Podcast
Exit Strategy
Hosted by Stephanie Garry, Executive Vice President, Plaza Jewish Community Chapel · EN
What’s one thing we’re all good at? How about not talking — or even thinking — about end-of-life issues.
29episodes
Episodes
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At the Gate: Talking about Life’s Estimated Time of Departure
Feb 1100:22:49Tap to summarizeIn this heartfelt and thought-provoking conversation, Exit Strategy host Stephanie Garry sits down with author and academic Dr. Willy Donaldson to explore his memoir Estimated Time of Departure. Donaldson shares his personal journey navigating conversations with his aging parents about their wishes, fears, and life stories — conversations many of us avoid until it’s too late. https://cnu.edu/faculty/williamdonaldson.html Plaza Jewish Community Chapel 25th Anniversary events: Plaza Jewish Community Chapel 25th Anniversary events: www.plazajewishcommunitychapel.org/25th-anniversary Contact Exit Strategy: exitstrategy@plazajewish.org The post At the Gate: Talking about Life’s Estimated Time of Departure appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
Transcribe →Bearing Witness: Mary Lou Falcone on Love, Loss, and Legacy
Jan 1200:36:18Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Exit Strategy, host Stephanie Garry speaks with Mary Lou Falcone about her powerful book and companion documentary exploring love, caregiving, and loss at the end of life. In I Didn’t See It Coming, Mary Lou shares the personal journey that led her to document an intimate end-of-life experience, and how storytelling became an act of devotion, witness, and remembrance. Together, they reflect on the complexities of caregiving, the courage it takes to make private grief public, and the ways stories preserve legacy long after death. This conversation invites listeners to consider what remains after loss—and how meaning is shaped through presence, memory, and love. More about Mary Lou Falcone https://maryloufalcone.com/about/ Plaza Jewish Community Chapel: www.plazajewishcommunitychapel.org Plaza Jewish Community Chapel 25th Anniversary events: www.plazajewishcommunitychapel.org/25th-anniversary Contact Exit Strategy: exitstrategy@plazajewish.org The post Bearing Witness: Mary Lou Falcone on Love, Loss, and Legacy appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
Transcribe →The Intersection of Grief and AI
Dec 1700:24:32Tap to summarizeAs Exit Strategy closes out 2025, we dedicate these episodes to the memory of our producer, Glenn Rosenkrantz, with gratitude for his creativity, care, and partnership. In this episode, we confront a question that once belonged to science fiction: What if the dead could still speak to us? Albert Han of the Thomson Reuters Foundation joins Exit Strategy host Stephanie Garry to explore how artificial intelligence is entering the most intimate spaces of grief. Together, they examine the emotional, ethical, and spiritual implications of creating AI avatars that allow loved ones to remain “alive” — present, responsive, and ongoing — long after death. What does this mean for mourning, memory, and our ability to let go? More about Albert Han: https://www.context.news/profile/albert-han Plaza Jewish Community Chapel: www.plazajewishcommunitychapel.org Plaza Jewish Community Chapel 25th Anniversary events: www.plazajewishcommunitychapel.org/25th-anniversary Contact Exit Strategy: exitstrategy@plazajewish.org The post The Intersection of Grief and AI appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
Transcribe →Reaching for Legacy
Dec 300:15:09Tap to summarizeHow far would you go to create a long lasting legacy keeping your presence alive in impact and spirit? The reach for remembrance takes many forms, and is the focus of a compelling new film — Forever Endeavor — capturing how legacy is embraced across the spectrum of human experience … from the unimaginable to the relatable. Filmmaker Mary Anne Rothberg of Provenance Productions speaks with Exit Strategy host Stephanie Garry about the genesis and journey of the film, screened earlier this year as part of Plaza Jewish Community Chapel’s 25th anniversary year programming in partnership with the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. Forever Endeavor trailer: https://provenanceproductionsnyc.com/forever-endeavor/ More about Mary Anne Rothberg: https://provenanceproductionsnyc.com/about/ Plaza Jewish Community Chapel: www.plazajewishcommunitychapel.org Plaza Jewish Community Chapel 25th Anniversary events: www.plazajewishcommunitychapel.org/25th-anniversary Contact Exit Strategy: exitstrategy@plazajewish.org Forever Endeavor will be screened virtually as part of AARP’s Movies for Grownups program on February 3 at 8 pm ET: https://watch.aarp.org/aarpmfg/play/692fc000cd57fbbcd66ef1df The post Reaching for Legacy appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
Transcribe →Exit Strategy Live! The Joy of Funerals
Nov 600:27:05Tap to summarizeFunerals are singular moments to collectively honor and mourn our dead — but with room to practice our relationship to life and mortality … and with ourselves and others … in any which way. At Exit Strategy’s first-ever taping before a live audience at Plaza Jewish Community Chapel, host Stephanie Garry interviews Alix Strauss, author of the groundbreaking book, The Joy of Funerals, and a renowned trends, culture and lifestyle journalist who has appeared in The New York Times and other prominent publications. The event includes a Q&A and a reading from the book. More about Alix Strauss and The Joy of Funerals: www.alixstrauss.com Plaza Jewish Community Chapel: www.plazajewishcommunitychapel.org Plaza Jewish Community Chapel 25th Anniversary events: www.plazajewishcommunitychapel.org/25th-anniversary Contact Exit Strategy: exitstrategy@plazajewish.org The post Exit Strategy Live! The Joy of Funerals appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
Transcribe →From Deep Grief, a Mission: Supporting Families Facing Infant Loss
Oct 300:31:11Tap to summarizeKimberly Novod’s world changed suddenly, unexpectedly and dramatically. Her son Saul arrived prematurely and died after 20 days in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Louisiana. From her deep grief grew a driving purpose … to cement a legacy for her son by founding Saul’s Light, an organization making immense impact by elevating awareness of prematurity and perinatal loss — and adjacent issues — and providing resources and support for families who find themselves in the practical and emotional uncertainty of NICUs. Kimberly speaks with Exit Strategy host Stephanie Garry to mark Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month in October. Kimberly will be a featured speaker at “Grieving the Unseen: Care, Ritual, and Response to Perinatal Loss,” a virtual program co-presented by Plaza Jewish Community Chapel on Monday, October 27 at 10 am ET. For more information and to register: www.plazajewishcommunitychapel.org/bereavement-conferences/grieving-the-unseen-care-ritual-and-response-to-perinatal-loss Saul’s Light: www.saulslight.org Plaza Jewish Community Chapel: www.plazajewishcommunitychapel.org Plaza Jewish Community Chapel 25th Anniversary events: www.plazajewishcommunitychapel.org/25th-anniversary Contact Exit Strategy: exitstrategy@plazajewish.org The post From Deep Grief, a Mission: Supporting Families Facing Infant Loss appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
Transcribe →A Film Director Explores Mortality, Grief … and Possibility
Sep 2500:16:11Tap to summarizeAn oracle says you have three days to live. What choices do you make? What peace do you seek with others? How do you process grief for yourself and your aspirations? A provocative, award-winning new film — 3 — explores this scenario within an ultimately uplifting love story. Exit Strategy host Stephanie Garry speaks with the film’s director, Peter Ney, in advance of its screening at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan at 7 pm on September 30 — part of a film series on end-of-life issues presented in partnership with Plaza Jewish Community Chapel during its 25th anniversary year. More about “3”: www.3themovie.com More about the Sept. 30th screening: www.jccfilm.eventive.org/schedule/688a546b37679b9bfe218722 More about Plaza Jewish Community Chapel: www.plazajewishcommunitychapel.org More about Plaza Jewish Community Chapel 25th Anniversary events: www.plazajewishcommunitychapel.org/25th-anniversary Contact Exit Strategy: exitstrategy@plazajewish.org The post A Film Director Explores Mortality, Grief … and Possibility appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
Transcribe →Moving Through the Loss
Sep 1600:29:06Tap to summarizeIn her award-winning new book — Fifty-seven Fridays: Losing our Daughter, Finding our Way — Myra Sack writes about losing her young daughter, Havi, to Tay-Sachs disease and discovering essential truths about love and joy … ritual and community … born from wrenching grief. Myra joins Exit Strategy host Stephanie Garry in a conversation of raw honesty, with points of connection for all of us. In partnership with the Jewish Book Council. More about Myra Sack: www.emotion-mc.org/our-team More about Fifty-seven Fridays: Losing our Daughter, Finding our Way (book): https://www.amazon.com/Fifty-seven-Fridays-Losing-Daughter-Finding/dp/1958972258 More about E-Motion: www.emotion-mc.org More about Plaza Jewish Community Chapel: www.plazajewishcommunitychapel.org Contact Exit Strategy: exitstrategy@plazajewish.org The post Moving Through the Loss appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
Transcribe →The Power of Forgiveness
Sep 100:20:43Tap to summarizeForgiveness is a powerful tool to preserve our emotional and physical selves, and also to redefine our relationships not only with the living … but also the dead. Gayle Kirschenbaum is a creative whose journey through a treacherous relationship with her mother brought her to an intentional place of forgiveness and peace. As a filmmaker, book author, photographer, social media influencer — and forgiveness coach — she reveals her own path, inspiring others to embrace forgiveness as an act of self-care and possibility. In this episode of Exit Strategy, Gayle discusses the power of forgiveness with our host, Stephanie Garry. More about Gayle Kirschenbaum: www.gaylekirschenbaum.com More about Plaza Jewish Community Chapel: www.plazajewishcommunitychapel.org Contact Exit Strategy: exitstrategy@plazajewish.org The post The Power of Forgiveness appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
Transcribe →Journeying Through Grief
Aug 12, 202500:26:45Tap to summarizeGrief often leads us into unmarked emotional territory. Navigating it mindfully can ensure a journey of perspective, growth and healing. After the death of her mother, Barri Leiner Grant committed herself to learning about the grief process and to educating others about it. She is a certified grief coach, and the Founder and Chief Grief Officer of The Memory Circle, elevating this realm of conversation and support. Along with Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry, Barri discusses her own path and the value of intention, creativity and self-care to what is a universal journey after loss. More about Barri Leiner Grant and The Memory Circle: www.thememorycircle.com More about Plaza Jewish Community Chapel: www.plazajewishcommunitychapel.org Contact Exit Strategy: exitstrategy@plazajewish.org The post Journeying Through Grief appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
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