Seattle artist Rose Briar Bates, known for ephemeral art, created a water ballet as her final request. Friends honored her with a joyful, creative memorial, celebrating her life with a playful public performance.

Music thanatology uses harp and voice at bedside to ease patients' physical symptoms, offering love and support during end-of-life moments. Certified thanatologists help create peaceful, compassionate transitions.

In Hong Kong, overcrowded columbaria and high costs leave families struggling to find a place for ashes. This issue, shared by other cities like New York and Tokyo, is prompting innovative solutions for interment.

306 Hollywood, a film by Jonathan and Elan Bogarin, creatively explores memory, loss, and family through a magical realist lens. The siblings' documentary honors their grandmother, transforming ordinary moments into extraordinary ones.

Catherine Panebianco's series No Memory is Ever Alone transforms old slides into a living memory. Tiny Inventions' animated short Negative Space explores the emotional bond between father and son.

Mark Vanhoenacker created a "singing will," a playlist of music to comfort a dying friend. Music's emotional power can reach the dying, and many now curate playlists to guide them into the next life.

Terminally ill patients use gallows humor to regain control and challenge death's power. By joking, they assert their participation in life, offering insight into the importance of palliative care in easing suffering.

In the era of personalized memorials, funerals are shifting from somber rituals to meaningful life celebrations. With options like green burials, cremation, and artistic tributes, individuals can plan their ideal send-off.

Comfort food rituals around death have existed for millennia, from Neanderthals to modern times. Global funeral dishes, like Belgian soul bread, Chinese jai, and Jamaican johnny cakes, offer comfort and community.

Josephine Hart, British theater producer and writer, passionately promoted classic poetry. Her legacy includes The Poetry Hour, and her husband, Maurice Saatchi, continues to fund the events through the Josephine Hart Foundation.

DeathLab, a research collaborative at Columbia University, explores sustainable death practices in urban spaces. Their winning design, Constellation Park, transforms bodies into energy, creating a public memorial.

Elizabeth Lopatto reflects on her cat Dottie's two-year battle with leukemia, highlighting the clarity and honesty of her vet’s end-of-life discussions, contrasting them with the challenges in human healthcare.

In Inside Out, Sadness, often seen as a negative emotion, plays a crucial role in connecting people through loss. Embracing sadness helps us process grief and identity, uniting us with others in response.

Frank Ostaseski, cofounder of the Zen Hospice Project, teaches how embracing death helps us live fully. His "Five Invitations" guide us to be present, compassionate, and open to life's impermanence.

The narrator reflects on their deep friendship with Sushi, recalling shared moments of joy and wisdom. Sushi's strength, love, and spirituality inspire acceptance of life's challenges, including death, with peace and surrender.

DeathLab, part of Columbia University's GSAPP, explores alternative ways to handle death as urban spaces shrink. Their winning design, Sylvan Constellation, uses bioconversion pods to create energy and beauty, incorporating death into public life.