Ru Callender on funerals, radical undertaking, eco-funerals, green undertaking, bereavement, grief and loss

The Death Studies Podcast

What's the episode about? In this episode, hear Ru Callender discuss funerals, radical undertaking, eco-funerals, green undertaking, bereavement, grief and loss.

Who is Ru?

Ru Callender is author of the book What Remains? Life, Death and the Human Art of Undertaking.

He was moved to become an undertaker through his experience of bereavement and its aftermath.

He spent much of his childhood in the hospice where his mother worked, and the caring humanistic philosophy of the hospice movement is central to his work.

He opened The Green Funeral Company with Claire in 2000 and the company is now among the country’s best-known eco-friendly funeral directors.

In 2012, they won Joint Best Funeral Director at the first Good Funeral Awards and were described as ‘The best undertakers of all time, by a country mile’ by Good Funeral Guide author, Charles Cowling. Ru and Claire spoke at TEDx Totnes on death, grief, ritual and radical funerals. In 2021, Claire left the company and Ru continues with a new colleague.

Callender,b Phillips, Cauty & Drummond: Undertakers to the Underworld was established as a partnership between The Green Funeral Company and The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (KLF) in 2017.

Find out more at Ru’s website here.

How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists?

To cite this episode, you can use the following citation:

Callender, R. (2023) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 1 September 2023. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.24071724

What next?

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