society & culture

DEAD AIR #163 by The Departure

How green are green burials? ABC Listen Late Night Live with David Marr talking to Hannah Gould.

How to Die in the 21st Century. A whole new way to talk about death (Thames & Hudson, 2026) by Hannah Gould, buy HERE

Special guests Teamo Henderson & Deidre Gibb for their show Life’s 2 Short Castlemaine State Festival. Thompson Family Funerals, Fri 27 & Sat 28 March. SOLD OUT! There is a waiting list.

Awake Together: Poems of Life Castlemaine State Festival, Thompson Family Funerals, Fri 27 & Sat 28 March. Tickets still available.

National Advance Care Planning Week, 16-22 March 2026 Vic Info

Supporting young people to attend the funeral of a friend a blog post by Bonita Ralph from her Death Education website.

TRACKS: Can You Get To That – Funkadelic / Let The Sunshine In – The 5th Dimension / Summer Sun – Matt Berry

DEAD AIR #162 by The Departure

Thank you so much Jeff McDonald from REDD KROSS for our conversation about death and music. Redd Kross are playing this Friday 13th in Castlemaine, tickets have almost sold out, get on it! BUY HERE

REDD KROSS (USA) + THE HARD-ONS with special guests MOLER - at the Theatre Royal Castlemaine Vic, Friday, 13 March 2026.

Two titans of power-pop and punk rock reunite this March. LA cult legends REDD KROSS, celebrating 45 years of dayglo hooks, sly wit and sky-high choruses, join forces once again with Aussie icons THE HARD-ONS, fronted by the incomparable (and local) Tim Rogers, for a long-awaited tour across Australia. Expect high-voltage singalongs, fuzz-drenched anthems, and a masterclass in melodic brilliance from two of rock’s most enduring and prolific forces. Plus special guests Naarm/Melb indie power pop band MOLER.

Bar open from 4pm, Kitchen opens from 5pm, doors open 7.30pm.

DEAD AIR #161 by The Departure

A Landscape Artist in Winter. In rural Scotland, Andy Goldsworthy, the sculptor famed for his use of natural materials, contemplates his own decay. - The New Yorker

Funeral Songs by Daniel Mudie Cunningham. Plans are underway for an expanded presentation of Funeral Songs on its 20th anniversary in 2027. Submit your song HERE.

Online Talk: Beyond the Vampire: Transylvania as Matriarchal Origin with Medical Art Psychotherapist & Artist Isabelle Rizo– Tues 24 Feb, 10am AEDT (7pm ET (NYC time) Mon 23 Feb). Info HERE.

NDAN Panel Event - The growing options of water cremation in Australia, with Jeff Boyle (QLD) and Luke Cripps (Tas). Online, Wed 25 Feb 2026, 6.30-8.30pm AEDT. Info HERE.

We invite writers, storytellers and community nationwide to participate in the 2026 Grieve Project. Grieve Issue 13 submissions close Sunday 26 April, 8pm AEST, info HERE.

Castlemaine State Festival presents: Life’s Too Short – our mums are dead with Teamo Henderson & Deidre Gibb, Thompsons Family Funerals. Fri 27 March 8pm, Sat 28 March 2pm, $30/$25. Book HERE.

Internationally renowned witch, bestselling author, and former 90s rockstar Fiona Horne invites you to a special event celebrating her new book Coven – Where Witches Gather and its matching oracle deck. Fri 27 Mar, 5:30-6:30 pm, Bendigo Library. Book HERE.

Dark Market Stall applications now open for the Goldfields Gothic Festival of Dark Ideas in Maldon. Sat 1 Aug, $20 per stall. The more macabre and odd the better! gabrielle@thompsonsfunerals.com.au

Showing Up For Each Other: Community Death Care Workshop - funded by the Wicking Trust. Supported by the Australian Home Funeral Alliance, in conjunction with Social Health Australia and the Death Literacy Institute. Led by myself, Jenny Blake & Nici Wright. Saturday 11 – Sunday 12 April, Castlemaine. EOIs have closed, but you can join the waiting list HERE

TRACKS: Move Like Ghosts – Affordable Repayments / A Dream of Zeus – Savvas / Malady of a secret Design - Kollektiv Raumordnung