Advertise on podcast: Death: A Changing Industry

What actually happens at a woodland burial, from arriving behind the hearse to the tree that's planted a year later?We cover: Whether you can bury ashes, and what happens to the ones that are never collectedWhat families who choose direct cremation might want to know about the ashes afterwardsLiving memorial trees and the one-year anniversary plantingWhy there's no granite and no formal headstonesChapters:0:00 – Intro1:22 – Welcome1:55 – Nature's Corner4:20 – The Service Hall5:31 – The Direct Cremation Question7:47 – The Private Gardens9:52 – Burial Or Cremation?11:05 – The Tree Circles14:52 – Living Memorial Trees16:31 – Planning Ahead17:30 – Is It Natural Burial?18:50 – Working With Death23:28 – A Place Of Meaning26:30 – The Orchard28:13 – The Future29:10 – Closing Words⸻🙌 OUR SPONSORSPrincipal Sponsor National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) (https://nafd.org.uk)A progressive and inclusive voice for the funeral profession and bereaved people across the UK, the NAFD leads with integrity, advocacy, and education.GreenAcres (https://greenacresgroup.co.uk/)With six beautiful Living Memorial Parks across the UK, GreenAcres offers families natural, uplifting places to reflect, remember, and reconnect with those they’ve lost.FuneralBranch (https://funeralbranch.com/)FuneralBranch websites help funeral directors rank higher in search, clearly present their services, accept online payments, and convert early interest into meaningful enquiries.Westerleigh Group (https://westerleighgroup.co.uk/)Westerleigh Group provides high-quality cremation services in calm, thoughtfully designed spaces, putting care, respect, and choice at the heart of every farewell.MuchLoved (https://muchloved.com/)MuchLoved helps families create lasting online memorials. A place to share memories, light candles, and honour lives with love and connection.⸻📌 ABOUT THE PODCASTDeath: A Changing Industry explores the people, stories, and ideas shaping the future of funerals, bereavement, and remembrance.🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts📺 Subscribe for new episodes

Chris Adams shares what nearly fifty years in the profession have taught him. He explains why reassurance sits at the heart of funeral care, why every loss is unique, and why letting go with love leaves fewer regrets.

Robin Hyde-Chambers, co-founder of funeral finance provider Funeral Safe, joins John Adams to discuss why paying for a funeral remains one of the least understood financial pressures families face and what happened to the business he built to address it. ⸻ 🙌 OUR SPONSORS Principal Sponsor National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) (https://nafd.org.uk) A progressive and inclusive voice for the funeral profession and bereaved people across the UK, the NAFD leads with integrity, advocacy, and education. GreenAcres (https://greenacresgroup.co.uk/) With six beautiful Living Memorial Parks across the UK, GreenAcres offers families natural, uplifting places to reflect, remember, and reconnect with those they've lost. FuneralBranch (https://funeralbranch.com/) FuneralBranch websites help funeral directors rank higher in search, clearly present their services, accept online payments, and convert early interest into meaningful enquiries. Westerleigh Group (https://westerleighgroup.co.uk/) Westerleigh Group provides high-quality cremation services in calm, thoughtfully designed spaces, putting care, respect, and choice at the heart of every farewell. MuchLoved (https://muchloved.com/) MuchLoved helps families create lasting online memorials. A place to share memories, light candles, and honour lives with love and connection. ⸻ 📌 ABOUT THE PODCAST Death: A Changing Industry explores the people, stories, and ideas shaping the future of funerals, bereavement, and remembrance. 🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts 📺 Subscribe for new episodes

Kat Goodwin is a teacher and campaigner who lost her husband and has since watched her own daughter navigate school life after bereavement. Drawing on that experience, she joins John Adams to make the case for a statutory bereavement policy in schools, alongside a "pupil bereavement passport", a working document designed to follow a child through their entire education.The conversation explores why grief support in schools tends to fade after the initial weeks, how a lack of consistent guidance can leave pupils and staff unsupported years later, and what a more structural, whole-school approach to bereavement could look like. Kat also sets out what's already available free to teachers and parents now, including support from Child Bereavement UK and The Good Grief Trust and how to support her petition for change.⸻⏱️ CHAPTERS0:00 Introduction1:06 The case for a statutory bereavement policy3:06 A personal story: losing a husband, and a daughter's ongoing struggle5:36 Why grief remains difficult to talk about in schools10:00 Practical steps schools can take right now12:14 Answering resistance: "we're already too busy"14:33 Signposting gaps and what the bereavement passport contains21:21 Faith's reflection, and how to support the petition⸻🙌 OUR SPONSORSPrincipal Sponsor National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) (https://nafd.org.uk)A progressive and inclusive voice for the funeral profession and bereaved people across the UK, the NAFD leads with integrity, advocacy, and education.GreenAcres (https://greenacresgroup.co.uk/)With six beautiful Living Memorial Parks across the UK, GreenAcres offers families natural, uplifting places to reflect, remember, and reconnect with those they've lost.FuneralBranch (https://funeralbranch.com/)FuneralBranch websites help funeral directors rank higher in search, clearly present their services, accept online payments, and convert early interest into meaningful enquiries.Westerleigh Group (https://westerleighgroup.co.uk/)Westerleigh Group provides high-quality cremation services in calm, thoughtfully designed spaces, putting care, respect, and choice at the heart of every farewell.MuchLoved (https://muchloved.com/)MuchLoved helps families create lasting online memorials. A place to share memories, light candles, and honour lives with love and connection.⸻📌 ABOUT THE PODCASTDeath: A Changing Industry explores the people, stories, and ideas shaping the future of funerals, bereavement, and remembrance.🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts📺 Subscribe for new episodes

Caroline Dinenage MP, who led the government response following the Gosport funeral scandal, joins host John Adams with Barry Pritchard (former NAFD President) to ask why the UK funeral sector remains almost entirely unregulated. Drawing on the Gosport case, she outlines what proper oversight could look like, the warning signs from Scotland's stalled reforms, and how regulation must protect small independent funeral directors rather than burden them out of business.⸻⏱️ CHAPTERS0:00 Introduction5:03 What Would Regulation Look Like?7:19 Learning from the Scottish Regulation11:27 How Should Funeral Directors Prepare?13:09 How Can We Educate the Public?16:50 Grief Education in Schools19:35 Unresolved Grief as a Nation22:00 5 Years Time⸻🙌 OUR SPONSORSPrincipal Sponsor National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) (https://nafd.org.uk)A progressive and inclusive voice for the funeral profession and bereaved people across the UK, the NAFD leads with integrity, advocacy, and education.GreenAcres (https://greenacresgroup.co.uk/)With six beautiful Living Memorial Parks across the UK, GreenAcres offers families natural, uplifting places to reflect, remember, and reconnect with those they've lost.FuneralBranch (https://funeralbranch.com/)FuneralBranch websites help funeral directors rank higher in search, clearly present their services, accept online payments, and convert early interest into meaningful enquiries.Westerleigh Group (https://westerleighgroup.co.uk/)Westerleigh Group provides high-quality cremation services in calm, thoughtfully designed spaces, putting care, respect, and choice at the heart of every farewell.MuchLoved (https://muchloved.com/)MuchLoved helps families create lasting online memorials. A place to share memories, light candles, and honour lives with love and connection.⸻📌 ABOUT THE PODCASTDeath: A Changing Industry explores the people, stories, and ideas shaping the future of funerals, bereavement, and remembrance.🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts📺 Subscribe for new episodes

Crystal Owen lost her 17-year-old son, Harvey, in November 2023 when he was a passenger in a car driven by a newly qualified driver. In this conversation with John Adams, she discusses why that loss led her to campaign for graduated driving licences in the UK, a system already used in many other countries to reduce road deaths among young drivers and their passengers. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction 1:02 Who was Harvey Owen? 3:21 What is a graduated driving licence? 6:16 The night Harvey died 11:35 Turning grief into campaigning 19:04 Forget Me Not Families Uniting 21:18 Harvey's Charity: music, kindness and legacy 25:56 What would Harvey think of the campaign? ⸻ 🙌 OUR SPONSORS Principal Sponsor National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) (https://nafd.org.uk) A progressive and inclusive voice for the funeral profession and bereaved people across the UK, the NAFD leads with integrity, advocacy, and education. GreenAcres (https://greenacresgroup.co.uk/) With six beautiful Living Memorial Parks across the UK, GreenAcres offers families natural, uplifting places to reflect, remember, and reconnect with those they've lost. FuneralBranch (https://funeralbranch.com/) FuneralBranch websites help funeral directors rank higher in search, clearly present their services, accept online payments, and convert early interest into meaningful enquiries. Westerleigh Group (https://westerleighgroup.co.uk/) Westerleigh Group provides high-quality cremation services in calm, thoughtfully designed spaces, putting care, respect, and choice at the heart of every farewell. MuchLoved (https://muchloved.com/) MuchLoved helps families create lasting online memorials. A place to share memories, light candles, and honour lives with love and connection.

Colin Wilson, a business strategist working with funeral homes across Australia, joins John to talk about what separates a good funeral business from a great one. Drawing on his experience coaching teams through change, he explores why culture, trust, and communication matter as much as the service itself. You can learn more about Colin and his team here - https://keyba.com.au/meet-the-team/ ⸻ 🙌 OUR SPONSORS Principal Sponsor National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) (https://nafd.org.uk) A progressive and inclusive voice for the funeral profession and bereaved people across the UK, the NAFD leads with integrity, advocacy, and education. GreenAcres (https://greenacresgroup.co.uk/) With six beautiful Living Memorial Parks across the UK, GreenAcres offers families natural, uplifting places to reflect, remember, and reconnect with those they've lost. FuneralBranch (https://funeralbranch.com/) FuneralBranch websites help funeral directors rank higher in search, clearly present their services, accept online payments, and convert early interest into meaningful enquiries. Westerleigh Group (https://westerleighgroup.co.uk/) Westerleigh Group provides high-quality cremation services in calm, thoughtfully designed spaces, putting care, respect, and choice at the heart of every farewell. MuchLoved (https://muchloved.com/) MuchLoved helps families create lasting online memorials. A place to share memories, light candles, and honour lives with love and connection. ⸻ ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction2:36 What Customers Want Today6:30 Is the Environment Good?8:02 Fixing a Toxic Business8:40 The Most Challenging Part9:52 Two Years to Create Change12:40 The Value of Case Studies14:14 Focusing on What Went Well15:57 Marketing for Funeral Directors20:15 The Brains and the Heart of Marketing23:26 Managing Interruptions25:10 The Morning Huddle28:57 Personality Profiling32:32 Life Outside of Work34:31 Reflections on the Profession ⸻ 📌 ABOUT THE PODCAST Death: A Changing Industry explores the people, stories, and ideas shaping the future of funerals, bereavement, and remembrance. 🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts 📺 Subscribe for new episodes

John Adams sits down again with Ross, a funeral director and recently outgoing president of SAIF, twelve months on from their first conversation. Having spent a year travelling the country meeting independent funeral directors, he reflects on what he set out to achieve and on the change reshaping the profession: the rise of online, unattended direct cremation and the marketing budgets driving it.At the heart of the discussion is SAIF's Handled with Care campaign and a simple question — what is a funeral becoming, and what is lost when families are no longer given the chance to gather and say goodbye? The conversation moves through the value of remembrance, the real cost of a funeral, the prospect of regulation across the sector, and the personal weight of a year in office. --- ⸻🙌 OUR SPONSORSPrincipal Sponsor National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) (https://nafd.org.uk)A progressive and inclusive voice for the funeral profession and bereaved people across the UK, the NAFD leads with integrity, advocacy, and education.GreenAcres (https://greenacresgroup.co.uk/)With six beautiful Living Memorial Parks across the UK, GreenAcres offers families natural, uplifting places to reflect, remember, and reconnect with those they've lost.FuneralBranch (https://funeralbranch.com/)FuneralBranch websites help funeral directors rank higher in search, clearly present their services, accept online payments, and convert early interest into meaningful enquiries.Westerleigh Group (https://westerleighgroup.co.uk/)Westerleigh Group provides high-quality cremation services in calm, thoughtfully designed spaces, putting care, respect, and choice at the heart of every farewell.MuchLoved (https://muchloved.com/)MuchLoved helps families create lasting online memorials. A place to share memories, light candles, and honour lives with love and connection.⸻📌 ABOUT THE PODCASTDeath: A Changing Industry explores the people, stories, and ideas shaping the future of funerals, bereavement, and remembrance.🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts📺 Subscribe for new episodes

John Adams sits down with Lani Hepi in New Zealand to explore Māori funeral customs, grief, and the collective nature of mourning through tangihanga. The conversation looks at how Māori communities come together after death, the importance of presence, ritual, family, and shared responsibility, and what Western funeral practice can learn from cultures where grief is held by the whole community. ⸻ 🙌 OUR SPONSORS Principal Sponsor National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) (https://nafd.org.uk) A progressive and inclusive voice for the funeral profession and bereaved people across the UK, the NAFD leads with integrity, advocacy, and education. GreenAcres (https://greenacresgroup.co.uk/) With six beautiful Living Memorial Parks across the UK, GreenAcres offers families natural, uplifting places to reflect, remember, and reconnect with those they’ve lost. FuneralBranch (https://funeralbranch.com/) FuneralBranch websites help funeral directors rank higher in search, clearly present their services, accept online payments, and convert early interest into meaningful enquiries. Westerleigh Group (https://westerleighgroup.co.uk/) Westerleigh Group provides high-quality cremation services in calm, thoughtfully designed spaces, putting care, respect, and choice at the heart of every farewell. MuchLoved (https://muchloved.com/) MuchLoved helps families create lasting online memorials. A place to share memories, light candles, and honour lives with love and connection. ⸻ 📌 ABOUT THE PODCAST Death: A Changing Industry explores the people, stories, and ideas shaping the future of funerals, bereavement, and remembrance. 🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts 📺 Subscribe for new episodes

John Adams sits down with Sumita Paul, Chair of New Zealand’s Grief Centre, to discuss grief, loss, and the work being done to support bereaved people across New Zealand.

The conversation focuses on how grief and trauma are held within the body, and how simple practices like conscious breathing can support healing and resilience. Our guests, Helen Spencer and Elle Riley from Pathways to Resilience (https://www.pathways-to-resilience.co.uk) discuss the role of breathwork in schools, the importance of supporting young people’s wellbeing, and how small, daily practices can help individuals better manage grief, stress, and life’s challenges.⸻🙌 OUR SPONSORSPrincipal SponsorNational Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) (https://nafd.org.uk)A progressive and inclusive voice for the funeral profession and bereaved people across the UK, the NAFD leads with integrity, advocacy, and education.GreenAcres (https://greenacresgroup.co.uk/)With six beautiful Living Memorial Parks across the UK, GreenAcres offers families natural, uplifting places to reflect, remember, and reconnect with those they’ve lost.FuneralBranch (https://funeralbranch.com/)FuneralBranch websites help funeral directors rank higher in search, clearly present their services, accept online payments, and convert early interest into meaningful enquiries.Westerleigh Group (https://westerleighgroup.co.uk/)Westerleigh Group provides high-quality cremation services in calm, thoughtfully designed spaces, putting care, respect, and choice at the heart of every farewell.MuchLoved (https://muchloved.com/)MuchLoved helps families create lasting online memorials. A place to share memories, light candles, and honour lives with love and connection.⸻📌 ABOUT THE PODCASTDeath: A Changing Industry explores the people, stories, and ideas shaping the future of funerals, bereavement, and remembrance.🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts📺 Subscribe for new episodes

In this episode of Death: A Changing Industry, John Adams speaks with Olivia, who lost her mum at just 12 and is now campaigning for bereavement education in schools. She shares her experience of navigating grief as a child and the impact of limited support within education.The conversation highlights why schools must do more to support grieving young people, and how honest, compassionate communication can make a lasting difference.⸻🙌 OUR SPONSORSPrincipal SponsorNational Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) (https://nafd.org.uk)A progressive and inclusive voice for the funeral profession and bereaved people across the UK, the NAFD leads with integrity, advocacy, and education.GreenAcres (https://greenacresgroup.co.uk/)With six beautiful Living Memorial Parks across the UK, GreenAcres offers families natural, uplifting places to reflect, remember, and reconnect with those they’ve lost.FuneralBranch (https://funeralbranch.com/)FuneralBranch websites help funeral directors rank higher in search, clearly present their services, accept online payments, and convert early interest into meaningful enquiries.Westerleigh Group (https://westerleighgroup.co.uk/)Westerleigh Group provides high-quality cremation services in calm, thoughtfully designed spaces, putting care, respect, and choice at the heart of every farewell.MuchLoved (https://muchloved.com/)MuchLoved helps families create lasting online memorials. A place to share memories, light candles, and honour lives with love and connection.⸻📌 ABOUT THE PODCASTDeath: A Changing Industry explores the people, stories, and ideas shaping the future of funerals, bereavement, and remembrance.🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts📺 Subscribe for new episodes

In this episode of Death: A Changing Industry, John Adams is joined online by Dr Lauren Breen, a researcher from Australia whose work has helped shape conversations around grief literacy, loss, and how society supports people through difficult life experiences. Drawing on her research and practice, Lauren reflects on how young people often understand grief more broadly than adults do, particularly when it comes to losses that are not In this episode of Death: A Changing Industry, John Adams is joined online by Dr Lauren Breen, a researcher from Australia whose work has helped shape conversations around grief literacy, loss, and how society supports people through difficult life experiences. Drawing on her research and practice, Lauren reflects on how young people often understand grief more broadly than adults do, particularly when it comes to losses that are not connected to death.⸻🙌 OUR SPONSORSPrincipal SponsorNational Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) (https://nafd.org.uk)A progressive and inclusive voice for the funeral profession and bereaved people across the UK, the NAFD leads with integrity, advocacy, and education.GreenAcres (https://greenacresgroup.co.uk/)With six beautiful Living Memorial Parks across the UK, GreenAcres offers families natural, uplifting places to reflect, remember, and reconnect with those they’ve lost.FuneralBranch (https://funeralbranch.com/)FuneralBranch websites help funeral directors rank higher in search, clearly present their services, accept online payments, and convert early interest into meaningful enquiries.Westerleigh Group (https://westerleighgroup.co.uk/)Westerleigh Group provides high-quality cremation services in calm, thoughtfully designed spaces, putting care, respect, and choice at the heart of every farewell.MuchLoved (https://muchloved.com/)MuchLoved helps families create lasting online memorials. A place to share memories, light candles, and honour lives with love and connection.⸻📌 ABOUT THE PODCASTDeath: A Changing Industry explores the people, stories, and ideas shaping the future of funerals, bereavement, and remembrance.🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts📺 Subscribe for new episodesconnected to death.

With 43 years in funeral service and a deep commitment to supporting bereaved families, Don Burstow shares the personal journey that led him into the profession and the philosophy that continues to guide his work today.The conversation explores how the funeral profession is changing, from the rise of direct cremation and the decline of traditional religious funerals to what Don describes as a growing “mourning-avoidant” culture. Together they discuss the importance of slowing down to face grief, the role of community and ritual, and Don’s guiding framework for supporting families through loss: the Four R’s — realise, remember, receive, and release. ⸻🙌 OUR SPONSORSPrincipal SponsorNational Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) (https://nafd.org.uk)A progressive and inclusive voice for the funeral profession and bereaved people across the UK, the NAFD leads with integrity, advocacy, and education.GreenAcres (https://greenacresgroup.co.uk/)With six beautiful Living Memorial Parks across the UK, GreenAcres offers families natural, uplifting places to reflect, remember, and reconnect with those they’ve lost.FuneralBranch (https://funeralbranch.com/)FuneralBranch websites help funeral directors rank higher in search, clearly present their services, accept online payments, and convert early interest into meaningful enquiries.Westerleigh Group (https://westerleighgroup.co.uk/)Westerleigh Group provides high-quality cremation services in calm, thoughtfully designed spaces, putting care, respect, and choice at the heart of every farewell.MuchLoved (https://muchloved.com/)MuchLoved helps families create lasting online memorials. A place to share memories, light candles, and honour lives with love and connection.⸻📌 ABOUT THE PODCASTDeath: A Changing Industry explores the people, stories, and ideas shaping the future of funerals, bereavement, and remembrance.

In this episode of Death: A Changing Industry, I sit down with Luke Gregson, funeral director and Junior Vice President of Funerals Australia, at his family funeral home on the Sunshine Coast, Australia.We discuss the future of Australia’s funeral profession — from staffing shortages and industry wages to regulation, direct cremation, and the importance of ceremony in supporting healthy grief. As families seek greater control and expectations shift, is the profession at a crossroads?⸻🙌 OUR SPONSORSPrincipal SponsorNational Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) (https://nafd.org.uk)A progressive and inclusive voice for the funeral profession and bereaved people across the UK, the NAFD leads with integrity, advocacy, and education.GreenAcres (https://greenacresgroup.co.uk/)With six beautiful Living Memorial Parks across the UK, GreenAcres offers families natural, uplifting places to reflect, remember, and reconnect with those they’ve lost.FuneralBranch (https://funeralbranch.com/)FuneralBranch websites help funeral directors rank higher in search, clearly present their services, accept online payments, and convert early interest into meaningful enquiries.Westerleigh Group (https://westerleighgroup.co.uk/)Westerleigh Group provides high-quality cremation services in calm, thoughtfully designed spaces, putting care, respect, and choice at the heart of every farewell.MuchLoved (https://muchloved.com/)MuchLoved helps families create lasting online memorials. A place to share memories, light candles, and honour lives with love and connection.⸻📌 ABOUT THE PODCASTDeath: A Changing Industry explores the people, stories, and ideas shaping the future of funerals, bereavement, and remembrance.🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts📺 Subscribe for new episodes