Don't Be Caught Dead: Grief, Loss, Death Literacy and Getting Prepared
After surviving a serious car accident in 2019, and then losing a close friend suddenly in 2023, Catherine Ashton discovered a hard truth: most families have no plan for death, and they pay for it in confusion, stress, and decisions made in crisis. Don't Be Caught Dead exists so yours doesn't have to.
Each episode is an honest, often deeply personal conversation, with people who've lived through grief, sudden illness, and caring for a dying loved one, alongside experts in aged care, palliative care, estate law, funeral planning, and financial advice. It's a show for anyone quietly aware they're becoming the one responsible for a parent, a partner, or their own end of life planning, and who wants to feel ready rather than blindsided.
Got questions after listening? Join Critical Chat Tuesdays, free, no-pressure conversations every Tuesday at 7pm where you can ask anything or just listen. No planning required, just come as you are:
https://criticalinfo.com.au/events?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=general
You'll also pick up the practical groundwork here: how to prepare a will, appoint a power of attorney and enduring guardian, set up an advance care directive, plan a funeral in advance, and navigate the health and legal systems families are so often forced into with no warning.
The free Critical Info Platform can help you turn any of it into an actual plan, and if someone close to you has just died, our guide "My Loved One Has Died, What Do I Do Now?" walks you through the immediate steps.
Hosted by Catherine Ashton, founder of Australian social enterprise Critical Info.
Learn more: www.criticalinfo.com.au
Episodes
132 episodes
HRT Until You Die: Thy O'Donell on Trans and Gender Diverse End-of-Life Care
“What’s your pain scale?” “A nine.” “Okay, miss.” “No. Mister.”In this episode, I’m speaking with Thy O’Donell, a PhD researcher at the Australian National University in Canberra. Thy’s research explores end-of-life and palliati...
Post-Mortem: Tim Booth on the Unsung Professionals Who Work With Death
What do crime scene cleaners, morgue transporters and gravediggers know about death that the rest of us don't?In this episode, I'm joined by Tim Booth, a paramedic of more than nine years and the bestselling author of You Called an Ambul...
The Law at the Bedside: Ben White on Advance Care Directives and Voluntary Assisted Dying
What happens when the document meant to protect your wishes is filed away where nobody can find it, or worse, ignored altogether when it matters most?In this episode, I'm joined by Distinguished Professor Ben White, Professor of End-of-L...
Choosing Life After Choosing Death: Jess Amsden on Organ Donation Following Voluntary Assisted Dying
What if the choice to die could also be the choice to save someone else's life?In this episode, I'm joined by Jess Amsden, a senior nurse who holds a new and unique role at DonateLife Victoria as their Family Communication Nursing Coordi...
Home-Based Death Care, Family-Led Vigils and the Truth About Child Loss with Bonita Ralph
What if the last thing you'd ever want for someone you love is a viewing at a funeral home?In this episode, I sit down with Bonita Ralph, a death educator, family support practitioner and former Holistic Funeral Director whose work spans...
Keeping People and Their Pets Together with Dr Alicia Kennedy
We talk a lot on this show about preparing for our own death. But what about preparing for the death of a pet, or making sure our pet is looked after if something happens to us?In this episode, I'm joined by Dr Alicia Kennedy, an end-of-...
Compassionate Communities: Why We Need Each Other at the End of Life with Professor Samar Aoun AM
What if the future of end-of-life care doesn't lie in hospitals, but within our communities?In this episode, I sit down with Professor Samar Aoun AM, internationally recognised palliative care researcher, Founder and Chair of C...
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...