Podcast: The Adventures of Memento Mori

Introducing Goodnight Lovelies, a new daily mortality meditation hosted by D.S. Moss.

This is a podcast about death (But it's really about the meaning of life). The Adventures of Memento Mori:  A Skeptic's Guide for Learning to Live by Remembering to Die is a podcast exploring the science, mysticism, culture, and mystery of death. Satirical and philosophical, the show follows host, nontheist Chaplain D.S. Moss, as he attempts to reconcile his own impermanence and live a more meaningful life. Problem is, life keeps getting in the way.

In the podcast finale, D.S. Moss travels to the Catskills of New York, Chicago, Harvard, and Hawaii following a calling six years in the making - becoming a (northeast) chaplain. Is the understanding that we’re not entitled to tomorrow enough to truly put his money where he mic is and take a leap of faith? And is it possible to be both rational and spiritual at the same time?

D.S. Moss combines three of his most favorite things: people, parties, and conversations about death in the penultimate episode of Season 2

As part of the ReImagine virtual festival celebrating Life, Loss, and Love, and in collaboration with Keeper Memorials, Death Doula LA, and Compassion and Choices, The Adventures of Memento Mori hosted a conversation about Medical Aid In Dying. Joining me were two family members whose terminally ill loved ones decided to peacefully end their own lives: Myra Shulman, daughter of Beverly, and Dan Diaz, husband of Brittany Maynard.

Holy Mother Forking Shirtballs! Please join D.S. Moss in a fanboy conversation with Michael Schur, creator of the NBC sitcom The Good Place, about death, the afterlife, existentialism, deontology, utilitarianism, trolley problems, even bigger pandemic problems, and how to keep your sense of humor through it all.

This spiritual road trip began with a near-death vision at a compound in rural Virginia, intersected with a death-themed Mardi Gras Krewe in New Orleans, and was steered along by a canoeing Canadian commemorating his uncle. All leading D.S. Moss to Standing Rock Reservation looking for an old stone Memento Mori den.

D.S. Moss joins an intrepid Canadian for a canoe adventure of over 6.5 million paddle strokes and over 3,300 miles to honor the life of a loved one who has died. This is a story of love. It's a tale of the courage, devotion, and resilience of the human spirit in the dance with our mortality. It's about the process of healing from a broken heart after a loss so deep it could have held the deepest rivers.

It's March 23, 2020, in New York, New York. The world is confronting a novel coronavirus pandemic and the world will be forever changed because of it. To what extreme that change will be we don't know yet. But that is what we're going to talk about. Joining the show is technology and healthcare futurist, geopolitical expert, and novelist, Jamie Metzl.

D.S. Moss welcomes Mark Manson to the COVID 19 edition of The Adventures of Memento Mori to talk about death and hope in these strange days. Mark is a New York Times best-selling author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck, Everything Is Fucked: A Book About Hope, and Love is Not Enough. Visit markmanson.net to read more of his work.

D.S. Moss heads down south for Mardi Gras to see why the city of New Orleans so overtly accepts death as a part of life.

D.S. Moss “sequesters" himself for a week in order to induce a near-death experience. Hopefully without nearing death.

Does an 18-year-old really know what they are signing up for when joining the military? DS Moss confronts what it means to pay the ultimate price.

In the conclusion of this adventure, D.S. Moss confronts his food consciously and directly. But, is hunting the most ecologically benign way to feed himself? And even if it is, could I pull the trigger?

DS comes to terms with death in the food system; he goes vegan and then he goes on a hunting trip. Do you know how much death is in your diet? Neither did D.S. Moss. Wanting to face his food consciously and directly, Moss leaves no stone unturned to discover how much death is on his plate. If you’re a human being who eats food it may make you uncomfortable because - food - particularly as it relates to death - is an incredibly emotional and complex topic.

Believe it or not, suicide has been the most requested podcast topics for The Adventures of Memento Mori. However, D.S. Moss has been purposefully avoiding it. He likes to have a natural way into an issue, and he just never had the first-hand experience with suicide. Plus, it’s a hard topic. But, think how dull life would be if we only had the easy conversations. So we invite you to join us and suicidologist John Gunn for a cup of coffee and an awkward conversation.

Are you the happiest version of you you can be? Are negative thoughts and feeling keeping you from this?  What if I were to tell you the only thing keeping you from living your true bliss is you! In this episode D.S. Moss gives you the secret of how the practice of Memento Mori will help you achieve happiness beyond your wildest dreams. The happiness you can feel with every single breath you take. The happiness, my friends, that you deserve. Guests include Ryan Holiday, author of The Obstacle is the Way and Oliver Burkeman author of The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking.

This episode is about Texas, a boy and his dog and the unthinkable and inevitable decision that comes to almost all pet owners. D.S. Moss confronts “How do you know when it’s time to make the decision to say goodbye?”  to a four-legged family member. If you're a person with a pet, know a person with a pet, or just like a sad ‘ol country song - this episode confronts the toughest conversation yet and provides insights for those that must eventually face that same decision.

Ever written an obituary? Yeah, neither had D.S. Moss. In this episode, Moss is asked to write a memorial to his grandfather with the challenge of a limited word count. How do you capture a person’s life in two paragraphs? And, what exactly is the purpose of an obit? Is it a matter of record or a legacy statement? To make it even more awkward, his grandfather is actually still alive and will be proofreading. Worried he’ll fuck it up, Moss enlists a professional NY Times journalist to help write his first obituary.

The three-part series into religions and their beliefs in the afterlife comes to a close with the Abrahamic traditions. The conversation begins with NYU’s Islamic Chaplain where Moss revisits the draw to change his life and become a chaplain. Still faithless, he talks with a mystic Rabbi who literally wrote the book on the Jewish beliefs in the afterlife.  In this surprise ending, Moss takes the biggest leap of faith yet.