(WWJ) Americans are quietly rewriting the rules around death.
In a special six-part series airing this week on WWJ Newsradio 950, reporter Tim Pamplin examines how funerals, finances, and farewell rituals are shifting in real time.
Rising cremation rates, changing religious traditions, generational attitudes, and economic pressure are reshaping how families say goodbye. What was once guided by strict custom is now driven by personalization, practicality, and open conversations many families once avoided.
Tim talks with with funeral directors, medical ethicists, educators, and grief advocates about what these changes mean.
Families are asking new questions: How much should a funeral cost? Does tradition still matter? What makes a meaningful goodbye? And what happens when those conversations never happen before a crisis?
“The Cost of Saying Goodbye” isn't just about death. It’s about love, memory, responsibility, and the choices we leave behind. And experts agree: the most important step may simply be starting the conversation before it’s too late.
Listen Monday-Wednesday, Feb. 23-25, on WWJ Newsradio 950: AM 950 on your radio, or tell your smart speaker: "Play WWJ 950." >>LISTEN LIVE!!
Resources mentioned on WWJ:
Oakland University William Beaumont (OUWB) School of Medicine faculty, students and staff are grateful for your interest in the Body Donation Program (BDP). The opportunity to learn about the human body in the advancement of learning for students at all stages of their academic and professional careers is indispensable. This gift strengthens the education of medical students, postgraduate physicians and students of related
disciplines. GET MORE INFO HERE.
The No One Dies Alone (NODA) program at U-M Health aims to provide compassionate companionship to patients at the end of their lives who do not have friends or family available at their bedside. The program provides emotional support to patients who would otherwise be alone at the time of their deaths. Volunteers offer a comforting presence to patients that are expected to pass away within 48-72 hours. GET MORE INFO HERE.
Stephen Kemp ~ Kemp Funeral Home, Southfield
https://www.kempfuneralhome.com/
India Ramsey ~ James H. Cle Homes for Funerals, Detroit
https://www.jameshcole.com/
Dr. Mark Everly - WSU
https://applebaum.wayne.edu/profile/aq8246
National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA)
https://nfda.org/