On this episode of the Art of Dying Well podcast, we're breaking the taboo around end of life planning. Host James Abbott sits down with Matthew Hutton, the author of a very useful book called Your Last Gift - an accessible guide to getting your affairs in order. Matthew Hutton is a man who wears many professional hats – lawyer, one intimately acquainted with drawing up Wills and administering probate; tax adviser; estate planning expert; farmer (!) and Church of England minister. He shares his wisdom on topics such as the importance of having a Will, and setting up lasting powers of attorn ..read more

The first Art of Dying Well podcast of 2024 looks at coma recovery, second chances and spiritual awakening. James Macintyre, a freelance journalist and biographer, describes his extraordinary near-death experience giving a first-hand account of the life-threatening pancreatitis he endured in May 2023 that led to a five-week coma and four-month hospitalisation. James was admitted to the intensive care unit at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in a critical condition. Doctors informed him that he was suffering from severe pancreatitis that could be fatal. After a difficult week involving blunt ..read more

The first Art of Dying Well podcast of 2024 looks at coma recovery, second chances and spiritual awakening. James Macintyre, a freelance journalist and biographer, describes his extraordinary near-death experience giving a first-hand account of the life-threatening pancreatitis he endured in May 2023 that led to a five-week coma and four-month hospitalisation. James was admitted to the intensive care unit at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in a critical condition. Doctors informed him that he was suffering from severe pancreatitis that could be fatal. After a difficult week involving blunt ..read more

Traditionally November is the month for remembering; for remembrance services; the lighting of candles; special prayers and the blessing of graves. In this special episode of the podcast, made in partnership with the Catholic Church in England and Wales, we offer an opportunity for reflection and remembrance in the company of Father George Bowen as he takes us on a tour of the beautiful London Oratory. And on Remembrance Sunday itself we pause to reflect on the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany on the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1 ..read more

In part two of our special episode in support of Baby Loss Awareness Week in the UK, our host James Abbott speaks to two wonderful people who took their own trauma and grief and did an incredible thing with it. They founded a charity to help people in the same painful position they were in – a position nobody wants to find themselves in - facing the death of a baby. Jo and David Ward went through the tragedy of the death of their daughter, Abigail, who was stillborn at 41 weeks, and they’re here to share their story with us now and to talk about their marvellous charity Abigail’s Footsteps se ..read more

In part two of our special episode in support of Baby Loss Awareness Week in the UK, our host James Abbott speaks to two wonderful people who took their own trauma and grief and did an incredible thing with it. They founded a charity to help people in the same painful position they were in – a position nobody wants to find themselves in - facing the death of a baby. Jo and David Ward went through the tragedy of the death of their daughter, Abigail, who was stillborn at 41 weeks, and they’re here to share their story with us now and to talk about their marvellous charity Abigail’s Footsteps se ..read more

There can be few things more devastating than the death of a child. This incredibly emotive and difficult subject is the focus of this episode, which takes the form of two testimony-based podcasts.  In part one we hear from Saskia Hogbin who tragically lost her baby, Josef, 28 weeks into her pregnancy. We are releasing this episode in Baby Loss Awareness Week in the UK (9th-15th October). Now in its 21st year, the week is an opportunity for everyone in the baby loss community and beyond to come together to remember and commemorate much-loved and missed babies. More than one in five preg ..read more

There can be few things more devastating than the death of a child. This incredibly emotive and difficult subject is the focus of this episode, which takes the form of two testimony-based podcasts.  In part one we hear from Saskia Hogbin who tragically lost her baby, Josef, 28 weeks into her pregnancy. We are releasing this episode in Baby Loss Awareness Week in the UK (9th-15th October). Now in its 21st year, the week is an opportunity for everyone in the baby loss community and beyond to come together to remember and commemorate much-loved and missed babies. More than one in five preg ..read more

This episode has the rather provocative title Listen to me, I’m dying! But what do we mean by that? Find out as host James Abbott discusses with our guests how much of a say do we really have over what happens when we die? Will our wishes be respected? And what about those emergency situations in case we change our minds over what happens next? Just like birthing plans at the start of life, shouldn’t we all have a plan for how we exit this world so we can be as reconciled and at peace as possible? Alongside this we’ll consider an interesting piece of research carried out in partnership with T ..read more

This episode of the Art of Dying Well podcast sees us ponder one of those huge existential questions – a question that has surely preoccupied every single one of us at some point... What comes next? What is on the other side after we die?  So our theme, today, is very much the concept of eternity.  Followers of the world’s major faiths clearly have a view on the afterlife so whether our focus is the preparation to meet our maker or attaining a higher level of peace, this hour-long podcast is dedicated to finding out more. Recently, the Centre for the Art of Dying Well hosted an in ..read more