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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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What would you ask a hospice nurse if you could ask absolutely anything?

In this special QA episode Nurse Julie lets her listeners call in and ask the questions they’ve been carrying around about hospice, caregiving, pain, grief, and what happens when someone you love is dying.

Julie shares practical advice on everything from the documents you need before death to helping overwhelmed caregivers, supporting a friend through hospice, and the three questions that matter most: Are they clean? Are they safe? Are they comfortable?

And then come the deeply personal stories: A woman with 4–6 weeks to live tells Julie why she’s no longer afraid of dying. One shares the guilt she still carries because she wasn’t there when her mother died. And another describes her mother’s profound near-death experience, and what her family members told her from the other side.

This episode is a great reminder that sometimes the question you’re afraid to ask is exactly the one you need answered.

Be sure to follow Julie's Instagram as you could be on the next QA episode with the listeners!

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What if the worst thing that ever happened to you is actually the thing that saves you?

JB Copeland had football dreams, a growing faith, and a job as a youth pastor. But behind the scenes, he was battling addiction, and getting very good at hiding it. Until he finally hit the point where he couldn’t run from it anymore.

This week, Nurse Julie sits down with JB for a brutally honest conversation about addiction, sobriety, loss, faith, and that awful empty feeling we’re all so desperate to fill with something.

JB and Julie open up about their own struggles with sobriety, what happens when faith isn’t the right prescription, and the danger of having an entire community help you stay in denial. They also get into JB’s idea of living in the “sappy medium,” his rise as a social media star, and what happens when the person the internet knows starts feeling very different from who you actually are.

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What would you do if someone told you that you had 15 months to live?

In March, Doug Cartwright went from a healthy guy to a Stage 4 brain cancer patient with a terminal diagnosis. But instead of letting the diagnosis close him down, Doug is asking a much harder question: How do you keep living when life suddenly becomes brutally, undeniably unpleasant?

This week, Nurse Julie sits down with the man inspiring the internet right now to explore exactly that, and what it takes to keep your heart open when life gets really, really hard.

Doug shares the strange symptoms and silent seizures that preceded his diagnosis, the psychedelic experience that suddenly feels eerily relevant, a message he believes came from his dad on the other side, and why he chooses to stay open no matter what life throws at him. He also breaks down the “Three A’s,” his clinical trial with Cart-T cell therapy, his thoughts on hospice, and why he’s surprisingly excited about the idea of dying.

Please donate to Doug’s Fight Against Brain Cancer on Go Fund Me today: https://gofund.me/0ef9a2dae

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If we're all going to die, why are we so determined NOT to talk about it? And what might we actually be missing by keeping death at arm's length?

This week, Nurse Julie sits down with world-famous bestselling author, speaker, and Oprah’s very own spiritual advisor, Marianne Williamson, for a conversation that goes straight into the one topic most of us would rather avoid: death. They talk about why having honest conversations about dying can actually change the way we experience it, and why preparing for death might have less to do with learning how to die and a whole lot more to do with learning how to love.

Julie and Marianne also dive into the big questions about life, fear, and dying: Why are we so afraid of death? Is physical death really the end? And what about those mysterious things people often experience as they get closer to the end, like seeing a boat?

This is a great episode that reminds us all that maybe the conversation we're most afraid is actually the conversation that could teach us how to live a whole lot better.

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What if the hardest moments of your life are actually preparing you for the strength you'll need later?

This week, Nurse Julie sits down with fourth-degree black belt, motivational speaker, podcast host, and bestselling author of The Art of Badassery, Jenn Cassetta, for a powerful conversation about resilience, grief, and learning how to "embrace the suck."

Julie opens up about the personal loss that changed her forever and the grief that shaped the way she sees life, death, and healing. Jenn shares the moments that shaped her own journey, from surviving 9/11 and the phone call she thought might be her last with her mom, to losing her father and discovering unexpected signs that made her feel he was still with her.

Through the chat, the two share how loss can create strength, why we often discover our biggest capabilities during our hardest seasons, and how resilience isn't about avoiding the takedowns, but about learning how to get back up.

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