeff Jorgensen, Mary Jane Murphy, Nicole Cruz, Jeff Brower, Brian Jump, CJ Infantino, Lindsey C, Kevin McClowery, Cristina, Ruckus, Liz Moya, Sarah Long, and Trenton Bennet, our monthly donors at the $15 level. Your support helps us keep our services accessible for everyone. Learn how you too can support our mission by visiting Patreon.com/DeathisHilarious This episode first appeared on Instagram Live. You can watch future episodes of Death is Hilarious live by following us on Instagram @thatdeathpod or by following me on TikTok @tawnyplatis, You can watch the video recording of this episode and enjoy other bonus content by visiting Patreon.com/DeathisHilarious

You're listening to Death is Hilarious, the podcast that talks about using humor and jokes to cope with grief. I'm Tawny Platis, your host and founder of the nonprofit Death is Hilarious Grief Relief Foundation- an organization that aims to provide daily virtual grief peer support groups, mentorships, content, and resources for grieving people who respond to a humerous, realistic, and death positive approach, all at no cost. Learn more about how you can access our services, or support our mission by volunteering or donating at deathishilarious.comI recently spoke with Mary Jane Murphy, a comedian and widow who debuted her set of dead husband jokes during our first comedy show fundraiser for the Foundation- and I'm excited to be able to share that set with you today during this episode.Mary Jane and I talked about what it's like working as comedian when experiencing grief and when we both started making jokes about being widowsSpecial thanks to Nicole Cruz, Jeff Brower, Brian Jump, CJ Infantino, Lindsey C, Kevin McClowery, Cristina, Ruckus, Liz Moya, Sarah Long, and Trenton Bennet, our monthly donors at the $15 level. Your support helps us keep our services accessible for everyone. Learn how you too can support our mission by visiting Patreon.com/DeathisHilariousThis episode first appeared on Instagram Live. You can watch future episodes of Death is Hilarious live by following us on Instagram @thatdeathpod or by following me on TikTok @tawnyplatis. You can watch the video recording of this episode and enjoy other bonus content by visiting Patreon.com/DeathisHilarious

I recently spoke with Barnie Duncan, a comedian from New Zealand, about his latest comedy special Bunny, in which he talks about missing both clubbing and his recently deceased mother. We talked about how grief can feel like waiting for the bass to drop, why we incorporate our grief into our comedy, and what our dead loved ones would think of our work. This episode first appeared on Instagram Live. You can watch future episodes of Death is Hilarious live by following us on Instagram @thatdeathpod or by following me on TikTok @tawnyplatis, You can watch the video recording of this episode and enjoy other bonus content by visiting Patreon.com/DeathisHilarious Death is Hilarious is the podcast that talks about using humor and jokes to cope with grief and is hosted by Tawny Platis, founder of the nonprofit Death is Hilarious Grief Relief Foundation- an organization that aims to provide daily virtual grief peer support groups, mentorships, content, and resources for grieving people who respond to a humerous, realistic, and death positive approach, all at no cost. Learn more about how you can access our services, or support our mission by volunteering or donating at deathishilarious.com

Several of you reached out after a diagnosis called Prolonged Grief Disorder was recently added to the DSM, so I got in touch with my friend, licensed clinical social worker, and peer support group facilitator at Death is Hilarious, Katie Zicarelli, to answer your questions and discuss her thoughts on the topic as a mental health professional and a widow. Find more of Katie's content on TikTok and Instagram @goodgriefbitesThis episode first appeared on TikTok Live. You can watch future episodes of Death is Hilarious live by following us on Instagram @thatdeathpod or by following me on TikTok @tawnyplatis, You can watch the video recording of this episode and enjoy other bonus content by visiting Patreon.com/DeathisHilarious Death is Hilarious, is the podcast that talks about using humor and jokes to cope with grief. I'm Tawny Platis, your host and founder of the nonprofit Death is Hilarious Grief Relief Foundation- an organization that aims to provide daily virtual grief peer support groups, mentorships, content, and resources for grieving people who respond to a humerous, realistic, and death positive approach, all at no cost. Learn more about how you can access our services, or support our mission by volunteering or donating at deathishilarious.com

This past week, I interviewed widower and viral dark humor content creator Alex Tresner live on tiktok about how he's been using the platform to make jokes about losing his wife to cancer and educating others on modern grieving. You can check out all of Alex's content on tiktok by following him at @Alexandergrey327 But first, an update on Death is HilariousDeathIsHilarious.com

Today my guest is K. Krombie, author of "Death in New York" which details the history and culture of burials, undertakers, and execution.For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/tawnyplatis, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

Today my guest is K. Krombie, author of "Death in New York" which details the history and culture of burials, undertakers, and execution.For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/tawnyplatis, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

Today my guest is Autumn Toelle-Jackson, the award winning author of Boldly into the Darkness: Living with Loss, Growing with Grief & Holding onto Happiness. She's also the founder of Growing with Grief, a website that provides those who are grieving with a place to find community, resources, and help.For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

Two years ago today, on November 8, 2019 I walked out of my in-home office and into the kitchen to find my husband, George, dead on the floor.It gets funny I promise.In this episode, I reflect on being widowed for two years, where I am today, and the future of the podcastLearn more at DeathIsHilarious.com

Today my guest is Bethany Harvey, author of Dipped in It, a book where she explores the unpredictable spiral of grief after unexpectedly losing her father and openly shares the heartbreaking, gritty and unexpectedly hilarious insights that surface.In this episode:How intending to write daily gratitude posts turned into being vulnerable, honest, and funny as opposed to relentlessly positiveGrief is not just being sad, we weave in and out of so many emotionsHow humor is a part of grief and how often those who haven't experienced loss can't quite wrap their heads around that (it has to do with absurdity and relief)Why we feel drawn to share on social mediaFeeling guilty about not being anything but positive and gratefulThinking about Coolio during the funeralFor more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

Today my guest is Jennifer Lee Weaver, a Los Angeles based comic actress, producer, public speaker, and widow. After beating cancer, Jennifer's mother passed away at the end of 2017 and then her wife passed away from cancer. She's what I affectionately refer to as a “gold star widow.”In this episode:- How absurd grief and loss is, especially when so many losses hit you in a short amount of time- Jennifer didn't lean into comedy right away but has recently given herself permission to use humor to cope- Not being able to relate to the idea of what widowhood is supposed to look like- Being a multi-layered human, including when grieving- Missing the stupid stuff like fighting with your spouse- When people think grieving folks are “handling everything with grace”- Assigning yourself meaning and purpose in a life that's chaos- All relationships end in tragedy- and still choosing to love despite that- Not having just one person/soulmate/great love- Atoms, string theory, multiple realities, and matter changing form- Feeling like a badassFor more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

Today my guest is Jenn Koiter- a storyteller with a background in education, nonprofit work, and technology who has taught at colleges and universities. Jenn is also the author of So Much of Everything, a book of poetry she created in order to process her complicated feelings of loss and grief that she experienced after her ex-boyfriend died from suicide. In this episode: - Jenn uses her dead ex-boyfriend's yoga mat- How grieving compares to dog obedience training - Needing to be ok with people not understanding the humor around death - Why people don't understand using humor to cope with death and grief - The complicated feelings around someone dying of suicide after breaking up with them- How using humor to cope is often initially a part of someone's personality and it's magnified during trauma - Having a religious funeral for someone who was an atheist - How humor brings us together as mourners and connects us as a part of our grief For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

Today my guest is Nadine Menashe, the creator behind the Varsity Grief Squad, one of my favorite accounts on Instagram and also where Nadine makes memes and merch about her dead mom.We talked about:- Nadine's mom Svetlana was diagnosed with stage 4 breast, bone, and lung cancer in September 2019. That's when the grief process started. When she passed away in October 2020, the humor came naturally. It was the only way she was able to communicate what she was feeling- Processing grief and loss with funny memes- Humor wasn't always something Nadine used to cope with the hard stuff in life- The moment that Nadine started really leaning into humor was at her mom's funeral- A lot of rabbis seem to have a great sense of humor around death- The backlash that comes with using dark humor to cope- Appreciating the view of death in Judaism- Meeting a grieving person where they areFor more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com

Today my guest is Kathy Benjamin, author of the upcoming book, “It's Your Funeral,” which aims to help demystify death, decrease your anxiety, and put the fun back in funeral. Every stage of the legacy planning process is considered, from a burial outfit to a funeral theme. Kathy's writing has has received more than 100 million hits across some of the most popular humor and trivia websites in the world, including Mental Floss, Cracked, Grunge, The Smoking Jacket, and Uproxx. Kathy is also the author of Funerals to Die For.We talked about:- What how panic attacks led Kathy to start writing comically about death- Using humor and learning everything about death gave her the ability to demystify dying- Why death positivity eases anxiety around the topic and gives you more control- Why we're avoidant when it comes to death and dying- Getting kids comfortable with death and seeing bodies- How Victorians screwed us up when it comes to our relationship with death- The many different ways we grieve and mourn our loved onesFor more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

Today my guest is Mitzi Weiland, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and creator of the podcast Dead Funny Dead Serious.In this episode: - Mitzi was a bartender and artist before her mother was diagnosed with terminal stage 4 cancer (her father and grandfather also passed away when she was 7). Then she started looking into volunteering at hospices and senior centers (bingo is ruthless) and started to school to be a geriatric mental health specialist. - She then took a grief class and learned why she uses humor to deal with her grief (it was very eye opening). - Mitzi was raised by a grieving mother and it was never addressed. She was using humor to deflect.- Humor is absolutely a healthy coping mechanism- if it's ONE of your tools. - Every tool should be used in moderation. Netflix is great until you start watching it for 24 hours a day and stop going to work. Wine is a great tool until it's not. - Using humor to deflect vs to cope is a fine and personal line- Going to local comedy clubs and listening to comedians using the platform to process and cope with loss. - Why we have so much death anxiety in American culture (we're living longer so palliative and deathcare is actually a new concept)- The new movement surrounding death positivity and how that's not the space grieving people are in - Grievers are shunned for sharing their feelings- We hashtag and label everything so we put everything and everyone in a box. You can be happy, grieving, and angry all at the same time- Grief groups are often filled with laughter - Turning her mom's ashes into a lawn gnomeFor more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

Today my guest is Leslie Gray Streeter, pop culture columnist, journalist, and author of Black Widow: A Sad-Funny Journey Through Grief for People Who Normally Avoid Books with Words Like "Journey" in the TitleWe talked about:- Leslie's book Black Widow: A Sad-Funny Journey Through Grief for People Who Normally Avoid Books with Words Like "Journey" in the Title- Making jokes about having to deal with the absurdities that come with your husband dying on your watch- The performative “sad-face-head-tilt-sigh” some people give widows- How some widows were able to take on 2020 in a very prepared way- isolation and having to do stuff we don't want to do? Oh we got this. We go with the flow and have a sense of humor about it.- Why we feel kind of smug as widows- Do we have gallows humor or a desperate coping mechanism?- Patton Oswalt's bit about the Polish Woman of Doom (he's a widower!)- What has happened to us is absurd and absurdism is the foundation of comedy- How widowers are often portrayed as hot and widows are portrayed as hags in media and other double standards (this is seen on the show The Bachelor)- How widows are often accused of killing their husbands- Being an authentic sarcastic and messy widow who eats french fries out of her purse.- People who are defensive of our husbands… who didn't know them- The pushback we receive when we don't react how people want us to react- Sex and dating after being widowed- People project their own fears of being forgotten onto widows who find love again- How having deep relationships with our husbands primes us for wanting a deep connection again. Just because we want to love again passionately doesn't mean we don't love our husbands.- Our husbands told us they wanted us to find love again if they passed away before we didFor more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

Today my guest is Bryan Martin, aka Sea Lion Bryan, who is an animal care and training specialist, widower, and fantastic dancer who can be found on TikTok and Instagram @sealionbryanWe talked about:- Being with his partner Clayton for four years. After Bryan's dad passed away, four months later Clayton got a fungal infection and he had an adverse response to the medication that cause acute liver failure. He became Clayton's caregiver for the following 8 months until he passed away.- It wasn't until 2020 when Bryan noticed how many people were grieving that he felt it was time to share with more people online.- Clayton's wild sense of humor, how it still informs Bryan's own humor, and why dead husband jokes are funny- Why Deadpool is the patron saint of widows- Being ghosted on a date after being literally ghosted by your partner- Widows laugh because the world is ridiculous- The weird connotation widow/er has (it make it sound like we did it)- If you've used comedy to cope in other areas of your life, you'll probably use it to cope with grief too- Using reverse psychology on the universe to get what you want- The difference between positivity and toxic positivity (something Bryan has been accused of)- The beauty of authenticity- We don't talk about preparing for death enough because of shame and fearFor more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

Today my guest is Mandy Benoualid, the co-founder and editor of the death positive media site and resource TalkDeath, and co-host of the #TalkDeath video series. She is also the founder and President of the online memorial platform and virtual funeral service provider, Keeper, and works with the US Department of Veterans Affairs on the Veterans Legacy Memorial project, memorializing nearly 4 Million American Veterans. Mandy's work has appeared in national and international publications, she has been a featured presenter at professional funeral and cemetery conferences and was recently featured as an industry innovator by American Funeral Director Magazine.We talked about:- Visiting grandma's grave, it occurred to her how every person has a story in a cemetery that can't be communicated on a headstone.- How modern deathcare is changing the discussion around death (death positive)- TalkDeath is a lot of 20-45 year olds who are gawky nerd girls who want to talk about death- Green burial and how the demand for it has been skyrocketing- Why sex and death are both taboo topics in western countries- A funny story about sitting shiva when Mandy's grandpa died- Impromptu dancing and roasting grandpa (not literally) during the shiva- The phrase “celebration of life” and why not everyone appreciates the phrase- Using humor to shine a light as opposed to deflect- How grieving becomes a part of your identity when you've experienced a traumatic lossFor more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

Today my guest is Ben Wasserman, an alternative standup comedian based in New York who has performed in the Brooklyn Comedy Festival, Laughing Devil Festival, and the New York, Philly, and Burlington Fringe Festivals. His work has also appeared in Vice and Vulture but you may recognize him best from when he painted with his butt on MTV.We chat about:Ben's dad passed away from stage 5 lung cancer about 12 hours before inauguration day in 2017- Hosting a comedy show weeks after losing his dad while wearing a shirt that said “My dad died the day T*ump took office"- How we can't help but incorporate our grief into our performance- Why loss is unfathomable until you experience it first hand- The tendency people have to compare losses (spoiler-they aren't comparable)- Using comedy to cope and how it shouldn't be a replacement for therapy- Using humor to deflect vs cope with your problems- Identifying the body (funny story)- Being surprised at having the capacity to incorporate grief into comedy- How h*rny grief makes peopleFor more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

Today my guests are Maria and Ammo from the podcast Philotimo Life, a podcast that aims to open up the conversation around death in order better come to terms with our own mortality, help us support those grieving, and to live a happier life.In this episode we talk about:How we as grievers shelter other people from the reality of our feelingsPeople think grief is contagiousWhat it's like studying thanatologyAmmo gives insight into death in Punjabi cultureGenerational traumaMaria gives insight into her Greek-Canadian upbringing and how that influenced her views on deathNot being able to get life insurance as a terminally ill personBeing saddled with over $50k in debt as a widowWhy dark humor is so taboo in North AmericaToxic positivity doesn't allow us to feel anything but happinessThe monetization and exploitation of Pride MonthJust because something is “better” doesn't mean it's “good”More on Philotimo Life:Maria's mom died when she was two. From an early age, she realized that talking about death was a huge no-no because people got really weird about it. As a way to avoid uncomfortable situations, she hardly spoke about her mom– let alone the way the loss impacted her. As she got older, she began to ask herself, "Why aren't I talking about this? Why aren't we talking about it?" This is what led to Philotimo Life– a place that breathes life into the conversation around death.As she was explaining it to Ammo, his response was one of the firsts that wasn't "that's kind of morbid." This led to him joining the project. His approach to the conversation around death was refreshing and helped shape Philotimo into what it is today.Together, they want you to share your experiences around death with family, friends, coworkers, and even strangers, with the goal that we change our policies around bereavement, and how we educate people about life, death, dying, and grief. By opening up this dialogue, they help others embrace the reality that everybody dies, and that's ok!https://www.philotimolife.com/about@philotimolife on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

Today my guest is Shohana Sharmin, a Bangladeshi-Canadian comedian, writer, theatre artist, and host of the podcast, “Finders Grievers.” Shohana is also the creator and a cast member of the critically acclaimed award-winning dark sketch comedy revue "Dead Parents Society."Shohana lost her mom four years ago when she was just in her 20s and stopped by to talk with me about -feeling like other comedians who had lost their parents in their 20s were the ones who understood her (as opposed to peers her own age)- toxic positivity and being conditioned to be only happy, accepting sadness in order to avoid isolation- how weird it is needing to go to the mall right after someone dies (can relate)- the process behind writing sketches about death and grieving- needing to be in an ok place so your audience isn't concerned for you- how comedy is not a replacement for therapy- how we laugh the hardest at things we relate to- how therapists always schedule sessions for Tuesday- why we're self-deprecating as comedians (it's not because we're confident)- recognizing being lucky on the spectrum of support during loss- and how universal death is (at some point, someone you love will die)For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

In this episode, I spoke with Lori Zaspel, a licensed social worker and co-founder of the Philly Death Doula Collective, which provides emotional, spiritual, and physical support at the end of life. Lori also works as a geriatric social worker, is studying EMDR, and creates really funny videos surrounding grief on TikTok under the handle @phillydeathdoula.We talked about what drew Lori to taking an academic approach to grief, how she happily talks about the three societal taboos (death, sex, and money) with humor, why shaming and stigmatizing grievers is harmful, how grieving people are going to be shamed regardless of how they choose to cope and the only way to really win is to keep existing, how people judgements because of their own death anxiety, ghosting grievers, why we're told that it's culturally inappropriate to talk about death and grief (partially because of the lack of control we have as humans), terror management theory (the higher your death anxiety the more likely you are to be conservative), being able to mark one's grief process by the type of jokes one is making, funny grief stories about having a funeral for a kitten, and having the forethought to make a cast of your partner's member before they die.For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

In this episode, I sat down with comedian JC Coccoli, who you may recognize from shows like “A Comedian in Grief,” “Why” with Hannibal Buress, “Key and Peele,” “Chelsea Lately,” and “Last Comic Standing” to talk about- losing her sister to an accidental fentanyl overdose at 34 years old while she was on tour and how difficult it was to write jokes- how this was her first real brush with mortality and delving into meditation and sci-fi- suffering from poor health during grief and how much luck has to do with survival- what led her to create the special “A Comedian in Grief"- why the stigma around comedians being unwell isn't necessarily true and how comedians are philosophers in their own right- how comedy helps us process the pain and the anger that comes along with grief- taking opposite action- the abandonment and secondary losses we experience from those who can't handle our grief- loving addicts without judgement- driving around with Dan Levy (creator of Schitt's Creek), listening to Sia and how he was there for her- finding comfort in spirituality, living in the moment, and why we don't talk about loss and grief.JC will be performing at Kingfly in Pittsburgh PA at 8:00 pm June 11For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

First, Tawny drunk posts on her IG stories, why she has ten hoodies that say mutherfckr on them, wanking while depressed, what it means to be experienced “adjacent” when you marry a troublemaker, how widows are shamed regardless of what they do or don’t do, comedy is performative and hyperbolic, dating men who are way out of her league, figuring out that 30 is old, and why going through perimenopause so young is a good thing.After the commercial, we chat about this week’s Traumology forecast featuring Tammy the Taurus, the Virgo Mary, and Lauren the TaurusThen, Sam talks about meeting up with friends again, how they cracked the code to get their domestic chickens to be cuddly, pinata parties, acquaintance fairs, 6 post-isolation observations, what it’s like getting crushes at 30+, and why their dog says you can’t hang out with them. Sam is part of a virtual art show pop up event with a dj and cocktail and mocktail tutorials on June 6th. Tickets are just $10 and automatically enter you to win prizes like coffee, jewelry, Sam’s art, a psychic reading, and more! Find them on IG @pixelpopupFor more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. The best way you can support the podcast is by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media and by subscribing on your favorite app. And of course we’d also love it if you joined us at Patreon.com/deathishilarious.

In this episode, I spoke with Gracelyn Bateman, one half of Luna Peak, a foundation focused on creating books and products that elevate the stories of survivors in the grief and cancer communities, celebrate life, and give back. Gracelyn can also be seen on the foundation’s Instagram account, Snapshots of Life After Loss, which showcases authentic and often humorous grief perspectives. We chatted about the 5 year anniversary of when Gracelyn suddenly lost her dad, how she’s using her masters degree in sociology from Columbia to study the grief process, her professional opinion on using dark humor to cope, Luna Peak’s “The Grief Workbook” (a silly way to unpack your grief, reflective prompts funeral week bingo, loss word puzzle, and word search for condolences), how nerve wracking it was to step into the grief space, what it was like posting funny memes about grief on Instagram, the importance of representation and multiculturalism in grieving spaces, why we need to share our grief to open the door to broader conversations about coping mechanisms, how often grievers are silenced for laughing, surrounding yourself with people who understand, and the awkwardness of telling the cashier at REI your dad is dead.For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

*If you're new to the show, this is a great place to start! *I’ve been creating the podcast Death Is Hilarious for a year now. If you’re new to the podcast, It’s a show that explores how we as comedians and creatives use comedy and dark humor to cope with grief through storytelling and jokes. In some episodes, I interview other artists and entertainers - and in other episodes, my creative collaborator, Sam Peterson and I, read each other funny letters we’ve written about trauma and loss in what I call “comedy routines masquerading as correspondence.” All together, I’ve produced over 100 podcast episodes to date. So in honor of all of this and many other milestones I mention in the show, I’d like to share with you some of my favorite moments from the past 35 episodes that have given me hope, perspective, and laughter.This episode features Michael Drane (professor at Antioch University and host of Unpopular Culture Podcast), stand-up comedians Glen Tickle ("Good Grief") and Rich Kiamco (Bravo’s "Queer Eye For The Straight Guy," Netflix/Buzzfeed’s “Follow This,” and the Broadway Comedy Club), Actress and author Reagan J. Pasternak (HBO’s “Sharp Objects”, Syfy's “Wynonna Earp,” Netflix/HULU/HBO’s “Being Erica”, BET’s “Ms. Pat," and "Griffin's Heart: Mourning Your Pet With No Apologies - A Memoir, Healing Journal, and Keepsake"), Shyni (Lipstick Laundry Podcast), and Lisa Keefauver (MSW and host of the podcast "Grief is a Sneaky B!tch").For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Jordon Ferber, stand-up comedian from New York who has performed at Carolines, the Gotham Comedy club, Madison Square Garden, and on NBC’s Last Comic Standing. He’s also the creator of the podcast “Where’s The Grief?” where he interviews other comedians and creatives about the tragic losses they’ve experienced. Jordon and I talked about how he coped as a comedian when his brother passed away in a car accident at the age of 21, his work facilitating a siblings group with the Manhattan chapter of Compassionate Friends, what kind of cake his brother would have wanted at his funeral, and the kind of people who make jokes when grieving. For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

Today my guest is Chris Calogero, a standup comedian from New Jersey who lives in Brooklyn and has been featured in the “NY Times,” “Funny or Die,” “Paste Magazine,” and “Good Morning America Day.” Chris is also the host of the podcast “Mourning Coffee,” where he interviews other comedians about their experiences with grief—how it affects their personal lives as well as their comedy.We talk about Chris’ initial reaction of “I don’t know if I can ever do comedy again,” to doing a set with dark and heavy punchlines and discovering that stand-up just might be the way he is able to make his way through the grief, how comedians aren’t well, how the impulse to do comedy seems hard to break unless you decide to become embittered and entitled by it, needing the audience to know that you’re ok and won’t break down on stage, why we share about our grief publicly, how lonely grief makes you feel, toxic positivity, how getting laughs on stage is validating where relatability is concerned, then conversely when relatability doesn’t matter when it comes to quality, how we’re watching many of our fellow millennials turn into angry old boomers who hate the younger generation, how comedians dig in their heels when it comes to change, how 28 might as well be as old as 70, the intoxicating feeling of superiority, our favorite grief jokes, and how people think you aren’t allowed to experience joy while grieving.For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

In this episode, I had the absolute privilege of speaking with Glen Tickle, standup comedian, writer, husband, father, and the creator of one of my favorite specials of all time, “Good Grief.” We talked about what it’s like being in comedy while faced with loss, writing jokes about grief because it’s the only thing you want to talk about, learning how to play to the audience, Buckaroo Banzai, how 100 people can be in a room and if 99 are having a good time but 1 person isn’t, that’s the person a performer will focus on, how being unable to stop making jokes about uncomfortable topics isn’t new, when making jokes about tragedies doesn't go over well (like Gilbert Gottfried), how comedians can make jokes about their personal tragedies but not other people’s tragedies (like Tig Notaro), the incredibly dumb things people say to those in grief, how you should only say “let me know if you need anything at all” if you really mean it, how your kids prepare you for hecklers, how surprised Glen was to find others who used humor to cope, and how therapy is just a place to have your material reviewed.For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

*Note: We had a little trouble connecting midway through the episode so you’ll notice a slight change in the audio at about the 15-minute mark. That’s showbiz, baby! * In this episode, I (Tawny) chat with actress Reagan J. Pasternak (HBO’s “Sharp Objects”, Syfy's “Wynonna Earp,” Netflix/HULU/HBO’s “Being Erica”, BET’s “Ms. Pat”) and author of "Griffin's Heart: Mourning Your Pet With No Apologies - A Memoir, Healing Journal, and Keepsake." As a widow and someone who is also co-dependent with their fur baby, I really appreciate what Reagan has done with her book! Reagan and I chat about how animal grief is often trivialized (disenfranchised grief), the way love and loss is a mirror that reflects where you are, what inspired her to take this unique interactive approach to helping others memorialize and cope with the loss of their pet, how definitive death is, cognitive therapy and rewiring your thinking on grief, Reagan laughing uncontrollably at her mom’s funeral, controlling her potty mouth while writing her book, being a huge empath, the beautiful part of darkness, how trauma makes you funny, the shame associated with talking about grief and trauma, trying to balance authenticity and being an open book while taking others into consideration, being an entertainer and artist in grief, the tricky side of feeling exploitative, and we swap some of our funniest stories related to our traumas.For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

Tawny and Sam are back with new stand-up! Sam shares about their new housemates, a new kitten, learning to roller skate, their therapist being fired, being gaslit for the first time in grade school, and creates traumascopes (horoscopes based on traumas) for our listeners Mary, Nick, and Paul (visit our website to get your own traumascope). Tawny shares about scaring her neighbors, getting hot over Bridgerton, her first serious relationship as a widow, her 4 top dating lessons for widows, and a new perspective on soulmates. For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

Today my guest is stand-up comedian Rich Kiamco who you may recognize from Bravo’s Queer Eye For The Straight Guy, Netflix in the Buzzfeed’s “Follow This,” and the Broadway Comedy Club, just to name a few things from his impressive resume. Rich’s husband Sandy Gunnar was diagnosed with covid on February 7th 2021 and passed away on March 16th, just 19 days ago from when we chatted. We chatted about being afraid to fall in love with someone who’s dying, being codependent with your partner, dating as a gay man before grindr on Edwina (“I’m ancient!”), having enough self-love and self-loathing to eat well, Dolph Lundgren (the Soviet boxer from Rocky), how Rich met Sandy (several times!) before they finally got together, how rebounding is like being on the Titanic, how past traumas prime you for widowhood, blaming yourself for your partner’s death, being descended from trauma survivors (Rich’s parents lived in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation during World War II), PTSD infused gratitude, incorporating grief into your comedy, using wit for self-preservation (particularly as a gay kid in high school), and doing comedy on zoom during covid.For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

Grief is a Sneaky Bitch podcast creator, host, and fellow widow Lisa Keefauver MSW (reimagininggrief.com) joins me to chat about what inspired the title of her show, what it means to “live from the neck up,” how the lonely and puritanical- Judeo-Christian-capitalist-suck it up-pull yourself up by your bootstraps way of grieving in the United States does everyone a severe disservice, way “good vibes only” is bs, welcoming in uncomfortable emotions, taking comedy seriously (we see the irony), creating tension by simply being the widow in the room, feeling pressured to not bring everyone down with your mood during grief, making sure you don’t stay locked into coping strategies, staying up all night watching comedy in order to deal with grief, our mutual love for John Stewart, the shitty things people say to try to “fix” your grief, getting hit on at my husband’s funeral, and “widow rules.” For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

Stormy Gail is an artist who creates big mood and dark humor pieces of art like comics and pins that focus on skeletons, death, depression, and trauma and is also amember of the Dead Parent Club. Find her work at stormygailart.comIn this episode, Stormy and I talked about caring for her terminally ill mother, feeling pressured to make others comfortable with how we deal with grief, the graphic images burned into our brains from being with the bodies of our loved ones, the judgement we get for coping publically and online by others who have not experienced grief, trauma, or loss, how our experiences influence our art, how people don’t view comedy as a legitimate art form, how trauma makes you funny, how much we love comedian Mimi Hayes, our therapists using us for our comedy, how creating art while caring for her mother in the ICU changed Stormy’s life, sluttery being hereditary, and why she draws skeletons instead of bunny rabbits (hint: it’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas’” fault).For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

My friend Michael from the Unpopular Culture Podcast joined me over the weekend to chat about why dark comedies don’t do well at the box office, why people are uncomfortable and judgemental when it comes to using dark humor to cope, the lack of empathy from others during grief, some of the worst things people say to grieving people (and what you should actually say), validation, the echo chambers of social media contributing to society’s lack of empathy, puritanical culture dictating the common response to grief in the United States, Dia de los Muertos, taboo expressions of grief, the origin of gallows humor, dialectical behavior therapy, and how Mad Max relates to grieving. Michael is a psychologist with a background in forensics and is currently a professor at Antioch University where here teaches classes such as Abnormal Psychology, Psycho-diagnostics & Treatment Planning, Psychopathology, Developmental Psychology, and Counseling Theory. For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

Shyni from the Lipstick Laundry podcast joins me in this episode to comedically share about how she isn’t super fond of the word “widow,” how losing her husband gave her the courage to be open on her podcast, living in toxic heaven as a Cancer sign with an Aries, how cursing is a form of coping, what it’s like finally finding the other dark humor widows, being judged for grieving (no matter how you do it), what it’s like being widowed right before the pandemic, how the “here’s what you were doing a year ago” photo feature sucks for widows, being receptive to husband ghost sex, Jamaican widow traditions and rituals, wearing your dead spouse’s clothes, how losing a spouse is unlike any other loss, and Shiny asks Tawny about being grateful for not having a child as a widow. For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. You can support the podcast by subscribing, becoming a patron at patreon.com/deathishilarious, or by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media.

Sam had a first date on Valentine’s Day, Tawny moved out of East County, we read our first listener letter (congrats Rachel!), and share our emoji sex ed guide. Tawny moved out of East County San Diego and talks about her experience being catfished on a dating app and Sam shares about her current love of astrology with the help of the incomparable Fifi Dosch (@fifidosch on TikTok) and a certain trauma related to cat urine. For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com. The best way you can support the podcast is by simply sharing the show with your friends and on social media and by subscribing on your favorite app. And of course we’d also love it if you joined us at Patreon.com/deathishilarious.

I (Tawny) recently sat down to talk with Lisa & Lori, the creators of the Death Deck- which is a “lively” party game that lets you explore a topic we’re all obsessed with but often afraid to discuss. In this lighter episode, we talk about how humor can help us deal with tough topics, Lori talks about how she found her sense of humor again after loss, and Lisa shares one of her favorite memories of her Grandma B (CW, I also briefly tell how I started using humor, which includes mentioning finding my husband's body and how that initially made me want to take my life). Lori is a UCLA graduate who has not only worked in comedy but has held titles like director, producer, author... and widow. Lisa is a Hospice Social Worker who is passionate about helping people cope with illness, dying, and grief. The two met when Lori's husband Joe was taken to hospice after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. After initially doing some grief work together, the two went on to create The Death Deck together! Check out the game here: https://thedeathdeck.com/And if you’d like your own Death Deck, we’ll be giving one away on Instagram this week! Simply follow us at @thatdeathpod and leave a comment on the picture of the deck for your chance to win.For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com.

Note: We’re in-between recording spaces right now so this isn’t quite our usual top-quality sound- but it will be back soon! Thanks for your patience as we make improvements. In the first episode of 2021, Tawny and Sam address the messages they received about people from the midwest interrogating people in conversation, and make jokes about how texting styles reveal what social media platform someone uses (Tawny texts like a guy), how our relationships and labels contribute to our identities, astrology in the queer community, what it’s like to suffer from chronic boredom, thinking of your life as a story to compartmentalize your trauma, the different kinds of widows you meet in support groups, trying to make friends in your 30s, and turning into Smeagol in isolation when widowed. For more information about Death Is Hilarious, visit deathishilarious.com To get in touch, email deathishilarious@gmail.com.

It’s the return of Sam! Sam is back and fills us in on what they’ve been up to. We start the show off by talking about how all of the bad things about 2020 won’t simply go away at midnight on December 31st, how people from the midwest like to interrogate people, toxic positivity, and Tawny turned 30 (or 40 or 45) last week. Tawny starts off the show with her comedy stand-up routine masquerading as a letter and talks about being an ex-evangelical (ex-vangelical). Then Sam talks about how they and their family recently used dark humor to cope with the loss of a four-legged family member. - Get in touch by emailing deathishilarious@gmail.com or visit deathishilarious.com - Check out Sam’s art at instagram.com/tangledpaperideas - Toxic positivity article: https://wapo.st/38hkQE7

In this episode, Tawny chatted with Marla Polk, author of Grief Survivor: A Love Story. Marla talks about how her dry humor helped her cope, how she preserves her energy during grief, and how she "adopted" a cat with striking similarities to her late husband.Marla is a communications coach specializing in helping those in broken relationships heal through communication tools she developed as a mediator. She’s also the Managing Partner for Resolution Solutions, a conflict resolution consulting company, and the President of the Board of Directors for the nonprofit Abilene Palm House, an organization that mentors at-risk individuals and works specifically with women who have been survivors of violent crimes.