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What if your dog or cat knows something about death that you don’t?

Susan Allen has experienced what she believes is the spirit world since she was two, when she saw a “beautiful lady” no one else in her family could see. Today, she’s a medium, animal intuitive, and healer who believes there’s no real separation between this life and the next, and that animals may be able to tap into it, too.

This week, Nurse Julie goes deep with Susan on what she believes happens after we die: What happens during the first 49 days? Do our loved ones stay connected to us? Can we reincarnate? What happens to people who’ve done terrible things? And most importantly… what do our pets know that we don’t?

Susan also shares how she believes her deceased mother saved her life, a wild reading involving a former Army soldier and Susan’s father, and the strangest spirit encounter she’s ever had. They also explore whether certain places like old hotels attract spiritual activity, whether you can actually turn the spirit “channel” off, and what a lot of the dead really want us to forget.

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Think your death is all about you? Not so fast.

Hospice social worker and creator of The Death Deck, Lisa Pahl, has spent years helping families navigate some of the hardest moments imaginable, and she’s learned that one of the biggest gifts you can give the people you love is to stop making them guess what you would have wanted.

This week, Nurse Julie and Lisa get into the stuff most of us would rather put off: Who should make your medical decisions? What kind of funeral do you actually want? And why might your kids NOT be the people you want carrying them out? Julie and Lisa pull questions from The Death Deck, imagining everything from their dream funerals to what they’d do if they got a terminal diagnosis tomorrow.

They also get into the emotional toll of dementia caregiving, Lisa’s bizarre story of a dying man visited by a woman who wasn’t his wife, why some celebrations of life feel completely impersonal, and the biggest hospice misconception of all: your hospice nurse is not moving into your house.

Remember, planning your death isn’t just about how you want to die. It’s about giving the people you love a fighting chance to get it right.

A list of helpful resources Lisa mentioned in episode:

• End of Life Registry: https://givewillow.com/
• States that have Paid Family Leave Benefits: https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/state-paid-family-leave-laws-across-the-u-s/
• Dementia Values and Priorities Tool: https://compassionandchoices.org/dementia-values-tool/
• VA Caregiver Support Program: https://www.caregiver.va.gov/
• California IHSS Program: https://www.cdss.ca.gov/in-home-supportive-services
• The Death Deck Tools: https://thedeathdeck.com/

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What do you do when the person you’re caring for has beliefs you completely disagree with, and might even hate you for who you are?

Hospital chaplain JS Park has cared for patients whose politics and beliefs couldn’t be further from his own, including patients who have said racist things directly to him. This week, Julie sits down with JS for a conversation that gets right into one of the hardest questions at the end of life: Can you truly care for someone you fundamentally disagree with?

Julie and JS unpack what compassion looks like when agreement isn’t possible, how healthcare workers keep personal bias from affecting the care they provide, and how mortality can suddenly make the things dividing us feel a whole lot smaller.

They also talk about what happens when faith speaks more about sin than suffering, the strange compulsions and obsessions that manifest after facing death, and why some of us are more prone to “inverse grief” than others.

Be sure to pre-order a copy of JS’s upcoming book, We Are Made of Us, out in October!

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