The average cost of a funeral in the UK is just over £4000 - and can be a lot more. Charlotte Williams and Amit Katwala explore how social and financial pressures are changing the way we do funerals, as more and more people turn to cheaper greener alternatives.

They trace the history of the funeral and its many associated traditions with funeral historian Dr Helen Frisby, and unpick so-called funeral poverty with Lindesay Mace from Quaker Social Action. Dr Kate Woodthorpe from Bath University explains the birth of the Funeral Director and Dan Garrett, the CEO of Farewill, discusses how the industry is adapting to changing attitudes to death and the big rise in "personalised funerals".

Presented by Charlotte Williams and Amit Katwala
Produced by Bukky Fadipe
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4 Show less