Exploring and improving our relationship with death through respectful enquiry. Here you’ll find conversations with those who work with the dead and grieving, in addition to episodes examining death through a lens of history & the arts, folklore and food.
We’ll take you from ancient funerary rituals to forensic anthropologists via green burials, disaster recovery and Persephone’s pomegranates. We hope the journey & stories will provide you with some of the knowledge and empathy you need to navigate this vast hidden world as well as shine a light on the kindness and tenderness displayed by those professionals who truly take care of our dead.
Contact: A Question of Death
About the Episode
”Life really is so precious and so fragile. There's no greater lesson from my work than that.”
A fascinating and uplifting conversation with the incredible Lucy Easthope,
A conversation with Lucy Easthope, an emergency planner and author of ”When the Dust Settles.” Lucy shares her experiences in emergency planning, the significance of her book's title, and the complex balance between operational priorities and the needs of grieving families. She delves into the importance of honest communication, the fragility of memories, and the role of rituals and personal effects in the aftermath of disasters.
Lucy also discusses the challenges of post disaster, the psychological impact on responders, how to rebuild communities and the importance of mentoring and support within the profession. Her insights into the human aspects of disaster planning and recovery provide valuable lessons for both professionals and the general public.
If you don't know of Lucy then I'll quote from her book description: Lucy is a world-leading authority on recovering from disaster. She has been at the centre of the most seismic events of the last few decades, advising on everything from the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami to the 7/7 bombings, the Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand, the Grenfell fire and the Covid-19 pandemic in. In every catastrophe, Lucy is there to pick up the pieces and prepare for the next one. She holds governments to account, helps communities rally together, returns personal possessions to families, and holds the hands of the survivors.
You can buy her wonderful Sunday Times Bestselling book: When the Dust Settles – Searching for Hope After Disaster
If you want to know more about Lucy and her work you can visit her website or follow her on X and Instagram
Resources
Centre for Death and Society
https://www.bath.ac.uk/research-centres/centre-for-death-society/
New Zealand Red Cross
https://www.redcross.org.nz/get-help/emergencies-and-disasters/
BBC Sounds – The Witch
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p07q9h6r
Disaster Action
http://www.disasteraction.org.uk/
British Library
Grenfell Tower Fire
https://www.grenfelltowerinquiry.org.uk/
About the Podcast
Exploring and improving our relationship with death through respectful enquiry.
Here you’ll find conversations with those who work with the dead and grieving, in addition to episodes examining death through a lens of history & the arts, folklore and food.
We’ll take you from ancient funerary rituals to forensic anthropologists via green burials, disaster recovery and Persephone’s pomegranates. We hope the journey & stories will provide you with some of the knowledge and empathy you need to navigate this vast hidden world as well as shine a light on the kindness and tenderness displayed by those professionals who truly take care of our dead.
Contact: A Question of Death