Shows / Dying to Tell You
Dying to Tell You
We are all born with an expiration date. Palliative Care Chaplain Cody Hufstedler sits down with people who are living with serious illness for intimate, one-on-one conversations that explore the challenges, insights and, yes, joys of facing mortality. Far from morbid, these episodes dealing with hospice, healthcare, end-of-life, illness, and death are deeply alive explorations of life’s greatest mysteries and windows into the wonderful, human richness of living.
Episodes
Dying to Tell YouIf Today Were My Last Day: A Reflection
In our Season Four finale, Cody reflects on a moment of gratitude from his conversation with Emily and asks what it means to live a meaningful life beyond the…
Dying to Tell YouE410 - I've Lived a Good Life: Scleroderma, Faith, and Finding Peace
Some mornings, Emily can't wait to get to her classroom of four- and five-year-olds at a Christian school in Memphis. Other days, she has to stop, lie in bed…
Dying to Tell YouCancer, Community & Those Who Know The Story: A Reflection
"There really is nothing like spending time with someone who knows the story." One of the crucial elements to navigating a cancer diagnosis and its treatments…
Dying to Tell YouE409 - Who's This Life For Anyway? Living Authentically with Stage 4 Cancer
"I hate that cancer is the reason, but I have, and continue to, become more of my authentic self." Emily used to be more comfortable behind the scenes—the one…
Dying to Tell YouLet the Worst Wait: A Reflection
"If the worst happens, I don't want to have spent years living like the worst was happening." Following last week's conversation with Kimberly, Cody reflects…
Dying to Tell YouE408 - A Problem For Future Me: Cancer and the Worries That Can Wait
Kimberly has an astounding way of facing her cancer diagnosis. Not just because she does it with humor and pragmatism. But also because of her ability to say…
Dying to Tell YouJoin the Dance: A Reflection
Alan Watts said "The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." This week, Cody reminds us that change isn't…
Dying to Tell YouE407 - We Talk Living, Not Numbers: Defying the Odds of Stage Four Breast Cancer
Five years cancer-free, Bridget thought she was in the clear — until a scan the day of a minor surgery revealed stage four metastatic breast cancer. A hospice…
Dying to Tell YouDon't Grab the Tissue: A Reflection
Sitting with someone facing difficulty—an illness, a crisis of any kind, even their own mortality—is in itself difficult. And how we react in those moments can…
Dying to Tell YouE406 - Living Inside “I Don’t Know”: When Answers are as Rare as the Cancer
Courtney was in the best shape of her life — and also the most exhausted she'd ever been. Her body had started sending signals that no one, including herself…
Dying to Tell YouGood Job: A Reflection
As a palliative care chaplain, Cody has helped hundreds of people transition from life to death. This past week, he faced a different but maybe more relatable…
Dying to Tell YouE405 - Movement Is Medicine: How an Ironman Faces Stage Four Cancer
Jonathan Pascual is a lung transplant nurse practitioner and 16-time Ironman finisher who's spent years helping other people through the end of their lives…
Dying to Tell YouFalling Back into the Arms of Each Other: A Reflection
Nobody turns to their car for comfort. Nobody's pain is eased by holding a wad of cash. Especially in times of challenge, all we have is each other. Cody's…
Dying to Tell YouE404 - Do It Now: Living with ALS, One Trip at a Time
It took MaRee two full years to figure out what was happening to her body, and at the end of that frustrating journey she faced the one diagnosis she most…
Dying to Tell YouThe Person Remains: A Reflection
Why? The shortest, most impossible question. The ironies and injustices of terminal diagnoses seem impossible to reconcile. They came up in last week's episode…
Dying to Tell YouE403 — Cancer Expert, Cancer Patient: A Doctor Faces the Disease He Knows Best
Who better to get lung cancer than one of the world’s leading experts on lung cancer? Admittedly, the word “better” is not really right here. But this is…
Dying to Tell YouCan You Be a Gentle Place? A Reflection
Difficult situations can either harden our hearts or open them. And generosity is a choice that each of us can make to resist hardening ourselves, to instead…
Dying to Tell YouE402 — Crash Landing: A Mother's Journey Into Grace
Jody Gelb had a calm, healthy pregnancy — and then, in the span of a single hospital stay, everything changed. A rushed delivery. Forceps. A baby who wasn't…
Dying to Tell YouLooking Up: A Reflection
Sometimes it takes the unexpected—even the unwanted—to remind us of the extraordinary experience of living. In our first Reflection of Season 4, Cody shares…
Dying to Tell YouE401 — One of One: Advocating for Your Life in a System Built for Many
At 35, Keaton was an "average guy" — husband, dad to a two-year-old, into cooking and woodworking — until a routine ER visit found tumors on his liver. Now…
- Dying to Tell You
Pre-Season 4 Encore - Sue
As we get ready to start Season 4 of Dying To Tell You (next week!), we wanted to share with you the first episode of each preceding season. Our final encore…
Dying to Tell YouPre-Season Four Encore - Aimee
As we get ready to start Season 4 of Dying To Tell You (can you believe it?), we wanted to share with you the first episode of each preceding season. This week…
- Dying to Tell You
Pre-Season Four Encore - Aaron
As we get ready to start Season 4 of Dying To Tell You (can you believe it?), we wanted to share with you the first episode of each preceding season, starting…
- Dying to Tell You
Dying To Tell You Trailer
Dying To Tell You is a weekly podcast about death, dying, and life. Palliative Care Chaplain Cody Hufstedler sits down with people living with terminal illness…
Dying to Tell YouFluent: A Reflection on Living Open to Life's Unexpected Turns
In our last reflection of the season, Cody looks back on his conversation with Clara as well as the entire congregation of guests we were honored to talk with…
Dying to Tell YouCancer Takes and Takes, But It Also Gives: Clara's Story
At age 31, Clara sits down with Cody to discuss a year that changed everything. What started as hip pain from running turned into a devastating diagnosis…
Dying to Tell YouWhen the Scan Changes Everything: Amanda's Second Craniotomy [Callback Episode]
Amanda returns to the podcast with a callback update after her 20-month scan revealed a tiny recurrence. Her second craniotomy was scheduled for…
Dying to Tell YouWelcome to Holland: Finding Beauty After Cancer
This week's reflection from Cody explores Emily Pearl Kingsley’s parable “Welcome to Holland” alongside Rachel’s real-life story: a young woman whose plans for…
Dying to Tell YouWhen the Zebra Catches You: Living with Rare Cancer at 28
“I kept expecting to die. But I haven’t died yet...there’s still time left and it's navigating how and what space do you live in every day.” At 26, Rachel was…
Dying to Tell YouStay Awake. Stay Alert. This Is My Life: A Reflection
Amanda's mantra as she was entering brain surgery really stuck with Cody after last week's interview: "Stay awake. Stay alert. This is my life." In this week's…
Dying to Tell You"100 More Steps" : Endurance, Acceptance, and Brain Cancer
“I kept saying...what is the best possible outcome right now?” Amanda is a 43-year-old ultra endurance athlete who began experiencing strange symptoms in 2024…
Dying to Tell YouIn Answer to Loneliness: A Reflection
In this week's reflection on his interview with Shutes—which, of course, you should go listen to—Cody discusses the recurring theme of loneliness among people…
Dying to Tell You“I’m Turning to Stone”: Choosing to Live Fully with Scleroderma
“I’m part gargoyle is what I tell people. Because I’m turning to stone. I literally am.” Shutes was living the dream—college basketball national champion…
Dying to Tell YouFacing Life's Plot Twists: Joe's Reality Now [Call Back Episode]
"My main point here is how important it is for you to continue to be your own health advocate." In this callback episode we check back in with Joe, whose…
Dying to Tell YouHow We Navigate Life's Thresholds: A Reflection
Cody gives us one more update on Joe's progress and shares his thoughts on what it means to facing turning points in our lives, the nature of life's…
Dying to Tell YouGratitude and Grace: Reflections on Three Thanksgivings
“The people we have on the podcast, they’re just so special.” Cody and Chris (that’s us!) sit down to toast three amazing years of Dying to Tell You for their…
Dying to Tell YouThe Other Shoe: Life Between the Scans
Joe was just 29 years old when a colonoscopy revealed stage four colorectal cancer—a diagnosis he'd put off for months despite troubling symptoms. What…
Dying to Tell YouThe Courage to Change Your Mind: A Reflection on Cancer, Treatment, and Letting Go
"What am I holding onto so tightly that I would never change?" Our guest last week (and the week before!), Becca, once declared she'd never undergo treatment…
Dying to Tell YouIn the Driver's Seat: Becca on Stopping Treatment and Living Fully [Call Back Episode]
"I wanted quality of life over quantity of life. If I have six months, then I will live the hell out of those six months. If I have 30 years, that would be…
Dying to Tell YouThe Beauty and Burden of Being: A Stage Four Cancer Patient's Search for Meaning
“Please—all of you people out there—don’t wait until you’re dying to see the beauty in life.” Becca was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer at 34, went into…
Dying to Tell YouThe Therapeutic Pause: A Reflection on Navigating Terminal Diagnoses
🚗💨 The Power of Pumping the Brakes... In this episode, Cody reflects on last week's conversation with Lonnie about the importance of finding meaning and…
Dying to Tell YouHeal Your Mind: The Power of Therapy in a Cancer Journey
"I didn't want to survive. I wanted to live. I knew that I wanted to live." In this episode of Dying to Tell You, Cody sits down with Lonnie, who is living…
Dying to Tell YouWhen We Feel Helpless : A Reflection on Accepting It Together
"Don't Just Do Something...Sit There." In this reflection on his conversation with Sarah last week, Cody delves into the challenging emotion of helplessness…
Dying to Tell YouAn Absolutely Fabulous Glitter Ghost: ALS and Dreams of a Gen X Afterlife
“I would love it if the afterlife looked like the eighties.” —Sarah In this episode of 'Dying to Tell You,' Cody chats with Sarah Parton, who shares her…
Dying to Tell YouAnd That's Ok: A Reflection on Living Life & Facing Death On Your Own Terms
In this reflection on his conversation last week with Caroline, Cody shares his personal journey through grief, resilience, and finding meaning after loss…
Dying to Tell You20 Weeks Pregnant and a Diagnosis of Brain Cancer: Caroline's Story of Grace and Light
This week on "Dying To Tell You," Cody sits down with Caroline, a mother whose world was turned upside down by a devastating diagnosis: brain cancer while 20…
Dying to Tell YouWhy Do Bad Things Happen? A Reflection on Loss, Resilience, and Leaving Space for Yourself
In this week's reflection, Cody revisits last week's conversation with Joe, who is facing a diagnosis of multiple myeloma. Cody explores the age-old question…
Dying to Tell YouLiving Fully with Multiple Myeloma: A Conversation with Joe on Hope, Risk, and Meaning
“There’s something so precious about every day and every moment and living this beautiful gift.” What does it mean to truly live when tomorrow is not…
Dying to Tell YouObstacles Are Not a Mistake: They're Part of the Path
"Inright outright upright downright" Join host Cody for another heartfelt reflection as he revisits last week's uplifting conversation with Aaron, a courageous…
Dying to Tell YouYoungest Guy in the Chemo Ward: How Aaron Chose Confidence in the Face of Cancer
Find out what happens when a college freshman is faced with a life-changing cancer diagnosis—and chooses hope over fear. Meet Aaron, our guest this week on…
Dying to Tell YouWhen Mortality Hits Home: An Invitation to Life
"We only get to do this life once." In this deeply personal reflection, Cody share his own experience of learning that his mom was in the hospital for chest…
Dying to Tell YouGrit and Grace: Kelly’s Journey with ALS and Finding New Life
"Life Goes On" —Kelly In this episode of Dying to Tell You, Cody sits down with Kelly, who is living with an ALS diagnosis. Kelly shares her journey from the…
Dying to Tell YouConsideration—The Courage and Love It Takes to Think of Others
In this heartfelt reflection of last week's episode with Jeopardy Champion and author Jeff Stewart, palliative care chaplain and host Cody shares powerful…
Dying to Tell YouBetting on Hope: Jeopardy Champion Jeff Stewart’s Journey with Stage Four Cancer
A surprise stomach cancer diagnosis born of an attempt to donate a kidney gave Jeff the time and space to reflect on life, death, and what he could give his…
Dying to Tell YouThis Life Is An Opportunity To Experience Love—A Reflection
Cody reflects on his conversation with Sue in last week's episode, and how love is the purpose of our lives. We also include a voice message left on By The…
Dying to Tell YouFrom Terminal to Transcendent: Sue’s Out-of-Body Experience and Awakening
"I remember thinking...oh! That's what it was about!" Our first guest of Season 3 is Sue, who joined us all the way from Australia. And although she isn’t our…
Dying to Tell You"Let That Sh*t Go" — Linda, An Encore Episode
Linda was a guest in Season One of Dying To Tell You, a fiery and hilarious woman facing a terminal diagnosis from kidney cancer. So much of Cody's…
Dying to Tell You"I don't need to know about tomorrow" — Riyaz, An Encore Episode
Riyaz was spiritual teacher and therapist who joined us in Season 2 of Dying To Tell You, and leading up to Season 3 we wanted to honor some of the guests who…
Dying to Tell You"Was today the last day...?" — Rachel, An Encore Episode
Rachel was our first guest on Dying To Tell You who had ALS, and leading up to Season 3 we wanted to honor some of the guests who have been on the show and who…
Dying to Tell YouRedefining How We "Beat" Cancer — Nancy, An Encore Episode
Nancy was our second guest on Dying To Tell You, and leading up to Season 3 we wanted to honor some of the guests who have been on the show and who have since…