Photo by Carey Ciuro

We all react to coming face-to-face with mortality differently. This week, stories of how those encounters can spur us to action.

Read on to find out what's on the show, or download the podcast here (or in chaptered format from iTunes).

You can listen to past episodes of Your DNTO here.

 

Elliott Brood's song "Northern Air" might sound upbeat - but its inspiration was in the loss of a friend. The band - Casey, Steve, and Mark - will tell us the story.

DeAnne Smith traveled for 30 grueling hours to have her "deathbed" moment with her grandmother... only to discover these moments aren't all their cracked up to be. She'll tell us why.

Jerry Givens came face-to-face with death in a way most of us never will - he was once the chief executioner for the state of Virginia. For 20 years, he administered lethal doses of electricity to men sentenced to death - 62 in total. We'll talk with the author of the upcoming book Another Day Not Promised about how the role of executioner changed him.

It was one small gesture that made undertaker-in-training Tom Jokinen re-think the funeral industry. He'll tell us what it was... and what else he discovered working in the "deathcare" biz (an experience he describes in his book, Curtains: Adventures of an Undertaker-In-Training).

What do you do when one of your Facebook friends posts an obituary online? Kaj Hasselriis looks into "digital mourning."

It began with a late night knock on her door... and lead to the Toronto International Film Festival. Xtine Cook will tell us how the death of a perfect stranger led her on an 11-year quest... and resulted in the mural you see below. (If you're in Calgary, you can find it between 19th and 20th Avenues SE just off 11 St.) (Photo by Sean Dennie)




Sometimes art imitates life... even when it comes to death. Nobody knows that better than the cast and crew of the HBO Canada series Less Than Kind. The show is set in Winnipeg, and follows the trials and tribulations of the Blecher family. Actor Maury Chaykin played the family patriarch, Sam - until his death between the filming of the show's second and third seasons. So how did Maury Chaykin's onscreen family - who were also his coworkers and friends - deal with the loss? We'll talk with producer/writer Mark McKinney and Wendel Meldrum, who plays Sam's wife Anne on the show.

When Sam Mullins' grandmother passed away a few years ago, it's what Sam didn't do at her funeral that led to a big turning point in his life. He'll explain what happened.... or didn't.

How did you react to an encounter with death? Sook-Yin takes to the street to find out.

A few years ago, Andrew Westoll lost a close friend... who happened to be a chimpanzee. We'll talk with the author of The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary about how he paid his last respects.

Twenty years ago, when he was living in Rhode Island, Bruce Reilly committed a serious crime - he killed a man. He'll tell us about the surprising directions that encounter with death took him...

And here's this week's playlist:

Elliott Brood - "Northern Air"
The Drifters - "This Magic Moment"
The Awkward Stage - "The Circus Ends In Tears (Pachrymosa)"
K'Naan - "Better"
Van Morrison - "Gloria"
Hannah Georgas - "Shine"
Patrick Watson - "Into Giants"
Royal Canoe - "Hold Onto the Metal"
Little Willies - "Remember Me"