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Do we need a new understanding of death? Or an old one?

The Big Story
The Big Story
Episode • Nov 29, 2022 • 30m

It's the "Death Dilemma". When someone we love is at the end of their life, unresponsive in the ICU, our natural instinct when doctors ask us is to tell them to "do everything" to save them. But should it be?

How has our changing relationship with the end of life altered the medical system? Do we prioritize quantity of life over quality? Are we costing both our loved ones and the medical system added pain by not just letting them go? And how do we balance that with the desperate need to keep them with us?

GUEST: Dr. Blair Bigham, ER physician, author of Death Interrupted

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The Big Story • Do we need a new understanding of death? Or an old one? • Listen on Fountain