Death as environmental: Recompose (TED)

Manoush Zomorodi, James Delahoussaye, Rachel Faulkner, Katie Simon (TED Radio Hour, March 11, 2022); Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, let's return to Earth for all of us. But that Major Tom's a junkie.

Katrina Spade: Could our bodies help new life grow after we die?

This is Part 2 of the TED Radio Hour episode "What Lies Beneath."  We compost crops plants and livestock slaughtered animals, so why not humans?

Katrina Spade says that if we want to help the planet, Gaia (Bhumi, Tierra), one more time, we ought to consider composting our bodies after we're done with them.

ABOUT: Katrina Spade is an inventor, designer, and death care advocate. She is the founder and CEO of Recompose (recompose.life), which has developed a new model of caring for death that focuses on transparency, participation, and nature. Through natural organic reduction, human remains are transformed into usable soil. Her work has been featured in The Atlantic, Wired, and The New York Times. Spade has a Master's degree in architecture from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a certificate in Sustainable Design and Building from Yestermorrow Design/Build School, and a Bachelor's in cultural anthropology from Haverford College.

M. Z.

This segment of the TED Radio Hour was produced by James Delahoussaye and edited by Rachel Faulkner and Katie Simon. Twitter: @TEDRadioHour. Email: TEDRadio@npr.org. Katrina Spade: Could our bodies help new life grow after we die?