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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.

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.