Ryan Breegle
The premise of the podcast My Fantasy Funeral can be summed up by the prompt that host Ryan Breegle provides at the top of each episode: “Imagine you are dead.”
First, Breegle asks each episode’s guest to curate a playlist of five songs for their funeral, and also to decide who, living or dead, would read the eulogy. He also wants his guest to decide whether they’d be buried, cremated or buried at sea à la a Viking funeral — or whatever other weird way they’d like to be interred. No matter their answers, all Breegle’s guests have one very obvious thing in common.
“They actually have no experience fully dying,” Breegle says. “They might have had a near-death experience, but they’re all giving me this list [of songs] and talking about the things in their life that have shaped their thoughts about the afterlife, or about how they’ve lived up until now.”
My Fantasy Funeral may seem a bit macabre — some might wonder why in the hell anyone would want to think that much about their own demise. But the more you listen, the more you realize it’s a show about life. In fact, when Breegle came up with the idea for the podcast, which is now a part of the local podcast network We Own This Town, death wasn’t involved at all. He just knew he wanted to to talk to creative Nashvillians about the things that shaped their lives — the music, books, art and people that made them who they are.
“Immediately I thought, ‘This is twisted and way too dark and morbid, and this is probably not a great idea,’ ” Breegle says. “I ran it past [Michael Eades], who runs the We Own This Town podcast network, and he liked it immediately. So I figured why not try it out.”
The guests on Breegle’s podcast run the gamut. There are people from the food world, like Sarah Souther, owner of The Bang Candy Company, and Nathanael Mehrens, creator of Matchless Coffee Soda and co-founder of the Stay Golden coffee shops. There are musicians like solo performer and one-half of now-defunct comedy songwriting duo Birdcloud, Jasmin Kaset, as well as country singer Caitlin Rose, soul vocalist Kyshona Armstrong and pedal-steel player Spencer Cullum Jr. (who plays with Steelism and Miranda Lambert). There are visual artists like Julia Martin and Trevor Mikula, and the finale of the first season, which was released Oct. 28, features an interview with Mary Mancini, chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party.
Some guests take the questions Breegle asks ahead of time and add bits that he didn’t ask for — it’s one of his favorite parts of the show, the things people decide they want to tack on. Some add preludes to get in an extra piece or two (or more) of music, or talk about fantastical plans for their funeral.
“Spencer Cullum Jr., he chose for the eulogy to be like a game show, where his wife would ask questions and then people can win his belongings if they get the questions right, because it shows they knew him that well,” Breegle says. “That’s a really ingenious way to get rid of your stuff when you die.”
But not everyone is fully prepared to contemplate their would-be funeral.
“Some people just haven’t even considered any of it, and it’s really hard for them,” Breegle says. “Or when I ask them to be on the show, they’re confused at first and then they’re like, ‘OK, I’ll do this.’ Then when they really think about it and tell me later, they’re like, ‘Wow, that really took me on a trip. I did not expect to feel this way, because I hadn’t really ever thought about it.’ I don’t think it’s a bad thing to think about, personally.”
Part of what makes the interviews work so well is Breegle’s calm and enchanting demeanor — his voice alone is disarming, the kind of voice that might encourage a person to open up about a subject they might not otherwise be comfortable chatting about. There’s nothing demented or creepy about the way Breegle presents the subject matter. He’s also deferential to his subjects, never overtaking the podcast with his own voice.
“I have no trouble making it not about me,” Breegle says. “You know, there are times I think when I do agree, or I’m interjecting my own thoughts, but rarely. I want it to be about that person.”
Guests often tell Breegle that thinking through his questions helps them consider the way they want to live their life and how they want to be remembered. The interviews turn into discussions about how life isn’t just about power, success and money. He’s learned that most people want to be remembered for being generous, being kind and having a positive outlook.
“It’s a nice thing to be able to have some input into how we are remembered,” Breegle says. “I think the show gives people — guests and listeners — the chance to think about what that means for them, what their life will be leading up to their death.”
Check out the rest of the Pod Goals series about Versify, Cocaine & Rhinestones: The History of Country Music, Mirror Mirror, Something's Not Right, The Promise and Nashville Sounding Board
