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Here We Are, The Living podcast artwork
Society & Culture

Here We Are, The Living

by Quiet Night
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Latest episodes

  • 08: ENGINE ROOM (the office)

    October 13, 2026 · 35 min

    Upstairs is the office - the engine room - where the old funeral directors would have once lived. The team is managing a busy week, looking after the business, and getting ready for a sold out night of artists talks. The funeral home has…

  • 07: TRANSITIONS (the hallways & corridors)

    October 13, 2026 · 30 min

    This chapter is about the waiting, the in-between and the liminal spaces we move through, in our own individual ways, after the death of someone we love. Jude and Ben share insights from grief counselling and doula care, and Skye reflects…

  • 06: CEREMONY (the chapel)

    October 13, 2026 · 34 min

    The chapel is the space where people come for funerals and memorials, viewings, dressings or being withs. Aunty Rhonda, Ben, Victoria and Chantel share elements of their ceremonial practice, and how funeral ceremonies that reflect our…

  • 05: TEMPLE (the mortuary)

    October 13, 2026 · 32 min

    “We love this mortuary, we call it our temple”. It’s a rare thing to be able to step inside a mortuary and meet the people who care for our dead. We’re guided by the mortuary doulas Vicki and Sarah, who show us how they care for people by…

  • 04: DELIVERY (the ante room)

    October 13, 2026 · 41 min

    The ante room is the first port of entry for the dead - and the staff entrance. We meet Jimmy, the mortuary transfer driver, as he brings a person into Life Rites for after death care. Kim shows us the cool plates, and explains how they…

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  • 03: VESSEL (the coffin room)

    October 13, 2026 · 36 min

    We start this episode with in a big and busy coffin factory, guided by Johnny and Matt. Jess tries out a pandanus coffin, and Leah shows us seedy silk shrouds dyed with flowers and turmeric. We put hands to materials in the coffin room…

  • 02: ARRANGEMENT (the arrangement room)

    October 13, 2026 · 37 min

    We step into the “arrangement room”, where people first come if they’re organising a funeral. Victoria hands us a booklet about shock, and recollects organising her parents’ funerals. Jude shares stories of the first funerals in the…

  • 01: ARRIVAL (the foyer)

    October 13, 2026 · 34 min

    Welcome to the fun home! We cross the threshold with a crowd of curious people who’ve come to explore the funeral home on Dying to Know Day. We’ll unravel the past hundred years of death avoidance to understand why we find death so awkward…

  • Here We Are, The Living

    September 24, 2026 · 3 min

    Here We Are, The Living is an immersive journey through a holistic funeral home in South Sydney, and an intimate map of how we care for the dying, the dead and each other. In a culture marked by fear and avoidance, Jess Hamilton wants to…

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About the show

Here We Are, The Living is an immersive journey through a holistic funeral home in South Sydney, and an intimate map of how we care for the dying, the dead and each other. In a culture marked by fear and avoidance, Jess Hamilton wants to know how to talk about death. Over years, she’s collected sounds and stories from Life Rites, an independent funeral home founded by artist, end-of-life doula and funeral director, Victoria Spence. Room-by-room, Jess follows Victoria deeper into the building, where she meets doulas, morticians, florists, artists, coffin manufacturers and others working invisibly to care for the dead and the living who love them. As the story unfolds, it becomes a map for reclaiming lost knowledge and language around dying, and empowering people to make sense of what it means to die, lose, grieve, rebuild and to live. Visit our virtual map of the funeral home at herewearetheliving.com. Share a story, feedback or testimonial with us here. Here We Are, The Living is a Quiet Night production made by Jess Hamilton and Victoria Spence of Life Rites Funerals. Original music by Adam Connelly and Billy Ward. Mix by Jess Hamilton and Laura Brierley-Newtown. Editorial Support by Farz Edraki. Artwork by Annie Hamilton. This project was made with support of Create NSW, Content is Queen and many individual supporters through the Australian Cultural Fund. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.