What A Way To Go

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In their own words

Every week, your hosts Eleanor, Sarah & Clare take you through 3 stories of the weird ways people have met their maker.Share your suggestions with us on Twitter or Instagram, just search for @whatawaypod - the weirder the better!

As heard by us

Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026

Macabre histories become lively group comedy through researched storytelling, quick interruptions and the hosts' shared fascination with improbable disaster.

What A Way To Go turns grim and improbable histories into loose, companionable comedy. Claire, Sarah and Eleanor take turns bringing researched accounts of death and survival, while the others interrupt with questions, disbelief and personal associations.

Read our full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

A duel ends with an apology letter, and your sibling rivalry suddenly looks underprepared.

Press play if you want

  • to hear how a sword nick could settle a dispute, then reconsider your own grudges
  • the uneasy thrill of learning why a foul ball can be dangerous for spectators
Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Talks about

Best episodes of What A Way To Go

Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.

Phileas Fogg wasn't realJul 27, 2020

A pandemic Zoom recording sets up a loose, collegial baseball story about foul-ball injuries and deaths.

An in-pandemic Zoom recording opens the episode, and the hosts settle into a baseball story about fans injured or killed by foul balls. The back-and-forth stays loose, with banter, corrections, and a few side turns as they work through the material.

Assassinations AsideSep 9, 2019

Elvis gets the show’s relaxed, morbid treatment, with banter, corrections, and a few useful detours.

What A Way To Go keeps its celebrity special in Elvis Presley territory and stays in the show’s familiar lane: playful banter, a few speculative detours, and a loose conversational pace.

The Goldschläger YearsAug 26, 2019

Snake handling, venom laws, and a loose host dynamic keep this one moving.

What A Way To Go uses this one to dig into snake handling, venom laws, and the strange religious logic behind serpent-handling churches. The research carries the episode, but the real draw is the way the hosts talk over one another, catch each other's mistakes, and keep reacting…

Chernobyl BabyAug 12, 2019

A chatty sea-disaster story that keeps the human mess at the center.

The episode treats the Robertson family ordeal as a meditation on how much faith it can take to risk everything at sea. It draws on BBC and Guardian reporting, folds in the family background, and keeps returning to the detail that life savings went into a boat that sank.

Barrister's LobJul 28, 2019

Banter about heat and politics gives way to Helen Rudd's near-miss story.

What A Way To Go opens in a loose, bantering mood, with heat, Boris Johnson, and the usual studio gripe before it settles into Helen Rudd's near-miss story.

Podcasts like What A Way To Go

Episodes

  1. 1

    Phileas Fogg wasn't real

    Hidden gem

    The hosts jump on Zoom and immediately roll with the mess of recording from home.

    Jul 27, 2020·1h 14m·5 clips
  2. 2

    Assassinations Aside

    Hidden gem

    Episode 40 is the show’s celebrity special, and this time it’s Elvis Presley.

    Sep 9, 2019·1h 4m·4 clips
  3. 3

    The Goldschläger Years

    Hidden gem

    It starts loud.

    Aug 26, 2019·1h 10m·4 clips
  4. 4

    Chernobyl Baby

    Hidden gem

    The episode opens on a surprising amount of sock stress.

    Aug 12, 2019·59m·4 clips
  5. 5

    Barrister's Lob

    Hidden gem

    The hosts kick off with heatwave complaints, Boris Johnson, and the usual fair bit of swearing.

    Jul 28, 2019·1h 1m·4 clips
  6. 6

    Patriarchy Chicken

    Jul 15, 2019·1h 2m
  7. 7

    Busman's Holiday

    Jul 1, 2019·1h 6m
  8. 8

    Upside Down Smiley Face Pancake

    Jun 16, 2019·46m
  9. 9

    Meat Done Good

    Jun 3, 2019·59m
  10. 10

    Irrational Fear of Woks

    May 20, 2019·1h 10m
  11. 11

    Too Many Elephants

    Apr 22, 2019·1h 5m
  12. 12

    Ghost Fonz

    Apr 8, 2019·52m
  13. 13

    Pencil Emoji

    Mar 25, 2019·55m
  14. 14

    Seymour Johnson

    Mar 11, 2019·1h 2m
  15. 15

    Good Grief

    Feb 25, 2019·58m
  16. 16

    Good Boys Gone Bad

    Feb 10, 2019·58m
  17. 17

    New Year, Same Us

    Jan 21, 2019·53m
  18. 18

    Christmas Special

    Dec 24, 2018·33m
  19. 19

    Factually Incorrect

    Dec 9, 2018·1h 5m
  20. 20

    Funeral Pump

    Nov 26, 2018·55m
  21. 21

    Guess Who's Back?

    Nov 12, 2018·1h 10m
  22. 22

    Turn Me On, Dead Man

    Aug 20, 2018·1h 11m
  23. 23

    The Carousel of Intersectional Feminism

    Aug 12, 2018·1h 4m
  24. 24

    Collateral Damage

    Hosts discuss unusual deaths and bizarre stories with humorous banter about weather and personal anecdotes.

    Aug 6, 2018·1h 13m
  25. 25

    The Fore

    Jul 30, 2018·1h 6m
  26. 26

    Poison Everywhere

    Jul 22, 2018·59m
  27. 27

    Magic Isn't Real

    Jul 16, 2018·1h
  28. 28

    History Mysteries

    Jul 9, 2018·1h 3m
  29. 29

    Beard Pocket

    Jul 1, 2018·1h 1m
  30. 30

    What's Your Emergency?

    The hosts discuss unusual deaths and near misses, with a comedic tone, and in this episode they explore deaths caused by haunted house experiences.

    Jun 25, 2018·1h 13m
  31. 31

    Proportions like a T-Rex

    Jun 18, 2018·1h 7m
  32. 32

    Celebrity Special

    Jun 11, 2018·58m
  33. 33

    President Pac-Man

    Three hosts discuss unusual deaths and bizarre stories with humorous banter.

    Jun 4, 2018·1h 8m
  34. 34

    Evil Otto

    May 28, 2018·47m
  35. 35

    Nominative Determinism

    May 21, 2018·1h 9m
  36. 36

    A Humble Sea... Man

    May 14, 2018·54m
  37. 37

    Lady(bird) Killers

    May 6, 2018·58m
  38. 38

    Balloonfest '86

    Three hosts drink wine and share unusual death stories in a humorous roundtable format.

    Apr 30, 2018·44m
  39. 39

    Sweet Kiss

    Apr 23, 2018·51m
  40. 40

    Boozy Democrats

    Apr 15, 2018·47m
  41. 41

    Choreomania

    Apr 9, 2018·53m