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Let's Talk New Mexico

Let’s Talk about the end of life

By Ty Bannerman
Published September 26, 2026 at 12:26 PM MDT
Bernalillo County, in conjunction with Director’s Choice Funeral Services, held a funeral service for the county’s indigent and unclaimed residents at Fairview Memorial Park Thursday morning.
Roberto Rosales
/
City Desk ABQ
Bernalillo County, in conjunction with Director’s Choice Funeral Services, held a funeral service for the county’s indigent and unclaimed residents at Fairview Memorial Park Thursday morning.

What happens when we die? Obviously, we here at LTNM aren’t qualified to talk about EVERYTHING that may or may not happen when a person takes their last breath, but we can speak to folks who work with New Mexicans during, and after, their last moments.

From a live-in, no- cost hospice center to “non-conventional” burials that forgo embalming and offer shrouds instead of coffins, our next episode of Let’s Talk New Mexico will feature the insights of those who have devoted their lives to death.

And you can weigh in, too. We’d love to know about your thoughts and stories around this universal human experience. Have you been with someone during their last moments? Or used the services of a professional, like a death doula or religious figure, who helps people during this important time? How has that affected your view of the end of life? You can email us at LetsTalk@KUNM.org or call in at 505-277-5866 during the show, this Thursday morning at 9.

Guests:

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Ty Bannerman
Ty Bannerman has been writing about New Mexico for over a decade. He is the author of the history book Forgotten Albuquerque and his work has appeared in New Mexico Magazine, Atlas Obscura, Eater, and the American Literary Review. While at the Weekly Alibi, Albuquerque’s alternative newspaper, he served as food editor, features editor and managing editor. He co-hosts two podcasts: City on the Edge, which tells Albuquerque stories, and Anytown, USA, which virtually explores a different US county each week. He has two children and way too many dogs and chickens.
See stories by Ty Bannerman
Gail Rubin started the Before I Die New Mexico Festival to encouraging people to actually think and talk about death so they're more prepared.
  1. Festival encourages people to consider what they want before they die
  2. Let's talk about medical aid in dying
  3. Encore: Like Kit's planning for the end of a life
  4. Death Cafes Breathe Life Into Conversations About Dying
  5. Doctors Unsure About How To Talk With Patients About End-Of-Life Care
  6. What is hospice care? 6 myths about this end-of-life option
  7. A Mother's Death Tested Reporter's Thinking About End-Of-Life Care
  8. Firms Help Workers Provide End-Of-Life Care
  9. Many Avoid End-Of-Life Care Planning, Study Finds