In this special episode of It’s a Death Sentence, we hand the mic over to the wonderful psychic medium Helen Milwood for the full, unedited live readings she did for us earlier this year.

Both readings are funny, emotional, and scarily accurate in places – exactly the kind of chaotic spirit energy we love on It’s a Death Sentence.

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

From itchy palms to shoes on the table, Irish mammies have a superstition for everything - but when death knocks, the rules get delightfully dark and downright bizarre.

In this episode of It’s a Death Sentence, we tumble down the rabbit hole of deathly omens and gloriously grim rituals - from doppelgängers dropping doom, birds stealing souls and clocks frozen at the fatal hour.

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

Grief doesn’t always arrive with a funeral - it can slip in quietly after a divorce, an empty nest, or the slow realisation that part of who you were is gone.

In this episode, we sit down with Lucy, who shares her profound journey from losing her mother to brain cancer and her stepdad soon after, to founding a bereavement support service and organising uplifting events like her upcoming Grief Festival. Drawing from personal trauma and professional insights, Lucy explores how grief manifests in divorce, abuse, job loss, and even motherhood's identity shifts, emphasising the power of feeling emotions fully without judgment.

We dive into the myths of "normal" grieving, the role of community in healing, and practical steps for navigating life's inevitable losses.

What You’ll Learn

- Beyond Bereavement: How everyday setbacks like divorce, financial woes, or empty nests trigger grief, and why acknowledging them is the first step to recovery.

- Personal Pivot: Lucy's story of turning double loss into a mission, from bedside vigils to launching support groups and a grief festival that blends tears with inspiration.

- Embrace the Pain: Why avoiding emotions only delays healing, plus tips for giving yourself permission to feel, release, and grieve on your own timeline.

Lucy’s compassionate wisdom reminds us that grief isn't a straight path - it's a shared human experience where vulnerability opens the door to profound strength and connection.

Connect with Lucy and find out more about her events at lovelifecoaching-events.co.uk.

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

Suzanne McArthur, occupational therapist turned grief guru with 30 years in end-of-life care, joins us to share her journey from oncology work within the NHS to Marie Curie and Birmingham Hospice - where redundancies sparked her to launch Evolve and Flourish for workshops and Thriving Connections for grant-funded, community-co-developed projects tackling barriers to grief support.

We dive into instant-impact training, co-designing with learning-disabled groups and inmates, and why your red folder is the ultimate family gift.

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

What if we honoured life’s big changes not just with milestones like weddings and funerals, but with rituals that truly acknowledge who we’re becoming?

In this special episode from Brum YODO recorded live at Birmingham Central Library as part of Death Matters, we sit down with Dionne, a celebrant whose work reimagines how we commemorate both beginnings and endings. After sharing an incredible near-death story from her travels in Peru, Dionne reflects on the power of ceremony to help us navigate life, loss, and transformation.

What You’ll Learn

Ritual and Transition: How ceremonies can help us acknowledge not just life events, but personal transformations and endings too.

Menopause as a Rite of Passage: Why menopause deserves to be marked, honoured and supported rather than silently endured.

Holding Space: How conscious, compassionate ceremony can strengthen families, relationships and communities.

Dionne’s work is a reminder that ritual isn’t about the past - it’s about creating meaning in the present. By marking the moments that shape us, we open the door to healing, connection and growth.

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

In this Halloween special of It’s a Death Sentence, we lean right into the season of spooks. From childhood terrors to modern traditions, we explore why Halloween holds such a grip on our imaginations. We wander through our Halloween memories, including the infamous BBC Ghostwatch that traumatised a generation.

We talk broomsticks, witches, and trick-or-treating, dive into how Halloween evolved from ancient Celtic festival Samhain and explore how American pop culture supercharged it into the spectacle we know today.

What You’ll Learn

The Roots of Halloween: How pagan rituals, Christian traditions, and pop culture merged into the festival we celebrate today.

Collective Fear: Why Ghostwatch (1992) terrified a nation and why it still sticks in people’s minds.

Legends and Lanterns: The urban myth of Stingy Jack and why we carve pumpkins every year.

Halloween isn’t just about jump scares - it’s about the stories we carry, the rituals we repeat, and the strange comfort of being a little scared together.

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

What happens when grief becomes the starting point for real human connection rather than something to hide away from?

In this episode, we sit down with Ben, co-founder of The New Normal, a charity providing free, non-judgmental peer-to-peer support for people navigating grief and mental health. What began with one conversation between two young men - bonded by the loss of their fathers - has grown into a thriving community built on honesty, compassion and shared experience.

Ben reflects on the origins of The New Normal, the power of creating spaces where people feel seen and heard, and why community can transform the way we move through loss.

What You’ll Learn

Connection Through Grief: How shared experiences can create powerful, lasting bonds.

Building Community: Why peer support can be a lifeline for people navigating loss.

Embracing Mortality: Why accepting death can help us live more fully in the present.

This conversation is a reminder that grief doesn’t have to be faced alone and that from the hardest moments, the most extraordinary communities can emerge.

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 you grieve a parent you’ve already been saying goodbye to for years?

In this episode of It’s a Death Sentence, Emma shares the story of her dad, Peter Skipp - a kind, intelligent man who lived a vibrant life before Alzheimer’s slowly altered the rhythm of their family’s world.

Emma reflects on the long arc of her father’s illness, from the first signs of dementia to the moments before his death, and the strange calm that followed the funeral. It’s an honest, unflinching conversation about memory, care, guilt, laughter, and the unexpected ways grief unfolds when you’ve been grieving long before someone dies.

What You’ll Learn

The Long Goodbye: How dementia reshapes grief, often beginning long before the final day.

Caring in a Flawed System: The realities of navigating diagnosis, healthcare, and daily caregiving with love and frustration in equal measure.

Moments That Stay: How small gestures, humour and fleeting lucidity become anchors in the storm of loss.

This is a story of holding on, letting go, and remembering the full person behind the diagnosis.

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