Something Understood

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Religion & Ethics

Ethical and religious discussion that examines some of the larger questions of life

Ethical and religious discussion that examines some of the larger questions of life, taking a spiritual theme and exploring it through music, prose and poetry

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Something Understood: Intimations of Mortality

Intimations of Mortality

BBC Radio 4 - Something Understood, Intimations of Mortality

Mark Tully investigates our attitudes to mortality, arguably the last taboo.

Death is a subject we are naturally reluctant to discuss. Is it simply morbid to do so? Mark Tully asks if a sense of mortality can be a force for life. With Baroness Neuberger.

Death is a subject we are often reluctant to discuss. It is often considered morbid to do so. It has commonly been described as the last taboo. However, some argue that a sense of our own mortality plays a vital part in our understanding of life. Further, that demystifying the process of death can be essential to getting the most out of life. 

Mark Tully considers the advantages of being open to the intimations of mortality which we may come across daily. 

In conversation with Baroness Rabbi Julia Neuberger he discusses attitudes to risk, memento mori and living legacies. With readings from Virginia Woolf, Kabir and music by Nitin Sawnhay and Gustav Mahler, he asks whether being open to intimations of mortality can bring more to life.

The readers are Helen Ryan and Kenneth Cranham. 


Produced by: Frank Stirling
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.

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