About this episode

In this episode, Carly Rose interviews Carla Valentine about death, grief, and her unique perspective on poisonous plants and mortuary practices.

Please note this is part 2 of Carla's interview. Today I am joined by Carla from our coven to talk about death, grief, poisonous plants, her craft and a whole lot more in this episode! This is part one as the interview was so long my software couldn't cope with the duration so I have released as a two parter. Carla Valentine is a qualified Senior Mortuary Technician, and is currently the human remains conservator at Barts Pathology Museum in London. Her career caring for the dead has spanned over 20 years. She is a writer and broadcaster, featuring on TV shows such as The Bone Detectives, Fatberg Autopsy and Ancient Unexplained Files, and has a podcast called Mortem on BBC Sounds. Her first book, Past Mortems, documents her career carrying out autopsies for a decade, and the follow up, The Language of Bones - out October 1st 2026 - is a deeper exploration of death practices and the human condition. She also penned Murder Isn't Easy: The Forensics of Agatha Christie, and her next book, Planted Evidence - all about gardens, graves and poisonous plants - will be published in 2028. Carla's career informs her craft and she incorporates death meditation (mortality salience) into her…

People in this episode

Host: Carly Rose

Guest: Carla Valentine

Topics covered

• death
• grief
• poisonous plants
• mortuary practices
• gardening
• spirituality

Keywords

• death
• grief
• poisonous plants
• mortuary technician
• gardening
• spirituality
• Carla Valentine

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Barts Pathology Museum

Books & works: Past Mortems, The Language of Bones, Murder Isn't Easy: The Forensics of Agatha Christie, Planted Evidence

Places: London

More episodes of The White Witch Podcast

• Inanna · July 17, 2026 · 1h 49m
• The Keystone Hagstone with Timothy Renner · July 2, 2026 · 1h 42m
• The Strawberry Moon · June 25, 2026 · 32 min
• Death & The Poison Garden with Carla Valentine - Part 1 · June 18, 2026 · 1h 13m

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