Grief, celebrations of life, end-of-life planning and legacy, with death doula Agnes Amisano.
In the April 17, 2026 episode, Agnes shares news about songs she wrote the lyrics for to go with her memoir Seven Rings, One Love, and the hosts discuss what end-of-life specialists and death doulas do. Ryan describes a reader’s complaint about a playful events post he wrote, explains the AI phone a
Agnes and Ryan talk about what a death doula, or end-of-life specialist, actually does: emotional and practical support before and after a death, vigils, legacy projects and help for the family left behind. Along the way they share family losses, a Jamaican wake tradition, how a church bereavement g
Agnes and Ryan discuss the many ways families say goodbye, starting with Agnes’s work as an end-of-life specialist and bereavement group facilitator. They cover the value of leaving written instructions and avoiding delays at probate, then compare burial and cremation options, from woven biodegradab
Agnes and Ryan talk about getting your affairs in order: why Agnes is studying to be an end of life specialist, then wills and probate, beneficiaries and joint accounts, adding a name to a deed, guardianship for children, power of attorney, health care proxies and HIPAA release forms. They say repea
Agnes and Ryan open with Agnes’s new memoir Seven Rings, One Love, then take up a death-themed topic: who inherits what, and whether parents owe their children everything. Using Leona Helmsley’s will as a starting point, they argue that legacy is more about character and example than money, that han
In this April 2025 episode, Agnes and Ryan talk about free speech, how political climates change, tariffs and trade deficits, and what they see as threats to due process. They then turn to Agnes’s upcoming memoir, which Ryan describes as a hero’s journey, and finish on gratitude, remembering an acto
In a satirical skit, Ryan pretends to call in from a bleak imagined 2035 and describes an exaggerated future of political upheaval, climate trouble, collapsing public services, AI control and a bribe-driven tax agency, while Agnes plays along. Midway the hosts talk about real delays in the IRS offer
Agnes and Ryan talk about how to grieve or react when someone who died had a difficult reputation or a hard relationship with you, sparked by the online reaction to the killing of a health insurance CEO and a debate over a controversial cabinet nominee’s past. They weigh honesty against the rule not
In a multiple-choice edition of Ask Agnes, Ryan reads listener questions with four AI-written answers, some sensible and some silly, and Agnes picks and explains. The questions cover a couple struggling with debt, grieving together after a parent’s death, a partner who spends too much time on social
Agnes and Ryan discuss celebration of life ceremonies as a more personal, uplifting alternative to a traditional funeral, including holding one on the first anniversary of a death. They share experiences such as a large memorial with a loved one’s favorite music, Jamaican nine night customs, Polish