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"All the Living and the Dead: From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life's Work"

Aired on Tuesday, August 16th.
Aired on Tuesday, August 16th.

"Gripping.... Campbell is a sharp and witty observer who successfully conveys her own fascination with the subject. A vivid and open-minded look at a taboo topic." — Publishers Weekly

Our guest is Hayley Campbell, a London-based author, broadcaster, and journalist whose work has appeared in WIRED, The Guardian, New Statesman, and elsewhere. She joins us to talk about her newest book, "All the Living and the Dead." It's an engrossing, well-researched report on morticians, detectives, crime scene cleaners, embalmers, executioners, and various others who work in what might be called "the death industry." Per the Times Literary Supplement: "Eye-opening.... A book about corpses might seem like a downer. But 'All the Living and the Dead' is surprisingly cheerful, even life-affirming. This is partly thanks to Campbell's open-hearted, observant style of writing, which manages to be vivid without sensationalizing the horrors she records."

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