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What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - Are You Ready to Be Composted When You Die?

Slate Daily Feed

Slate

Business, News, Society & Culture

3.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 16 October 2022

⏱️ 31 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The idea of composting a human body may seem unsettling—or even gross—and it runs counter to the normal American funeral rites of embalming and internment, which preserve the body. But advocates say it’s a greener and more peaceful way to return our bodies to the Earth. 

Guest: Eleanor Cummins, science journalist

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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Transcript

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0:00.0

This episode is brought to you by Tinder.

0:04.0

Life is full of possibilities.

0:06.0

A cheeky reply to a message here could lead to a world of fun new experiences

0:10.0

over there and with Tinder it all starts with a swipe.

0:14.0

Strangers can become mates, mates can become lovers with matching tattoos

0:18.0

or maybe it's not that serious.

0:20.0

Whether a match leads to something new and exciting or something personal,

0:24.0

no matter what, all matches lead to self-discovery.

0:27.0

Download Tinder now.

0:33.0

What is termination?

0:34.0

Well it's also known as human composting

0:37.0

and here at Return Home we gently transform human remains into life-giving soil.

0:42.0

I was wondering if you had spent any time on return poems TikTok page?

0:48.0

I have a little bit, they're very I'm passionate about it

0:51.0

so they sent me quite a few directly.

0:55.0

Elner Cummins is a science journalist.

0:57.0

She recently wrote about the human composting movement

1:00.0

and one of the companies returned home at the forefront,

1:03.0

which has a pretty dynamic TikTok page.

1:06.0

Today's question is does human composting require the use of worms or bugs of any kind?

1:12.0

And I've got the answer.

1:14.0

The answer is no, by the way.

...

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