Doing Death – Details, episodes & analysis

"That's probably been one of the biggest things about all of this, change and the unknown. I think for everybody these are things that need to be embraced, and you've got to suddenly become best friends with the unknown and with change because that's what's happening" Amanda Blainey talks to Ben Branson founder of the world's first distilled non-alcoholic spirits, revolutionising how we drink when we are not drinking and drawing knowledge and wisdom from his 300-year-old family farming legacy. We discuss how Ben has rediscovered the simple things in life from his time so far in Lockdown. We look at how Seedlip evolved from Ben's love of plants, herbs, and nature. Talking about death is talking about how we want to live, what inspires us, doing things we love, playing, and building dreams from small steps. We talk about how Ben would like to be remembered, what his biggest legacy is, and why its important not to have regrets. Ben's story is a truly inspiring one. In this episode, we talk about Becoming friends with the unknown and change The importance of human connection, interaction, relationships and how important it is not to feel left out How life has changed in Lockdown Going back to nature as the best medicine Taking risks Being passionate about what you are doing, Creating something that people need Doing what you are good at and not what you aren't starting a business from something you love Having regrets are a waste of energy Death as a statistic The surrealness of the situation we find ourselves in Staring in an episode of Black Mirror Learning through Doing Conscious shopping and eating Life becoming more simple Grieving our lives Watching contagion on Netflix The ripple effect of what we do when we change something Can we ever go back to normality? How Ben would like to be remembered after his death Podcast references Netflix Series - Black Mirror, Contagion Book ‘The art of distillation’ John French http://www.naturaldeath.org.uk/ www.Seedlipdrinks.com

Rankin is one of the world's most iconic photographers, along with being a director, and cultural provocateur. He is best known for his celebrity portraits including Bowie, Madonna, Kate Moss, The Rolling Stones, and her majesty the Queen. He co-founded the seminal magazine Dazed & Confused with Jefferson Hack in 1992 and has published over 40 books of his work. In 2013 Rankin created a thought-provoking exhibition called 'Alive in the Face of Death' creating portraits of people facing a terminal illness which became part of a BBC documentary. We discussed how working on this project confronted Rankin's fear of death, whilst still dealing with his grief after the death of both his parents a few years before. We talked about having those important conversations with those we love and his process for capturing people's authenticity on camera and creating iconic images that will be remembered long after his death. In this episode we discuss: - Creating an Iconic image - How Rankin captures the truth in a person - Death as a way to celebrate someone’s life - Ageism and how we live in a youth-orientated society - The cost of dying - Not taking life for granted - Rankins parent's death and how he dealt with these events - How Rankin confronted death through ‘The Alive in the Face of Death’ Exhibition - Having those important conversations about advance care planning, funerals and what we want in the end - Success and what that means - Learning from our mistakes Please note that this episode may contain some swearing. Episode references Author Diana Athill Books: Black Box Thinking, The Surprising Truth About Success by Matthew Syed Do Death: For a Life Better Lived by Amanda Blainey. There’s a 10% discount if you order on the Do Book website using the code DEATH10 https://thedobook.co/products/do-death-for-a-life-better-lived Advance life Planning - https://compassionindying.org.uk/

In this special christmas episode, the last in this series until next year, Amanda Blainey talks to Mr Bingo. He is called Mr Bingo because when he was 19 he won £141 at the Gala Bingo. In 2011 he began the project ‘Hate Mail’ on Twitter, where strangers paid him to send a hand-drawn offensive postcard to a name and address of their choice. It sold out within days; since then he has opened it 12 times and it has sold out every time within minutes. Like much of his work, the project started as ‘a drunk idea’, but ended up being exhibited in galleries and gaining notoriety among the global press. In summer 2015, he ran a Kickstarter campaign to fund a high-end art book of his 'Hate Mail' illustrations. The campaign, was successfully funded within 9 hours, making it the most successful Kickstarter for a book in the UK ever. in 2015 after a 15 year career as an illustrator, Mr Bingo made a decision to stop working for clients and go it alone as an artist. For the last four years he has created in his own words a ‘nudey scratchy festive fun' christmas advent calendar in which each day in December is represented by a different person whose clothing is printed in removable gold ink , when you scratch off the ink you reveal them in all their naked glory. This episode was recorded in London in a coffee lounge, we talk about - Art - Not being too busy and doing nothing - Challenging the norm of what ‘working' is. - Mr Bingo’s gravestone art project - Freelancing - Having fun - How walking is good for you - Can work be a hobby? - What if we live forever? - And of course we cover those small subjects of death and life! This episode contains some swearing. Episode references https://shop.mr.bingo/ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mrbingo/hate-mail-the-definitive-collection

In this episode Amanda chats to Anna Hunt, international best selling author, health and wellbeing expert and shaman. A Cambridge graduate and former senior editor at The Mail on Sunday, Anna started to study mental & emotional health and their impact on the body upon developing stress-related health challenges, in her late twenties. This led her to a Jungle in Peru and for almost 20 years since, she has travelled back annually to study one-on-one with her mentor, a shaman based in the Andes. Her work has been featured widely in the international press, including the BBC, The Sunday Times, Harpers Bazaar and other numerous monthly glossies. For the last 16 years she has worked with a global client base of leaders, private clients and corporations. The techniques Anna uses include a combination of Peruvian shamanism, meditation and principles of quantum physics to shift how we think, to become healthier, calmer and more grounded. In this episode we cover - Is there a space for Shamanism in life and death? - Techniques to empower us to deal with life better - Grieving and how we cope with bereavement - Letting go of Mental baggage - Re-connecting to our inner wisdom - Deep Visualisation tools - Shamanism V traditional therapy - Trusting our instincts - Cycles of nature and the order of things - Working with plants and crystals - Death as a natural process - Repetition of negative patterns - Finding the right shaman - Shifting our energy Episode references www.Annahunt.com Books “The Shaman in Stilettos’ by Anna Hunt ‘Do Death: For a Life Better Lived' by Amanda Blainey

Michele is a Psychic, astrologer, broadcaster and a Sunday Times best selling author. Previously she was the resident astrologer for the UK’s ‘This Morning’ primetime morning TV and ‘The X factor Xtra' and has had a constant presence in the media over the last 20 years. She is a hugely successful business woman who has built an incredible presence in the wellbeing industry, empowering people to be their authentic self and transform their lives. Encountering sexual abuse and neglect at a young age, she used her own self belief, ancient learning and spiritual path to heal herself and create the life that she wanted, with gratitude and love. In this episode we talk about: - Finding our soul purpose - The mystery of death - Harnessing our own power and changing our self beliefs - Manifesting what we want by looking at our thoughts and energy - How we are all connected - The law of attraction - Grabbing ideas when they come - Astrology as a soul map - Tuning into our intuition Episode References Elizabeth Gilbert’s book ‘Big Magic' Nick Cave ‘ Red hand files’ No.55

In this episode we meet Marie Mitchell Co-founder of the ‘Island Social Club’ which provides a a space to celebrate caribbean culture through food, drink and social events. Marie’s older brother Richard died 10 years ago and we talk about her journey from when he died to how she found love again for herself, her family and finding purpose, setting up a business based around her love of food and community.

Amanda Blainey met with Kathryn Mannix - best selling author of “With the End In Mind: How to Live and Die Well”. They talk about resolving personal issues whilst we are still alive, choosing the place to die, and how we can access better care when dying. And is how we live a reflection on how we die?

Amanda Blainey caught up with David Hieatt co-founder of The Do Lectures and Hiut Denim. After 4 amazing hot days at the Do Lectures in Wales in June we spoke to David about his experiences of death and what he has learnt from it. He talked about his father’s values, his death and how this has influenced his life and work.