From Death to Burial: Funeral director Ben Schmidt tells all!

From Death to Burial: Funeral director Ben Schmidt tells all!

From The Peripheral by Justin Evans

May 27, 2025 · 1h 16m

About this episode

Ben Schmidt, a licensed funeral director, discusses the processes surrounding death and burial, including embalming and the case of Kendrick Johnson.

Today, I speak with Ben Schmidt, a licensed funeral director and content creator. I ask him questions about what happens after you die, how the body is prepared for last rites, and what families should expect during the process. We also delve into the case of Kendrick Johnson—the teen who died under mysterious circumstances in a gym mat—and the condition in which his body was returned to his family. We really get into the weeds, nerding out on the details surrounding embalming and cremation. I even ask Ben about the pros and cons of smoking formaldehyde. Ben shares some fascinating scientific insight into the embalming process, especially in the first 20 minutes. Personally, I love the level of detail, but don't worry—we mix up the topics regularly throughout the episode. Email ben@mortraqr.com IG: @mortraqr @thefuneralcast Facebook: The Funeral Science Podcast , The Funeralcast Tik Tok: @funeral_science Podcasts (Spotify Links): The Funeral Science Podcast The Funeralcast Blog Sights: www.frigidfluid.com www.ravenplume.com

People in this episode

Host: Justin Evans

Guest: Ben Schmidt

Topics covered

  • funeral industry
  • embalming
  • cremation
  • death
  • body preparation
  • Kendrick Johnson case

Keywords

  • funeral director
  • embalming process
  • cremation
  • death preparation
  • Kendrick Johnson
  • last rites
  • formaldehyde

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Funeral Science Podcast, The Funeralcast, mortraqr.com, frigidfluid.com, ravenplume.com

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