How To Die in the 21st Century with Dr. Hannah Gould (469)

We're scared to say the D word! But why is talking about death such a taboo? Dr. Hannah Gould, a cultural anthropologist at the University of Melbourne, joins me to discuss the topic in the wake of the release of her new book 'How To Die in the 21st Century'. The discussion dives in to the modern experience of dying, from the pressures of having a 'good death' to the reality of overly medicalised, 'prolonged dwindling'. Hannah unpacks how death isn't just biological but also cultural and legal, raising the question: When does death officially occur? The conversation is an invitation to rethink death - not as something to fear, but as something we can approach with openness, intention, and maybe even a sense of celebration

You can listen to How To Die in the 21st Century with Dr. Hannah Gould (469) online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

How To Die in the 21st Century with Dr. Hannah Gould (469) is an episode from Shirtloads of Science by Karl Kruszelnicki.

This episode is 30:34 long.

This episode was published on Apr 11, 2026.

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