Don't Be Caught Dead
Don't Be Caught Dead is a podcast about the conversations most of us avoid — until we’re forced to have them.
Each episode brings you honest, accessible conversations with experts across end-of-life, health, legal, financial, and care industries, alongside people with lived experience, to help you better understand your end-of-life choices and how to prepare a practical backup plan if you fall ill, become incapacitated, or die.
Hosted by Catherine Ashton, award-winning speaker and founder of Critical Info, the podcast is grounded in lived experience — created so other people don’t have to go through what her family went through.
From wills, powers of attorney, funerals, and estate administration, to caring, grief, sudden illness, and navigating systems when life doesn’t go to plan, Don’t Be Caught Dead exists to build confidence, clarity, and preparedness — before a crisis hits.
Episodes
125 episodes
Drawing to Remember: The Healing Power of Art After Baby Loss
Six babies are stillborn in Australia every day. Two babies die within their first 28 days of life, and a miscarriage occurs every three and a half minutes. Yet despite how common pregnancy and baby loss is, it remains one of society’s most mis...
Finding Purpose in Melbourne’s Forgotten Laneways with Tinky
When I first discovered Tinky’s tiny installations hidden throughout Melbourne’s laneways, I was instantly captivated. What looked like a whimsical miniature scene often revealed something much deeper: sharp observation, dark humour, storytelli...
From Personal Tragedy to National Impact: Robyn O'Connell's Story
When we talk about death, we often focus on what happens after someone dies. But what if we also talked about how we support the people left behind?In this episode, I’m joined by Robyn O’Connell, an experienced funeral celebrant, grief e...
Two Transplants, Three Birthdays & A Life Worth Living with Andrew Chapman
What would you do if you were given a second chance at life? And then a third?For documentary photographer Andrew Chapman, surviving two life-saving transplants has given him a perspective few people ever experience. Rather than turning ...
The Reality of Navigating Death for Ageing Parents with Jean Kittson
Jean Kittson has spent a lifetime making Australians laugh, but behind the humour is a deeply personal and confronting exploration of death, dying, grief, and the aged care system. In this episode, I sit down with comedian, author, speaker, and...
Behind the Lens of Australia’s Most Powerful End-of-Life Portraits with Julian Kingma
In this episode, I’m joined by photographer and visual storyteller Julian Kingma, whose work has captured some of Australia’s most intimate and human stories across decades of journalism, portraiture, publishing, and documentary photography. Bu...
Why Some Murder Cases Are Never Solved with Andrew Rule
What happens when a veteran crime journalist revisits one of Australia’s most haunting unsolved murders?In this episode, I sit down with Andrew Rule, one of Australia’s most respected crime reporters and storytellers, to talk about the u...
What Near-Death Experiences Taught Me About Living with Travis Hamilton
In this episode, I’m joined by Travis Hamilton, a visionary entrepreneur, ‘recovering banker’, and co-founder of Candour Funerals. After decades working in international finance and navigating addiction, trauma, and two near-death experiences, ...
What Happens When You Take Back Your Story with Barry Du Bois
I’ve had many conversations about death, grief, and what it means to be prepared… but this one felt different.Barry Du Bois is someone many Australians know from television. A builder, presenter, and now a powerful mental health advocate...
A Mother’s Story of Loss and Love with Emily Mir
There are moments in life that divide everything into before and after… this conversation with Emily Mir holds one of those stories.Emily is a mother, storyteller, and advocate whose life was forever shaped by the stillbirth of her son, ...
If I Could Do It Again, I’d Bring Her Home with Annie Caulfield
If I had my time again, I wouldn’t leave her there… I would have brought her home.In this episode, I sit down with Annie Caulfield, a Brisbane-based death care practitioner and founder of Grassroots Death Care. Annie’s work is centred ar...
The Questions I Lived With After Suicide Loss with Todd Maguire
Trigger Warning: This episode includes conversations around suicide, trauma, and grief. Please listen with care.—I’ve sat in many conversations around death… but this one stayed with me in a different way.Today, I’m speakin...
Death Isn’t Wrong, It’s Part of Life with Annie Raser-Rowland
Have you ever thought about what it really means to live well… and how often we’re told that “more” is the answer?More things. More experiences. More consumption.But what if that’s not it at all?In this episode, I’m joined ...
Preparing for Death as a Final Love Letter With Kathie Shearer
In this episode, I’m speaking with Kathie Shearer, a funeral celebrant for over 20 years who has supported families through some of life’s most emotional moments.We explore what truly matters at the end of life, and what people actually ...
Why People Delay Writing a Will and How to Break the Cycle With John Malouff
In this episode, I’m speaking with John Malouff, psychologist and Associate Professor at the University of New England. John has spent much of his career researching procrastination, self-regulation, and the science of why people avoid the very...
The Kind of Grief Society Doesn’t Recognise With Linda Rowley
There are some losses we never officially acknowledge.Not the kind that comes with a funeral, flowers, or a clear ending. But the kind that quietly reshapes a life. A diagnosis. A caregiving role. A sudden accident. A future that no long...
By the Time You Notice Alzheimer’s, It’s Already Too Late With Greg Sutherland
What happens to your brain after you die?In this episode, I speak with Professor Greg Sutherland, Director of the New South Wales Brain Tissue Resource Centre. Greg leads one of Australia’s postmortem brain banks and works at the forefro...
Dementia Is Terminal – But We Are Not Told How With Theresa Flavin
Theresa Flavin was diagnosed with younger-onset Alzheimer’s Disease at 47. What followed was not just a medical journey, but a profound reckoning with how unprepared our systems are for people living with dementia.In this deeply moving a...
Suicide, Success and the Trauma We Carry With Penny Locaso
What happens when the person you thought embodied “success” dies in a way that completely unravels your definition of it?That’s where this conversation with Penny Locaso begins.Penny is a behavioural scientist and leadership coach...
ENCORE: Beyond the Grave: Fighting Heteronormativity in Funerals and Weddings
Imagine a gay man planning his own funeral, only for his family to swoop in on the day and try to rewrite everything – that's the raw, heartbreaking reality one of Bronte Price's clients faced, and he had to advocate fiercely for his wishes.&nb...
ENCORE: Facing the Unfathomable – Grief, Suicide, and Living Fully After Loss
Ever wondered what it's really like to stare death in the face – not just your own, but the sudden, shattering loss of a child to suicide? In this raw and honest chat, I sit down with Christine Pedley, a grief counsellor, death doula, and autho...
ENCORE: Death, Grief and Ritual: Lessons from an Interfaith Minister
In this episode of Don’t Be Caught Dead, I sit down with Reverend Amy Firth — interfaith minister, funeral director, and spiritual counsellor — to talk about her incredible journey through grief, loss, and finding her calling in end-of-life car...
ENCORE: Meaning Over Ministry: Jim's Unique Approach to Grief and Funerals
What do you give the love of your life as a final birthday gift when they only have days left? That's the tender moment Reverend Jim Colville shares with us in this powerful chat. It's an act of love that perfectly sums up Jim's radical, non-ju...
ENCORE: Found Family: The Importance of Compassion in Grief
In this episode, I have the absolute pleasure of chatting with Dr. Annetta Mallon, a leading expert in grief loss education and end-of-life care. With over three decades of experience as a psychotherapist, Annetta dives deep into the complexiti...
ENCORE: Facing Death: Moira Kelly's Mission to Save Lives
What does it mean to TRULY save a life? For humanitarian Moira Kelly, the answer was simple—give a part of herself.In this episode of Don't Be Caught Dead, we dive deep into the extraordinary life of Moira Kelly, a remarkable humanitaria...