A Brief History of the Afterlife

8: The Aztec Afterlife

This episode explores the Aztec conception of the afterlife. We give a brief overview of the Aztec people and then dive directly into their conception of the hereafter, which involves several unique possibilities that are contingent upon the method of death an individual has undergone. This episode was originally recorded in April 2026 as part of The End of the World with Michael and Stu.

7: The Ancient Greek Afterlife

This episodes chronicles the Ancient Greek conception of the afterlife, going into Hades and some of that region's most famous denizens. This episode was recorded in April 2026 as part of The End of the World with Michael and Stu [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-end-of-the-world-with-michael-and-stu/id1729431156].

6: The Zoroastrian Afterlife

This episode discusses the Zoroastrian conception of the afterlife, giving a brief overview of the history of the religion and its origins before delving into the specifics it envisions for the world to come. This episode originally aired in April 2026 as part of The End of the World with Michael and Stu [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-end-of-the-world-with-michael-and-stu/id1729431156].

5: The Early Vedic Religion and the Afterlife

This episode looks at the ancient Vedic Religion, the ancestor of modern Hinduism which developed in northwestern India in the second millennium BCE. We talk about its concept of reincarnation, which takes place in other worlds rather than in this one, and the different factors that might influence into which world one is reborn. We also discuss the various hypotheses about the origins of the Vedic Religion, including its connection to the mysterious Indus Valley Civilization, whose writing remains undeciphered. This episode was originally recorded in August of 2025 for The End of the World with Michael and Stu [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-end-of-the-world-with-michael-and-stu/id1729431156].

4: Ancient Egyptian Afterlife

This episode takes on the Ancient Egyptian conception of the afterlife; while the burial practices of the Egyptians are well-known to many of us from school, what they believed happened after mummification is less well-understood. Here we discuss mummification, the pyramid texts, and the mysterious Field of Reeds. We also draw comparisons between the classless afterlife of Mesopotamia and the more stratified vision of the Egyptians, as well as noting that, for perhaps the first time, in this mythology the afterlife is envisioned as a potential paradise. This episode was originally recorded in August 2025 as part of The End of the World with Michael and Stu [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-end-of-the-world-with-michael-and-stu/id1729431156].