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Eulogy
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Introduction
Eulogy
Home
Introduction
Home
Introduction

Introduction

When we die, we no longer control our history. For better or for worse, that task is left to those who knew us best.

And since we maintain unique relationships with different people throughout our lives, our funeral inevitably collects and connects all these disparate pieces to shed light on who we really were.

It’s this volatile mix of one-upmanship, the spilling of tea, and death-inspired honesty that makes Eulogy such a unique, interesting and addictive podcast.

Throughout the course of a single episode, we’ll hear fictional eulogies from different people, each giving their unique perspective on the same life. A Rashomon experience for the dearly departed. As an episodes unfolds, family, friends, co-workers, secret affairs, secret children, weed dealers, baristas, and other surprise speakers will reflect on the deceased’s role in their lives. Were they a hero or a fraud? A mentor or a tormentor? A distant loner or passionate lover?

Simultaneously tear-inducing, funny, sentimental and certifiably insane, every episode of Eulogy will be as distinct and memorable as the person they’re honoring.

Audience

After generations of avoiding the topic through denial, anger, loneliness and copious amounts of alcohol, people are beginning to deal with grief. Not just acknowledging grief, but confronting and honoring it.

Best-selling memoirs and self-help books provide lessons and road maps for navigating loss.

Movies and TV shows explore the difficult journeys of those left behind.

And podcasts give audiences the chance to dive deeper into individual stories and experiences that allow listeners to both witness grief and accept it as a natural stage in life.

ummm…Who wants to Listen to Fictional Funerals?

Hard truth: Grief has no demographic.

No matter your age, race, interests, location, or anything else that may divide us, grief is a truth all of us will eventually face.

Eulogy provides listeners a low-stakes but valuable pathway to experience and connect with the wide range of emotions that come with loss.

Sadness.

Joy.

Regret.

Inspiration.

And above all, love.

Format

Each episode of Eulogy will eulogize one individual and will consist of a variety of different speakers. There could be 8 eulogists. Or there could be just one.

For most episodes, one of the speakers will provide an introduction to the subject of the service in their eulogy. They will also serve as host, introducing the subsequent speakers and their relationship to the deceased.

The length of the individual eulogies will vary, but most will be 5-8 minutes in length, for a total episode length of 35-50 minutes each.

Eulogy will be released bi-weekly.

Listen to Episode One—>

Listen to Episode Two—>

The Deceased

Season One

Margaret Nicholls

To the average person reading the Times obituaries, the life of Masie Nicholls was nothing extraordinary. She was a music teacher at Fitzjohn’s Primary School in Hampstead, London. She loved music and travel. She enjoyed foraging and watching Gogglebox. And she was survived by her husband of 40+ years, Martin. But to Martin, she was the most extraordinary, fascinating, and loving woman ever to set foot on God’s earth. She was his everything, his guiding light and safety net, and he is the only one who can give the world the truest picture of her life. The only question is: what is he to do with his life now that she’s gone?

Donald “Donnie” Holland

If you grew up in the 60’s, you remember Little Donnie Holland as the adorable “Butchie” in the Andy Griffith rip-off “The Telly Savalas Show.” Or maybe as “Billy” in the “Lost in Space” knock-off “Moon Family” with Charles Nelson Reilly. After losing out to Ron Howard for a role on “Happy Days,” Donald descended into a life of drugs and alcohol, popping up occasionally on Love Boat, Hollywood Squares, and The Gong Show before becoming a porn actor in the early 80’s. After almost dying, he found Scientology, got married and had kids, wrote a memoir, and was rediscovered in the late 90’s, which led to a decade as the favorite character actor for indie directors. But just as he reached his peak, winning Oscars for Best Actor, Director and Picture, he left to become an MMA fighter and befriended Vladmir Putin, making Russian versions of Rambo movies. Needless to say, there are plenty of tales.

Valeria Alvarez

As the owner/proprietor of 8&8 Market in Park Slope, Brooklyn, Valeria Alvarez was a neighborhood institution. The family-run bodega was open from 5 am til 2 am, 365 days a year, and catered to the tastes of the diverse local characters. Valeria’s eulogies are given by her family, who speak to her story of resilience and struggles, and a wide variety of her customers, who recall the different ways that she helped them out in a pinch, surprised them with unexpected gifts, and used simple gestures to make them feel loved.

Greg The Guinea Pig

For 2nd grade students at Carl Sandberg Elementary School in Kirkland, WA, there was only one teacher you really wanted to have: Ms. Sarah. The reason? Ms. Sarah had Greg the Guinea Pig. Greg was a legend. He went to your house on weekends. He had awesome poops. His little guinea pig scream felt like it could shatter glass. For 6 years of kids shuttling through that classroom, Greg felt like family. But a weekend gas leak at school ended Greg’s life in his prime, leaving the kids of Ms. Sarah class grieving, and in search of a way to express their sadness. A service was held in the school gym for all those who wanted to speak about how much they loved Greg and the impact he had on their life.

Winston “Brick” Townsend

Winston Townsend grew to fame as half of the infamous black conservative brothers “Brick & Mortar” during the 2016 election, appearing at Trump rallies, Fox News and other media appearances. After dying at age 62 of heart disease in Tallahassee, FL, his eulogies expose the split that role created in the family, as we hear from fellow supporters about the wild excesses and conspiracies being a believer afforded them, while others expose how the different events in his life, caused him to adopt such extreme beliefs.

Atticus Marshall Lawrence IV

The passing of Atticus Lawrence at age 95 was described by the Wall Street Journal as “the end of an era for the gaudy excesses of old money.” To his affluent son and grandson, it was a compliment. To his rebellious daughter, it was the perfect insult. To his 6th and last wife, awkwardly left out of his will, it was a call-out to his insanity. To his mistress, who was NOT left out of the will, it was, like, totally legit. His driver of 50 years, his 89-year-old business partner, and his doorman have things to say as well.

Chanda Kanwar

Seemingly every wall in the Kanwar house is covered in photos of every size from every stage of life: baby photos, family trips, graduations from kindergarten through college, and so many more. It was a testament to the love and adventurous spirit of the matriarch, Chanda Kanwar. Before passing away at age 50 of uterine cancer, she had one wish for her funeral: her husband and each of her four daughters should choose one picture and tell people how it made them feel.

Noa Levy

The ultimate Bubbe, it felt like Noa Levy was just biding her time until she could become a grandma. Born and raised in Brooklyn, she and her husband Zach had two sons and daughter, and when husband Zach retired from his job at Phillip Morris, moved into The Villages in Florida. While occasionally falling into the stereotypical Jewish mother patterns of being overly involved and worrying, she loved and respected her kids and grandkids so much. That’s why she’s planned for each of them to read the ethical will she wrote for them at her service.

Martin Nicholls

Just two months after eulogizing his beloved wife, Masie, Martin Nichols passed away at age 71 of respiratory failure. But to those who knew him, and who heard his eulogy for his late wife (in Episode 2), the real cause of death was grief. He just couldn’t go on without her. With no children to mourn him, the duties of remembering are dutifully taken up by his former students and fellow teachers from his legendary career at Westminster School in London, where he passed along a love of learning, music and life.

Contributors

Ted McCagg

Creator, Producer

After a 20+ year career in advertising as a creative director, Ted started a cross-media production company, Roshomedia, seeking to tell stories in a new way. This has led to a deeper understanding of how people create and consume media, as well as made his teenage daughter cringe when trying to discuss Snapchat and Tik Tok trends. “Eulogy” was born from grief, as the loss of his father in 2019 laid bare the different ways people experience loss, the unique perspectives everyone has of a person, and what we can learn from hearing different takes on the same life.

Email Ted!!

Bart Smith

Producer, Engineer

Bart is the owner and creative director of Bart Plus, which, among many things, creates and produces national radio advertisements for national radio advertisers. Bart Radio's work for clients such as Volkswagen, Taco Bell, T-Mobile, Visa, Subway, Dunkin’ Donuts and Progressive Insurance. He has won many coveted awards including Clio, Addy, LIAA, One Show, EFFIE, Cannes Lions and been multiple Radio Mercury Award finalists and winners. This is because of the talent, craft, passion and trust of the creative people with whom we partner.

Eulogy: A Podcast About Life

tedmccagg@mac.com