Caregiving, End-of-Life and Pop Culture with Shoshana Ungerleider, M.D.
- E74
- 47:09
- October 9th 2025
Dr Shoshana Ungerleider, is a board-certified internal medicine physician, science journalist, and passionate advocate for compassionate end-of-life care.
She hosts and produces TED Health and the NY Radio Award–winning podcast Before We Go, and founded the End Well Foundation to make end of life a part of life. Shoshana regularly appears as a medical expert on CNN, MSNBC, and CBS News, with bylines in TIME, USA Today, Scientific American, and more. She executive produced the Oscar-nominated Netflix film End Game, funded the Emmy-winning Extremis, and produced Robin’s Wish, about the final years of Robin Williams.
In this episode, we explore how popular culture and healthcare meet—how film, media, and storytelling shape the way we see end-of-life, grief, loss, and caregiving—and we’ll hear Shoshana’s story of caring for her father through cancer. From documentaries to news headlines, including EndWell’s part in consulting on HBO’s Emmy winning drama The Pitt, these cultural moments guide how we talk about death, support those we love, and face our own final chapters.
TRANSCRIPT with resources
Rosanne Corcoran hosts Daughterhood the Podcast, conversations for adult children caring for aging parents, from dementia and caregiving to finances, end-of-life planning, and grief. More at https://daughterhood.org
Daughterhood The Podcast: For Caregivers
Daughterhood the Podcast is hosted by Rosanne Corcoran, whose caregiving journey began with the dementia diagnosis of her fiercely independent mother. That diagnosis opened the door to 12 years of sandwich caregiving, caring for aging parents while raising children.
Rosanne brings her authentic voice to each conversation and talks with experts in all fields about the challenges caregivers face when caring for their aging parents. Each episode offers practical guidance and honest conversation on dementia, caregiver support, financial and legal planning, end-of-life decisions, and grief. Whether you're just noticing changes in a parent or deep in the caregiving years, you're not doing this alone.
As Rosanne knows firsthand, caregiving is filled with uphill climbs, stress, and grief, all while trying to do the best you can every day. Join her in Daughterhood.
Rosanne cared for her mother over a 12-year span, from supportive caregiver to in-home, sandwich caregiver for her mother’s final 6 years.
After experiencing first-hand the stress and isolation caregiving brings along with the lack of meaningful resources for caregivers, Rosanne created Daughterhood The Podcast: For Caregivers.
In each monthly podcast, Rosanne carries her experience as a primary in-home caregiver and Daughterhood Circle Leader into each interview. Along with strategies and resources, this podcast also provides listeners with the comfort of knowing they are not facing these challenges alone.
The podcast’s subject matter has ranged from practical advice like dealing with dementia behaviors, to siblings and caregiving, to end of life issues, grief and everything in between. Guests have included physicians, best-selling authors, dementia experts, caregiving advocates and thought leaders.
Rosanne has been featured in CNN Health, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Barron’s, Next Avenue and others. She is also a proud member of AlzAuthors.
Next Avenue named her one of their Influencers on Aging 2024 and Agingcare.com named Daughterhood the Podcast: For Caregivers #1 in their list of Essential Caregiver Podcasts. Rosanne also facilitates multiple Daughterhood Circles monthly.