It's OK to Not Decay

Death in the Afternoon

Caitlin Doughty

Education, Society & Culture

5 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 14 November 2018

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ah, to die, to decompose, to become one with the earth. Most of us accept this as our fate. But what happens when that whole “decomposition thing” doesn’t go as planned? This week we discuss incorrupt corpses that inspire devotion, grant miracles, and just might help you to become a karate champion.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The thing about Miguel is that he can help you with just about anything.
0:08.0	He's a bit of a miracle worker.
0:10.0	People come to visit him by the thousands looking for solutions to what ails them.
0:15.0	They bring Miguel offerings or buy small pictures of him for a couple of dollars.
0:20.0	And these pilgrims say that making the visit to see Miguel in rural Argentina is 100% worth the trip.
0:27.4	It really works.
0:28.8	They send Miguel follow-up letter saying, I made a full recovery from pancreatic cancer or after visiting you I got a
0:36.1	hundred on my school exams. He really is a beloved figure in his town. I'm sorry I
0:41.1	can I interject here. Hi everyone's Louise what's up well okay we're on the fifth episode of season one of death in the afternoon and by now I think we know where this is going.
0:53.0	Miguel is for sure a dead person.
0:55.7	He's probably like a pile of bones
0:58.2	from some priest that over time has become a saint
1:02.1	to the people of Argentina, am I right?
1:04.8	Miguel is not the bones of a dead priest.
1:09.2	Oh, okay. My bad, sorry to interrupt, carry on.
1:13.0	No, Miguel, of course, is a mummified 11-month-old baby who died in 1967.
1:20.0	Ah, there it is. Welcome to Death in the Afternoon, a podcast about all things mortal from the Order of
1:41.4	the Good Death. I'm Caitlin, a mortician and educator, and as always
1:45.6	I'm joined by my fellow researchers and writers Louise Hung and Sarah Chavez. Today's episode,
1:52.4	it's okay to not decay. So what do we know about Miguel's life?
2:08.0	Miguel facts and there are really only a few.
2:11.0	He was born in 1966. He was the 12th of 15 children of his parents, Argentina,
	...

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