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PODCAST

When We Die Talks

When We Die Talks is a collection of real conversations with real people about death, meaning, and what it’s like to be human.Each week, host Zach Ancell speaks with an anonymous caller. It begins with one question: What do you think happens when we die? From there, the conversation goes wherever it goes. Belief. Doubt. Loss. Relief. Fear. Sometimes even laughter.These aren’t experts or public figures. Just everyday people saying the quiet parts out loud. The result is raw, unpredictable, and deeply

society & culture philosophy

All Episodes

39:36

#34 - The Way We Mourn Down Under

When We Die Talks ·

2025/10/22

In this week’s call, an anonymous caller from Perth, Australia — with deep family roots in Colombia — shares how culture, belief, and experience shape the way we face death. She describes an Australia where humor keeps things light, sometimes at the cost of connection, and a Colombia where grief is collective — marked by candles, stories, music, and the warmth of family gathered to mourn and celebrate together. Those contrasts reveal not just different customs, but different ways of healing. ...

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7:58

Saturday Contemplation – Don’t Wait to Live

When We Die Talks ·

2025/10/18

You don’t need another reminder that time is limited. But you might need a reminder to act like it. This week’s Saturday Contemplation explores what it really means to live as if your time mattered. Not in a rushed or panicked way, but with presence and intention. What would change if you stopped waiting for the “right moment” and started treating this moment as enough? Available exclusively to WWDT+ members. Saturday Contemplations are a weekly practice designed to help you slow down, reflec...

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36:12

#33 - God Exists in the Space Between Us

When We Die Talks ·

2025/10/15

What if the clearest way to love life is to look directly at death? This week’s caller has lived with chronic illness, which has kept mortality close. But instead of fear, he’s found a deep sense of gratitude — for warmth, for connection, for the chance to still be here. We talk about the small joys that give life its texture, and the ways imagination can shape belief. He shares how, as a child, The Velveteen Rabbit made him believe that love could bring something to life — and how that same ...

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5:34

Saturday Contemplation – If You Had One Year Left

When We Die Talks ·

2025/10/11

If you knew you only had one year left to live, what would you do differently? This week’s Saturday Contemplation invites you to sit with that question — not as a thought experiment, but as a mirror. What truly matters when time becomes finite? What would you let go of? And what would you finally make space for? Available exclusively to WWDT+ members. Saturday Contemplations are a weekly practice designed to help you slow down, reflect on your mortality, and reconnect with what gives your lif...

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41:47

#32 - Cool, I’m Dead—and Other Things You Don’t...

When We Die Talks ·

2025/10/08

A single question opens a door most of us avoid: what do you think happens when we die? For this caller, the answer comes not from theory but from experience. During a medical crisis, she finds herself floating above her body, greeted by family who had already died, and facing an ornate threshold she’s told not to cross. It’s a story that’s strange and tender, playful and grounded. Not a doctrine, but a report from the edge. Told by someone who has worked in hospice, studied death across cult...

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6:59

BONUS: Saturday Contemplation – Each Breath Brings Us...

When We Die Talks ·

2025/10/04

This first Saturday Contemplation centers on the reality that each breath brings us closer to death. Our lifespan is ever-decreasing, and while that can feel heavy, it’s also what makes each breath, each moment, so precious. The first contemplation of every month will always be free. But if you want the full experience — every weekly Saturday Contemplation and early access to new podcast episodes — you’ll need to join WWDT+. It’s the best way to support the show, keep these conversations aliv...

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33:52

#31 - What Comes Next? (Anniversary Episode)

When We Die Talks ·

2025/10/01

This week (and episode) marks the one-year anniversary of When We Die Talks. Instead of an anonymous call, I’m taking time to pause and reflect. I share what this past year has taught me. About death, grief, connection, and even my own shifting beliefs. I talk about what I’ve learned from starting the podcast, the challenges and surprises along the way, and where things might be headed from here. I also introduce something new: Saturday Contemplations. These short weekly reflections are desig...

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44:07

#30 - I Am a Universe in and of Myself

When We Die Talks ·

2025/09/22

This week marks a few big milestones for the project. It’s Episode #30, the final full conversation of the podcast’s first year, and it’s also the very first international call. Our caller from Canada takes us through a wide-ranging conversation about death, culture, science, and what it means to see ourselves as part of something larger. From how the brain behaves in our final moments to how different cultures approach death, the discussion moves between the personal and the collective, the ...

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38:29

#29 - A Prickly Kind of Afterlife

When We Die Talks ·

2025/09/15

This week’s anonymous call begins with jokes about humidity, pets, and even what it would mean to be reincarnated as a cactus. But, like so many of these conversations, the laughter eventually gives way to something much more personal. The caller opens up about years of chronic illness, nearly dying from blood clots, and the disappointment of seeking comfort in a faith community that couldn’t support them. They share what it meant to step away from the church, to embrace their identity, and t...

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43:41

#28 - Infinity Will Break Your Brain

When We Die Talks ·

2025/09/08

NOTE: If you would like to watch this episode, you can find the video version here. It is just the conversation and nothing else. This week’s anonymous call is with someone who’s actually a close friend of mine. We recorded together once before, but that was right when I decided to shift the podcast into anonymous calls. Because of that, the episode never aired. She was kind enough to come back and do it again, making this the first anonymous call where I know who I’m talking to. From the sta...

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38:32

#27 - Don’t Misgender God!

When We Die Talks ·

2025/09/01

This week’s anonymous call begins with an unexpected laugh, “Don’t misgender God!” But from there, we turn towards the questions and stories that formed my guest’s beliefs. She talks about witnessing her father’s peaceful passing, the strange signs that followed, and how those experiences restored her faith that something waits for us after death. We also dig into grief, how it lingers like a sudden pothole in the middle of an otherwise good day, and why she sees every person as an irre...

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39:48

#26 - You Never See An OK Vampire—They’re All Sexy

When We Die Talks ·

2025/08/25

This week’s anonymous call takes us in a direction I didn’t quite expect. My guest starts by admitting she isn’t sure she’ll ever die. Maybe she’s immortal. Maybe she’s destined to become a vampire. From there, the conversation winds through questions of heaven, purgatory, and what it might mean if there really were no end. It’s a mix of humor and honesty: she jokes about sexy vampires, “jammy jams,” and how every day feels like a slumber party. But, she also reflects on loneliness, the heart...

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40:52

#25 – Surrender to Your Mortality (and Pass the Chicken)

When We Die Talks ·

2025/08/18

In this anonymous call, our caller shares the story of losing her brother and what it meant to walk alongside him as both a sister and a death doula. From the surreal moments of him “dying three times” before it stuck, to jokes over morphine doses and freezer chicken, to the signs he promised would show up after he was gone, the conversation blends heartbreak with humor in ways only death seems to invite. She reflects on the importance of planning for death, the wisdom carried through ancestr...

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38:53

#24 - I’m the Ghost That Haunts My Own House

When We Die Talks ·

2025/08/13

In this anonymous call, our caller lost his wife in a sudden car accident. Just before they even made the first mortgage payment on their home. The timing was cruel, especially after years of saving and sacrificing for the life they planned to start “someday.” He describes himself as an optimistic nihilist. Someone who believes there’s nothing after death, and finds that reality liberating. For him, knowing this is the one shot we get makes every choice matter more. We talk about the tension ...

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46:05

#23 - We’re All Just Microbiome in the Gut of God

When We Die Talks ·

2025/08/06

In this episode, we talk about the energy that connects us, the experiences that crack us open, and the quiet ways we start to make sense of death. The caller, a nurse and Reiki practitioner, shares how being in the room with people as they passed began to reshape everything she thought she knew. We talk about mystical experiences, dreams that feel like visitations, and why she believes consciousness doesn’t end when the body does. From a childhood fascination with mummies to a meditation whe...

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42:07

#22 - What If We Treated Mental Illness Like Cancer?

When We Die Talks ·

2025/07/30

Content Note: This episode includes discussion of suicide and mental health struggles. If you or someone you know is struggling, you can call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988. Free, confidential support is available 24/7. ---------- In this episode, we talk about grief that lingers, the stigma around mental illness, and why comparing depression to weakness misses the point. The caller shares what it was like to lose someone she loved to suicide, how that experience shaped her ...

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111:54

#21 - Raised Mormon, Tripping at Burning Man, and...

When We Die Talks ·

2025/07/23

This anonymous caller doesn’t claim to know what happens when we die and he’s completely at peace with that. In this episode, we talk about what it means to live without answers but still find meaning. From a childhood shaped by death anxiety to a life enriched by spiritual study, psychedelics, and profound loss, he shares how grief transformed his relationship with death. And how, despite not having a clear belief about what comes next, one message remains constant: Everything Will Be O.K. W...

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6:21

Introducing Season 2: What’s Changing and What Isn’t

When We Die Talks ·

2025/07/16

Season 2 officially starts next week, but I wanted to take a minute to share a few thoughts before it does. In this short update, I talk about how the podcast has evolved, what’s shifting in Season 2, and what you can still expect from each episode moving forward. If you’ve been listening, thank you for being here. And if you’re just joining, I’m glad you found the show. Stay Connected 💻 Website: whenwedietalks.com 📸 Instagram: @whenwedietalks 📰 Substack: When We Die Talks 🎙️ Support

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46:24

#20 – Brynna Fish (The Worldwide Soul Web and What...

When We Die Talks ·

2025/07/09

Brynna Fish has spent much of her life exploring what it means to be a soul. What we’re made of, what we leave behind, and how we stay connected after we die. In this episode, she shares personal stories that helped shape her idea of the “Worldwide Soul Web”—a belief that our souls are composites, made up of pieces of those who came before us. From an unexpected moment beside a stranger’s body on a Cincinnati highway, to a message passed between two of her dogs in the great beyond, Brynna ref...

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71:36

#19 - Anonymous Calls (Carrying Loss and Finding...

When We Die Talks ·

2025/06/25

Two anonymous callers, two very different life stories, but a shared thread of grief, reflection, and the search for meaning. In this episode, one caller opens up about a decade marked by intense, sudden losses, including the murder of a close cousin, the death of her fiancé, and a period of time spent living in her car. Through it all, she has wrestled with the big questions of what happens when we die and found a kind of personal faith rooted in kindness, connection, and the love of a small...

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61 results

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