In this Valentine’s special of It’s a Death Sentence, we explore one of humanity’s oldest, strangest and most uncomfortable pairings: love and death. From broken hearts that physically fail, to myths of abduction and devotion, to killings committed in the name of love, we examine how romance, grief, obsession and mortality have always been tightly interwoven.

What We Explore

- When Love Becomes Physical: We look at broken heart syndrome and the way extreme emotional stress can manifest in the body, reminding us that love, grief and loss are not just emotional experiences, but physiological ones too.

- Love Beyond Life and Logic: We explore how different cultures and myths have tried to reconcile love and death - from posthumous marriages in rural China to the story of Hades and Persephone - asking whether these are love stories, coping mechanisms, or metaphors for grief and change.

- Killing in the Name of Love: We confront the uncomfortable reality that people are still harmed and killed in the name of love today, examining obsession, control, jealousy and violence and questioning why society continues to romanticise certain forms of suffering.

One thing is clear: love and death are not opposites. They sit side by side, shaping our myths, our bodies, our relationships and our behaviour. Love can heal and connect but it can also destabilise, consume and destroy.

This Valentine’s Day, we invite you to sit with the complexity… and ideally, not poison anyone over dinner.

It's A Death Sentence shares real stories of life after loss and is produced by Urban Podcasts. Listener discretion is always advised.

We had an absolute blast at Birmingham City Library for the Matter of Life and Death Festival with Brum Yodo - that's You Only Die Once, a brilliant group making death conversations feel normal and even fun.

In this special compilation episode of It's a Death Sentence, Carrie and I pull together our favourite bits from the day. We chat with Sarah Barton from Stirchley Art Room about her death-inspired art, a funeral director on the realities of the job, a death doula sharing end-of-life wisdom, a nurse on hospital experiences, and GIOVANNI ESPOSITO (aka Spoz) from the Dead Good Death Cafe dropping hilarious truths about farts, funerals, and family secrets.

What We Uncover

- Art That Faces Death: Sarah Barton on how creating around loss helps process grief and spark conversations.

- Behind the Curtain: A funeral director and death doula reveal the everyday realities of guiding people through their final chapters.

- Hospital Truths & Cafe Laughs: A nurse's frontline stories and Spoz's no-filter take on family farts and funeral awkwardness.

This festival reminded us why talking about death doesn't have to be heavy - it can be healing, hilarious, and human.

It's A Death Sentence shares real stories of life after loss and is produced by Urban Podcasts. Listener discretion is always advised.

How do we date when death has already changed us and how honest do we need to be about the grief we carry?

In this episode of It’s a Death Sentence, we talk openly about dating after loss. Whether through bereavement, serious illness, miscarriage or sudden change, death has a way of reshaping how we relate, trust and attach. And yet, dating culture rarely makes space for that reality.

Together, we explore what it means to return to dating when you’re no longer the same person you were before loss. We talk about timing, disclosure, fear, desire, awkward conversations, and the quiet tension between wanting connection and wanting to protect yourself.

What We Explore

- How Loss Changes the Way We Date: We reflect on how grief reshapes identity, attachment and expectations, and why dating after loss can feel both tender and terrifying.

- When and How to Talk About Death: We explore the unspoken rules around disclosure - when to share, how much to say, and why honesty doesn’t mean leading with trauma.

- Love, Risk and Letting Yourself Be Seen Again: We talk about vulnerability, fear of future loss, and the courage it takes to open yourself to connection when you already know what it costs.

As we reflect, one truth becomes clear: dating after death is not about going back - it’s about moving forward as someone new. Loss doesn’t make us unlovable, broken or too much. It makes us human.

This episode is an invitation to approach dating with more gentleness - for ourselves and for each other. To allow complexity, to soften expectations, and to remember that love doesn’t require us to forget what we’ve lost in order to begin again.

If you’re dating with grief in your pocket, you’re not doing it wrong. You’re just doing it honestly.

It's A Death Sentence shares real stories of life after loss and is produced by Urban Podcasts. Listener discretion is always advised.