There's so much news happening around the world that we're somehow supposed to stay on top of.

That's why we launched The Big Take.

It's a daily podcast from Bloomberg and I Heart Radio that turns down the volume a bit

to give you some space to think.

I'm Wes Kosova.

Each weekday I dig into one important story and talk about why it matters.

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Hey and welcome to the short stuff on Josh and there's Shopkins.

This is short stuff.

It's another funeral edition one.

The never ending death suite, I guess, is what it's a part of.

I know and I just want funeral directors out there who listen to know that

we don't not like you.

Just because this episode is going to be called the Casket Racket doesn't mean we don't like

you.

But when you look at the numbers of the price of caskets, the markup on caskets, it is

a little hard to not think there's got to be a better way.

Yeah.

A more fair, humane way that doesn't just completely rip off the consumer.

So I think the average casket in the United States goes for about $2,500, which is a significant

contributor to the overall cost of a funeral, which can be 8 to 10 grand on average.

That's like a quarter or more of the total cost just as in the casket alone.

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