Dying to Tell You
Palliative Care Chaplain Cody Hufstedler knows how difficult it can be for us all to acknowledge—much less talk about—the fact that we’re all born with an expiration date. That we are, in fact, one day going to die. Through his career in healthcare, he has helped countless terminally ill patients and their loved ones work through this most challenging of life’s realities.
What he’s discovered over the years is the understanding, comfort, even joy that can come through intentionally facing our finish line. Not just for those who are fast approaching it, but for everyone young or old, sick or healthy.
Cody began this podcast as a way to share these endearing and lovely stories of life, death, and dying. Far from morbid, these episodes are deeply alive explorations of life’s greatest mysteries and windows into the wonderful, human richness of living.
All music licensed through Artlist.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 39 minutes
- Episodes
- 70
- Years Active
- 2023 - 2025
"It opened my eyes to the kind of nurse I wanted to be." —Hospice Nurse Julie
Healthcare educator, social media influencer, and good friend of the podcast Hospice Nurse Julie shares the formative story of a patient who changed her perspective forever.
Working in the ICU as a y…
Giving Kids a Voice at the End of Life
It can be a difficult idea to engage with, but children face terminal illnesses and life-limiting circumstances too. And it takes vastly empathetic healthcare professionals like Dr. Jared Rubenstein …
Are you ready for a good death?
Wellness Nurse, Life and Death Educator, International Speaker, and Author of the new book "The Good Death," Suzanne B. O'Brien, RN, has helped train over 360,000 people globally in how to care for l…
When End-of-Life Care Meets Simple Human Caring
In this episode of Dying to Tell You: The Caring Perspective, (E07) Cody interviews his long-time friend Garrett Price about his journey from chaplaincy to becoming a licensed professional counselor …
Honoring a Final Request To Die Outside
Dying To Tell You: The Caring Perspective E06: Clinical Chaplain Aaron
Aaron Metcalf is a board-certified Clinical Chaplain at a Level 1 Trauma Center nestled in Portland, Oregon. Aaron has lived in …
On Her Deathbed, Not Dying
Dying to Tell You: The Caring Perspective—E05 with Dr. John Mulder
Dr. Mulder shares his incredible story of a patient who was at the end of her life but, beyond medical explanation, not yet ready to…
The Caring Perspective E04—Hospice Halley
This week, Cody sits down with @Hospicehalley, a Hospice Social Worker and co-host of the Death Happens, An Insider’s Guide to Dying podcast with @hospicenursepenny. She previously hosted the Someday…
The Caring Perspective E03—Dr. Matthew Tyler
Dr. Matthew Tyler on the "hidden curriculum" of healthcare professionals—lessons they learn about some of the most difficult parts of their jobs, lessons they learn not in a classroom but by simply l…
The Caring Perspective E02—Dr. Jeff Manuel
"She left this world feeling comfortable with who she was."
Jeff Manuel is a palliative care physician in Denver, Colorado, and joins Cody to share his personal story about what he learned from one p…
Special Series—The Caring Perspective E01—Hospice Nurse Penny on how the body "does the work of dying"
This week on our very first Dying To Tell You: The Caring Perspective, Hospice Nurse Penny shares her experience with a patient whose spirit had seemingly left them but whose body was still there "do…
A Brief Giving Tuesday Request (and what's next for the show!)
A brief (3 minutes!) update after our Season Two finale!
It's Giving Tuesday and if you love the show, we have a humble request. If you believe in our mission to normalize death and dying and have th…
A Very Dying To Tell You Thanksgiving (Video Finale!)
For the finale of Season Two, we invited back a few previous guests for a very special Thanksgiving episode...with video!
Riyaz, Rachel, and Javeeda joined us live and on-camera to share how they're…
I'm Still Me: A Reflection on Dementia, Aging, and Identity
Between each episode, Cody offers a brief reflection on the themes he discussed with his guest the week before.
Today, Cody reflects on his conversation with Jackie & Shannon, and what can happen to …
Jackie & Shannon: How Alzheimer's Is More Than Memory Loss
Our final guests of Season 2 are Jackie & Shannon, a mother and daughter navigating the changes and challenges of Alzheimer's. Jackie has moved out of her home in California and now splits her time b…
How a Cancer Diagnosis Becomes a Label: A Reflection
"I'm no different than you."
Between each episode, Cody offers a brief reflection on the themes he discussed with his guest the week before.
Today, Cody reflects on his conversation with Javeeda and…
Javeeda: A One-In-A-Million Cancer Diagnosis
Javeeda lives in Toronto and has Adrenocortical carcinoma—a rare and aggressive cancer that starts in the kidney area. Her diagnosis has gone from 3-5 years to 1 year to "months not years."
Today …
Faith in the Face of Challenge: A Reflection
Between each episode, Cody offers a brief reflection on the themes he discussed with his guest the week before.
In this reflection, Cody reflects on last week's conversation with Deanna, how we all t…
Deanna: Answered Prayers & Time to Say Goodbye
On the side of an ice-covered Wyoming highway, staring down an out-of-control semi, Deanna prayed and got a truly unexpected answer—she made it off that road alive but less than a year later was diag…
Cancer, A Beautiful Gift in Ugly Wrapping: A Reflection
Between each episode, Cody offers a brief reflection on the themes he discussed with his guest the week before.
In this reflection, Cody reflects on last week's conversation with Lee, who sees her tu…
Lee: Co-Existing with Cancer
Nearly fourteen years ago, Lee discovered she had an inoperable tumor at the top of her spinal cord, an astrocytoma that left her partially paralyzed. After initial medical options ultimately proved …