Listen to the second episode of this academic year’s OpenThanatology Talks! Podcast series.

Recorded on the 11th March 2025, this episode features a panel discussion about the recently published ‘To Know Dying’report. The report showcases five research areas for social sciences and humanities in the context of palliative and end of life care and is designed to be used by researchers and funders to shape the future of research in this field. The report is part of a larger initiative to identify research priorities for palliative and end of life care, rooted in what patient, carers, and professionals have expressed as areas ofimportance via a James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership. The ‘To Know Dying’ report is based on a project funded by Marie Curie (Grant: MCSGS-23-202).Hosts Dr Joanne Jordan (Research Fellow and Co-Chair of Open Thanatology) and Professor Erica Borgstrom (Professor of Medical Anthropology and Chair of Open Thanatology) are joined by five panellists. On the panel representing the project report are John MacArtney (Marie Curie Associate Professor ofSociology of Dying and Palliative Care at the University of Warwick), Briony Hudson (Associate Director, Internal Research Development, Marie Curie), Mari Greenfield, (Research Fellow, The Open University) and guests, Andrew Tibbles ( PhD student, University of Liverpool) and Dr Brooke Swash (Senior Lecturer in Psychology, University of Chester). Comments and questions from a large online audience contribute to the discussion. Several documents and links are mentioned throughout the podcast. You will find the links to these documents below.

You can find a copy of the To Know Dying report here.

You can find a copy of the protocol for the project workshop here.

The wider Priority Setting activity information is here.

You can find out more about Open Thanatology hereand you can join our news mailing list to hear about new episodes, events, new publications, and much more here. Youcan follow Open Thanatology on Bluesky here. We look forward to hearing from you about the podcast and welcome you to our future events.

Listen to the first episode of this academic years Open Thanatology Talks! Podcast series. Recorded from a live webinar on the 29h January 2025, this episode features a panel discussion around the question of what are the tensions in seeking to ‘decolonise’ ‘bereavement andgrief’? Our regular podcast hosts, Dr Joanne Jordan (Research Fellow and co-chair for Open Thanatology) and Professor Erica Borgstrom (Professor of Medical Anthropology and co-chair for Open Thanatology) invited guest host DrJane McCarthy (Honorary Associate at The OpenUniversity) to introduce this topic. Jane is currently leading an Open Societal Challenge at the university about the intersection between decolonisation,bereavement studies, and the climate emergency, known as Existential Dis/Connection. The conversation featured: Janet Wildman (volunteer/ supporter of community action around social injustice), who chaired the discussion, and Samira Ben Omar (a community organiser with over 25 years’ experience of working in the public, community and voluntary sector), who was the discussant. Joining Janet and Samira were Hady Kamar (an integrative intercultural psychotherapist working in private practice and with the NHS Grenfell Health and Wellbeing Service as a Senior Therapist); Chukumeka Maxwell (a Social Entrepreneur; Registered Community Social Worker UK & Mentor Founder /co-Director Consulting & Solutions Ltd; Founder/Advisor, CEO at Goodwill in Action To Prevent Suicide CIO) and Jacqui Stedmon (an Emerita Professor at the University of Plymouth, co-founder, trustee and clinical volunteer at the children’s bereavement support service, Jeremiah’s Journey based in Plymouth). We were also joined by a large online audience who contributed their thoughts, questions, and experiences in the chat box. The full webinar recording is available on the Open Thanatology ORDO repository here. A previous presentation by Jane on this topic can be found here.

Recorded as part of The Open Thanatology 2024 Conference on the 18th June 2024 this episode features a panel discussion around the question of how can we raise a generation that is prepared for death?

Our hosts, Jackie King-Owen (Staff Tutor in Social Work at The Open University, with a keen interest and involvement in bereavement support) and Professor Erica Borgstrom (Professor of Medical Anthropology and lead for Open Thanatology) were joined by five expert panellists, John Adams (Funeral Director & Funeral Industry Advisor to the UK Child Bereavement Network); Jackie Butler (Communications and Copywriting Specialist, St Luke’s Hospice, Plymouth); Eleanor Ellerslie (CYP Project Manager, Cruse Bereavement Care, Northern Ireland); Christine Irvine, (Senior Policy Manager, Marie Curie, Northern Ireland) and Gail Precious, (Programme Manager, UK Child Bereavement Network) (and a large live online audience!) who brought a range of perspectives to the topic.

Slides and presentations referred to during the discussion are available to view using this link.

You can find out more about Open Thanatology on X (@OpenThanatology) or by clicking on the following link ⁠Open Thanatology | Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies.⁠You can join our news mailing list to hear about new episodes, events, new publications, and much more by clicking on this link ⁠JISCMail - Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the OPENTHANATOLOGYNEWS List

Recorded on the 24th January 2024 this episode features a panel discussion around the question of should communities be expected to help in death, dying and bereavement?

Our hosts, Dr Joanne Jordan (Research Fellow and Deputy Lead for Open Thanatology) and Professor Erica Borgstrom (Professor of Medical Anthropology and lead for Open Thanatology) were joined by three expert panellists, Caroline Gibb (Community Development Lead at Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care); Dr Chantal Meystre (Director of The Omega Course which delivers experiential education to pre-morbid people in the community) and Dr Guy Peryer (Lecturer with a NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) East of England Palliative and End of Life Care Research Fellowship) (and a large live online audience!) who brought a range of perspectives to the topic.

You can find out more about Open Thanatology on X (@OpenThanatology) or by clicking on the following link Open Thanatology | Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies. You can join our news mailing list to hear about new episodes, events, new publications, and much more by clicking on this link JISCMail - Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the OPENTHANATOLOGYNEWS List

Listen to our inaugural episode of Open Thanatology Talks!

Co-hosted by Prof Erica Borgstrom (Professor of Medical Anthropology and lead for Open Thanatology) and Dr Libby Sallnow (Palliative Care Consultant and lead author for the Lancet Commission on the Value of Death) this episode features a panel discussion about the concept of a good death. Is it tyrannical or useful?

In this episode you’ll hear from Dr Aileen Collier (Associate Professor in Palliative Care and Aged Care Nursing at Flinders University in Australia), Hanum Atikasari (PhD Candidate at the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology in Leiden University in the Netherlands), and Smriti Rana (Head of Policy & Strategic Partnerships at Pallium India).

You can watch a recording of the full webinar and see an unedited transcript here.

Key Literature:

In this episode, a recent paper by Aileen and her colleague is mentioned which discusses matters of care and the good death - rhetoric or reality? The paper is not open access but people can contact Aileen for a copy.

Collier, A & Chapman, M 2023, 'Matters of care and the good death - rhetoric or reality?', Current opinion in supportive and palliative care, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 208-213. https://doi.org/10.1097/SPC.0000000000000663

Erica and Libby have also written a blog post on the topic of good death and Erica has written a critical analysis of the concept of good death in English end of life care policy. A free to access version of the article is available here.

@EricaBorgstrom @libby_sallnow @AileenCollier15 @HanumAtikasari @SmritiRana0702