We are big fans of the idea that talking can be a great way of thought sorting, so it’s good to be able to report that there is a radio show that focuses on talking about death as if it was a natural part of life – which we believe it is. To think otherwise is to engage in denial of what has a 100 per cent success rate when it comes to beating the odds that we will die regardless of how we pretend it won’t happen – even if we apply every bit of technology to prolong life that we can throw at it. At which point it becomes questionable that the extra quantity, number of years, is worth the quality, hooked up to machines and living in a comatose state.

Hayley West is the creator and presenter of the Dead Air radio show that is broadcast weekly on Monday from 10am-11am on 94.9 Main FM, in Victoria, Australia. Dead air for those working in the broadcast industry is a no-no indicating that there is no sound, only silence, and it is frowned upon by radio bosses who like to fill up every second of every hour with some kind of audio, be it music or the spoken word or other what is known as sound grab. But Dead Air might seem like a play on words, but in fact it is serious attempt at celebrating what it means to pay attention to this important aspect of our lives.

Here is the blurb on the home page:
Dead Air is a socially engaged artwork for the airwaves. Your host, Hayley West, aims to empower the community by sharing practical knowledge about death and dying, and everything else in between. Talking about death is not going to kill you.

And three of nine questions to get us thinking:
What are the environmentally friendly ways of body disposal? Who died on this day and was their eulogy up to scratch? Can we talk about Heidegger’s concept of Dasein?

To quickly answer to the last question: Dasein is Heidegger’s way of referring both to the human being and to the type of Being that humans have. Its essence lies in its existence. It can respond to its circumstances, thereby choosing its ‘Being’. ‘Dasein’ is about the human being and its place in the world.

We need more of these conversations, so we are pleased to be able to spread the word about this creative initiative in the interests of building our death literacy skills and demystifying what for many is a no-go taboo subject to be avoided till death do us part.