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It’s Okay, We’re All Gonna Die with Nurse Julie

Bad news: we’re all going to die. Good news: it might be the best motivation you’ll ever have.

In It’s Okay, We’re All Gonna Die, Hospice Nurse Julie brings her honest, compassionate, and surprisingly funny perspective from years at the bedside of people at the end of life. Through conversations with guests and real questions from listeners, Julie opens up the discussion most people avoid: death.

But this podcast isn’t about being morbid. It’s about getting real. Because when you understand how life ends, you start to see more clearly how to live: love your people, stop sweating the small stuff, and focus on what actually matters.

If we’re all going to die anyway, let’s learn how to really live first.

Latest Episodes:

Can We Still Hear from the People We’ve Lost? with AJ Barrera Nov 10, 2026

Show notes

What would you do if someone you lost suddenly had a message for you?

That’s exactly what happened when psychic medium AJ Barrera sat down with Nurse Julie, and no one was ready for it. AJ’s story starts with a deck of tarot cards in high school, a teacher who told him he could talk to the dead, and a late-night radio show that made him a working medium at just 19.

Then AJ does a live reading, and things get real. He delivers a touching message from Julie’s grandmother to Julie and her mom. He may even have reached Julie’s best friend, who she lost suddenly years ago, and somehow her message leads back to Coyote Ugly. And when AJ turns to producer Brett, the messages he passes along from family members he’s lost leave Brett completely speechless.

AJ also answers the questions you’ve always wondered about. Does the spirit world sleep? Has he ever actually seen the afterlife? Can he channel a victim and their killer at the same time? And why do some of our loved ones stay silent for what seems like forever?

Whether you’re a believer or a skeptic, AJ’s message for anyone who’s grieving is one you’ll want to hear: even when you can’t feel them, your loved ones are still with you.

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Life Happens… Feel It, Don't Bury It with Barb and Michelle Nov 03, 2026

Show notes

What if the feelings you’ve been pushing down for years only needed 90 seconds to pass?

Barb Schmidt and her daughter, Michelle Maros, hosts of the podcast Life Happens, join Nurse Julie to talk about how to actually feel our feelings. Barb discovered meditation during her own recovery, and after a childhood surrounded by death, it became the foundation for the work she and Michelle share today.

Barb and Michelle share easy ways to care for yourself during stressful times, why BS self-care routines can actually stress us out more, and how to know when to stop pushing through. They also open up about why we’re so ashamed of our emotions, how long feelings truly biologically last in our bodies, and the simple ways to process and work through that complicated mess we all sometimes feel inside.

And as they talk about kindness, regret, and learning to just be, they remind us that one of the most important relationships we’ll ever have is the one with ourselves.

If you’re a caregiver, burned out, or just running on empty, this one’s for you.

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Grief Illiterate: What No One Tells You About Losing Someone with Gina Moffa Oct 27, 2026

Show notes

Is it awful to feel relieved when someone you love dies? And what if the person you lost was a terrible parent, but everyone expects you to mourn them like they were wonderful?

Licensed grief and trauma therapist Gina Moffa joins Nurse Julie to talk about the parts of grief no one wants to say out loud. Gina has spent her career helping people through the “after.” But when her own mom was dying, she found herself navigating the “during” for the first time, an experience that reshaped the way she understands and counsels grief.

Gina explains why we’re a grief illiterate society, and why the things we say to grieving people often hurt more than they help. She also opens up about the guilt that comes with relief, why you may have already grieved someone who hurt you long before they died, and why putting the dead on a pedestal is sometimes an injustice to the truth.

And as Gina and Julie unpack the messy, complicated feelings that come with loss, they answer the question so many grieving people quietly ask: if I’m having a good day, am I betraying the person I lost?

For more on Gina Moffa and her practice, check out: https://www.ginamoffa.com

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Dying for Sex: The Story That Changed Everything with Nikki Boyer Oct 20, 2026

Show notes

What happens when your best friend’s story takes over the world, but you’re still figuring out how to live without her?

Nikki Boyer, co-creator of Dying for Sex, joins Nurse Julie to share the story of Molly Kochan, her best friend who, after a terminal cancer diagnosis, decided to live by her own rules. Their podcast about Molly’s sexual adventures and search for connection became a hit TV series, but keeping Molly’s story alive also made it harder for Nikki to grieve her.

Nikki shares the wild, hilarious, and sometimes jaw-dropping moments they experienced together, including the unforgettable sexual adventures Molly pursued while dying and the strange things Molly said and experienced in the hospital that made Nikki question what lies beyond this life. She also opens up about why it took five years to truly face losing her best friend, what Molly’s death taught her about her own, and the one lesson from Molly that forever changed how she lives.

And as Nikki and Julie unpack Molly’s unforgettable story, they explore the big question Molly left behind: what if facing death is exactly what teaches us how to live?

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Do the Dead Remember Dying? with Chloe Mediumship Oct 13, 2026

Show notes

You’ve probably imagined your last moments. But have you ever wondered what you’ll actually remember?

Nurse Julie sits down with Chloe Mediumship, psychic medium and host of We Talk to the Dead, to talk about death, the afterlife, and what might be waiting for us when our time here is up. Chloe shares why she believes passing away is “always a reunion,” and why seeing our loved ones again might feel like no time has passed at all.

Julie and Chloe also tackle the questions we’ve all wondered about: Do we get a life review? Do our loved ones know we’re still here missing them? And will Grandma look like Grandma, or show up in her 25-year-old glory days?

Then things get a little weird, in the best possible way. Chloe shares what it’s like to connect with spirits, whether they ever interrupt at the worst possible moment (yes, those moments), and the question Julie simply cannot let go: Is there a Starbucks in heaven? Because eternity is a long time, and some of us are going to need a latte.

Whether you’ve lost someone you wish you could see again or you’re just trying to figure out what happens when we die, this conversation might leave you with a little less fear, a lot more curiosity, and a few new questions for the other side.

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They May Not Understand. But They Still Feel. with Adria Thompson Oct 06, 2026

Show notes

What if your loved one with dementia doesn’t understand what you’re saying… but still understands how you make them feel?

This week Julie sits down with dementia educator and speech-language pathologist, Adria Thompson, to talk about what happens when communication starts to disappear. What do you do when someone asks the same question over and over, insists they want to “go home,” or suddenly refuses things they used to do without a second thought?

Adria explains why these behaviors may actually be communication, and why the answer isn’t always to explain, correct, or convince. Sometimes “You’re safe” can do more than another five-minute explanation. And sometimes the goal isn’t getting someone to understand your reality, but helping them feel safe in theirs.

Julie and Adria also talk about the changes that come with progressing dementia, including sensory changes, difficult personal care, and losing the desire to eat. They tackle some of the hardest decisions families face and why, sometimes, the right care can actually give someone a better quality of life.

Dementia may change how someone communicates, but it doesn’t mean they’ve stopped feeling, loving, or connecting.

Resources:

Alzheimer’s Association: https://www.alz.org/

A national resource for dementia education, caregiver support, local services, research, and its 24/7 Helpline.

The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD): https://www.theaftd.org/

Provides information, support, and resources specifically for individuals and families affected by frontotemporal degeneration (FTD).

Hilarity for Charity (HFC): https://wearehfc.org/

Provides education, support, and resources for families impacted by Alzheimer’s and other dementias, including caregiver respite grants.

National Council of Dementia Minds: https://dementiaminds.org/

A nonprofit led by and for people living with dementia

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He Was Dead for 47 Minutes… Then He Came Back with Vinney Tolman Sep 29, 2026

Show notes

What would you think if you actually died… and then came back?

Vinney Tolman was a healthy 25-year-old when he stumbled through a Dairy Queen door, made it to the bathroom, and died. He was officially dead for 47 minutes. Once a huge skeptic of the metaphysical, Vinney sits down with Julie to share what he says he experienced on the other side, and how it changed everything he thought he knew about death.

Julie and Vinney get into the moments that still blow his mind: floating above his own body, suddenly becoming free from years of pain, meeting his guide Drake, and experiencing a life review that changed how he sees the smallest moments.

But then came the part Vinney never expected: waking up. Julie gets into what happened during those three days, one of the biggest reasons he wanted to return, and how he became known as “The Miracle Boy.” And now that Vinney helps people cross over, Julie asks the question most of us would want answered: Does he ever envy the people who get to stay on the other side?

Whether you believe in an afterlife or not, this conversation with Julie and Vinney may make you look at your own life very differently.

Links to Vinney’s book and Non-Profit:

Book: Light After Death: My Journey To Heaven and Back: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BD3YV9M5

Non-Profit: Living God’s Light: https://www.LivingGodsLight.org

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Part 2: How Well Do You REALLY Know Nurse Julie? | Ask Me Anything Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

You’ve watched Nurse Julie talk about death, dying, and everything in between. But how well do you REALLY know the woman behind the scrubs?

In the second part of this 2-part Ask Me Anything, we hear the answers to the questions that are truly about Julie. What does she do when the cameras are off? What show did she recently watch and love? How fundamental is sobriety to her? And the question everyone wants answered: Is Julie really as nice as she seems?

Then things get deeper. Julie reveals what helps her handle the emotional weight of hospice, shares the story of a patient she still thinks about almost every day, and tells us what her coworkers would really say about her.

And when it comes to hospice, Julie gets honest. What can she absolutely not stand about the job? What does she wish she could change? And why, despite all of it, would she never trade hospice for another profession? Plus, Julie breaks down hospice vs. palliative care and what families need to know.

You asked. Julie answered. And she held nothing back.

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Part 1: How Well Do You REALLY Know Nurse Julie? | Ask Me Anything Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

Think you know Nurse Julie? Think again.

You’ve heard Julie answer questions about death and dying. But what happens when she’s the one in the hot seat?

In Part One of this two-part “Ask Me Anything,” Gaby and Brett put Julie on the spot with questions from friends, followers, and each other. Has hospice changed what she believes about what comes after death? What does she think the meaning of life is? And what does she tell people struggling with death anxiety?

Julie also tackles terminal delirium, family drama at the end of life, caregiver burnout, and knowing when it’s time to ask for help.

Then things get personal: Does Julie have a dream job? What’s the deal with her 1,000+ member book club? Has she binge-watched any shows lately? AND what do her coworkers REALLY think of her?

You asked. Julie answered. And some of these answers might surprise you.

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Do Our Pets Know Something We Don’t? with Susan Allen Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

Description:

What if your dog or cat knows something about death that you don’t?

Susan Allen has experienced what she believes is the spirit world since she was two, when she saw a “beautiful lady” no one else in her family could see. Today, she’s a medium, animal intuitive, and healer who believes there’s no real separation between this life and the next, and that animals may be able to tap into it, too.

This week, Nurse Julie goes deep with Susan on what she believes happens after we die: What happens during the first 49 days? Do our loved ones stay connected to us? Can we reincarnate? What happens to people who’ve done terrible things? And most importantly… what do our pets know that we don’t?

Susan also shares how she believes her deceased mother saved her life, a wild reading involving a former Army soldier and Susan’s father, and the strangest spirit encounter she’s ever had. They also explore whether certain places like old hotels attract spiritual activity, whether you can actually turn the spirit “channel” off, and what a lot of the dead really want us to forget.

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