TED Talks About End of Life
There are many great resources out there, such as these TED talks that we’re happy to share with you. If you’ve discovered a similar resource you’d like to share, be sure to let us know at info@endoflifeoptionsnm.org or Contact Us through the website.
featured:
We offer our pets a good death, why not our people?
Gail Rubin | TEDxABQ The mortality rate is holding steady at 100%. It’s not IF but WHEN. And aren’t you curious about death, the one universal experience waiting for us all? Gail Rubin is a pioneering Certified Thanatologist – a death educator who uses humor and funny films to help teach about serious subjects. She was one of the first people to hold a Death Café in the United States. Known as The Doyenne of Death, she’s the author of A GOOD GOODBYE: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die. Gail’s motto is: Talking about sex won’t make you pregnant, and talking about funerals won’t make you dead. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx
Runtime: 00:10:01
More to dying than meets the eye: Martha Atkins at TEDx SanAntonio 2013
Martha Atkins | TEDx
Nov 24, 2025
Those who work with the dying are familiar with patients seeing long deceased loved ones, angelic beings, even hearing music and comforting voices as the patient nears death. Deathbed phenomena have been documented in the days, weeks, and months before death since the 1500s. Often confused with hallucinations, deathbed phenomena can bring comfort to patients and caregivers if those involved know what they are experiencing. This talk will explain deathbed phenomena and present on-going research about the topic. Accounts from the dying and bedside witnesses will be shared.
Runtime: 00:12:01
Why Thinking About Death Helps You Live a Better Life
Alua Arthur | TED
As a death doula, or someone who supports dying people and their loved ones, Alua Arthur spends a lot of time thinking about the end of life. In a profound talk that examines our brief, perfectly human time on this planet, she asks us to look at our lives through the lens of our deaths in seeking to answer the question: “What must I do to be at peace with myself so that I may live presently and die gracefully?” If you love watching TED Talks like this one, become a TED Member to support our mission of spreading ideas: https://ted.com/membership
Runtime: 18:37, July 2023
I See Dead People:
Dreams and Visions of the Dying
Dr. Christopher Kerr | TEDxBuffalo
Dr. Christopher Kerr speaks at a 2015 TEDx event Buffalo, New York. Dr. Christopher W. Kerr is the Chief Medical Officer at The Center for Hospice and Palliative Care, where he has worked since 1999. His background in research has evolved from bench science towards the human experience of illness as witnessed from the bedside, specifically patients’ dreams and visions at the end of life. Although medically ignored, these near universal experiences often provide comfort and meaning as well as insight into the life led and the death anticipated. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx
Runtime: 17:25 minutes, December 2015
How Doctors Tell Patients They’re Dying
Being Mortal | FRONTLINE
When Clyde Earle checked into a hospital expecting to return home, his doctor, Kathy Selvaggi, had to deliver some bad news. Our film “Being Mortal” explores issues of death, aging, and what is important in the last days of life. Viewers like you help make this journalism possible. Support your local PBS Station here: http://www.pbs.org/donate and the FULL EPISODE here.
Runtime: 5:29, February 2015
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