This Giant Beast That is the Global Economy (2019) s01e06 Episode Script
The Death Episode
1
Death, it's the final
destination for all of us,
and it's a real money maker.
The average American funeral costs
between eight and 10,000 bucks.
That's a $20 billion
dollar a year industry,
and that's just for funerals.
There's also a huge
underground industry
made up of lawyers, corporations,
government officials, and
some not so official people.
Hey, are you the hit man?
Who the fuck are you?
Who all get paid to put a
price tag on your toe tag.
They decide how much it's
worth to preserve your life,
to end it, or what it's
gonna take to pay off
your next of kin once
you're out of here.
So how much is my life worth?
How much should I
spend on a coffin?
And how much sex
should I be having
to maximise my return on dying.
These are just a few
of the questions
we're going to lay to rest.
Welcome to The Death Episode.
Whether you like it or not,
we're all connected by money.
I'm Kal Penn exploring
This Giant Beast That
Is The Global Economy.
First of all, don't worry,
I know a whole show
about the death economy
might make you a bit nervous.
Heck, I don't even like to think
about the possibility of me dying,
so let's have a safe word
just in case things
get uncomfortable.
How about puppies?
So how much is a life worth?
I could ask a million
people this question,
and get a million answers.
But I've decided to start
by asking a person
who's schooled in the
practise of ending lives.
- Hey, are you the hit man?
- Who the fuck are you?
I'm Kal.
All right.
I guess I don't need my seatbelt
if we're not going anywhere.
I mean, we I
I sorta wanted
- First of all, don't stutter.
- Yeah.
- Okay. All right.
- You nervous?
- I'm a little nervous.
- Okay, just relax.
- Okay.
- Okay?
- Yep.
- Okay.
So how do people find you
when they're looking for a hitman?
I'm not in the fucking
Yellow Pages, believe me.
Right, that's what
I'm saying, how
Okay, I was the fucking hitman
to go do something, okay?
Does the cost of the hit
change if people have kids?
If they live in an apartment
building instead of a house?
What are you, a fucking cop?
- Are you a cop?
- Yeah, I'm a fucking cop.
- I knew you were a cop.
- Yeah?
- Okay.
- Good, get the fuck out.
From the '80s through
the early 2000s,
Dominick Polifrone used to
hold meetings just like this
in out of the way parking
lots with desperate people
willing to pay big money
to have somebody whacked.
They thought Dominick
was a contract killer
ready to commit murder
on their behalf,
but he was actually an
undercover ATF agent.
His work was dangerous, but
it helped convict many people
looking to take human lives.
Including in 1986,
when he helped catch serial
killer and mob hitman,
Richard Kuklinski,
known as The Iceman
for his method of freezing
his victims after death.
Going undercover as a hitman
in order to nail a real hitman
was all just part of
the job for Dominick.
He's an expert on the
economics of extermination.
How does this actually work?
What you're trying to do is say,
"Hey, listen, I got this problem
that I got to take care of."
- Yeah.
- My wife is cheating on me,
or I met somebody, I got
to get rid of my wife.
- Okay.
- How do you want it done?
Do you want it clean? Do you want
it to look like an accident?
There's various options
So even, even with a hit,
you have like a menu of choices.
Menu?
That's how I'm
envisioning it, right?
- Kinda like you're
- A menu, well, I wanna know,
do you want it to look
like an accident?
Or do you want it to, you know,
you wanna make a statement?
Can you talk to me about
how much it will cost
to have somebody killed.
Well, the price isn't
written in stone.
Let's say you have two clients.
One is the CEO of a big company,
the other one is a carpenter.
How do you tell them how
much it's gonna cost.
I get a read and a feel
from that individual.
Okay.
Now, if you come from
a wealthy family,
I can tell you it's 10,000.
So let's say somebody's
a carpenter,
somebody's, you know, somebody's
working as a mechanic, so
Yeah, okay, it's five grand.
Having never known what it
costs to have somebody killed,
five grand seems low.
Look, if you're gonna do
a hit for made people
for organised crime,
it could go anywhere
from 10 grand or more.
Okay, tell me if this is right.
The price of a hit is
not like the price
of a slice of pizza.
It's not two or three dollars
depending on where you go.
It depends on who is
asking for the hit,
and how much you think they
can reasonably afford.
- That's correct.
- Okay.
Do people always pay in cash,
or can they transfer money?
Is it digital? Do you take Venmo?
Who do I look like,
a fucking bank?
Well, I wonder in terms of
You gonna give me a
credit card or what?
Do people try?
- No, cash.
- It's always cash.
You know, if you brought
me a credit card,
I'd have to kill you.
Okay, so what's the
value of a human life
in the hitman world?
Nothing.
It's nothing, interesting.
Life in that type of
business, you kidding me?
How much would it
cost for a hit on me?
I'd do it for nothing.
- Well, that's good to know.
- Hey, no problem.
In Dominick's world, the
price to end a life
is pretty much whatever
the market will bear.
Whoever wants the hit
has got to pay upfront.
But what happens if the equation
is the other way around?
Who decides the cost of death
after the dying's done?
If you happen to die, and
it's someone else's fault,
it could be classified
as a wrongful death,
and your next of kin
might get a big payday.
Exactly how much is decided
by guys like this.
Allen Hurkin-Torres is a
retired New York judge
who managed one of the largest
caseloads in all of the US
with more than 15,000 settlements.
But in his past life, Allen
also rocked the shit
out of some New York punk clubs
with his power pop
band, The Speedies.
Everybody always sees
you in a suit and tie.
- Huh.
- That that's who you are.
- But that's the band shot.
- Oh, dude.
And I'm gonna give
you a hint, stripes.
No way.
Allen now works as a
private mediator,
helping settle lawsuits before
they reach a courtroom,
and has secured more
than $2 billion worth
of successful settlements.
How do you want me to
cut these, by the way?
What does your heart tell you?
My heart tells me
All right, I got it.
Allen's life is a little
bit rock and roll,
little bit wrongful death,
and a whole lot of food.
Well, my job in the courthouse was
a little bit different
than most judges,
because my job was to get rid
of the cases by settlement.
Because essentially,
in Brooklyn we
probably had thousands of cases.
And what kinds of cases
did you work on?
Personal injury cases,
wrongful death cases,
so all I did was mediate
cases every single day.
Somebody asked me one day
how personal injury differed
from wrongful death.
I told them it is a
personal injury case,
except the injury is the worst
kind you can have, you're dead.
I think the death cases,
they pose whole different hurdles
about, you know, right and wrong,
and what we appreciate in society.
A wrongful death case
is very different
from a criminal case,
no one's going to jail.
Instead, justice is dispensed
as a financial transaction.
It's like how O.J. Simpson
wasn't convicted of murder,
but was found to be
responsible for two deaths.
The justice system told him
to fork over more
than $25 million.
Or when a man died from
injuries he suffered
after dodging a flying shrimp
at a Benihana restaurant
which required surgery.
His wife sued the restaurant,
claiming she was owed $10 million
for the loss of her husband.
Unfortunately for her, the
jury didn't see it that way.
Who typically sues who,
like, for a case?
Very often it's the husband
who's making more money.
And he's been killed,
and the wife is suing
for wrongful death,
saying she should be compensated.
How do you determine
the value of a life?
Well, the statutes vary
from state to state,
but with states like New York,
the damages are considered
just pecuniary.
So what is that?
What does that mean?
You're worth, what you're worth
as far as how much
money you generate,
you're viewed as an economic
engine that throws off money,
and very often, who
you're throwing
the money to, who
you're supporting.
But part of the problem
is with the way
that the death
statutes are made is
that basically the death of a
kid is not worth anything.
- Why?
- Kids or the elderly,
they're not economic engines,
they're not throwing off money,
they're not supporting anybody.
So the question is what's
the value of that child,
that value of that elderly person?
The answer is very, very little.
Wow, that seems crazy.
So the only component
that they really have is
pain and suffering for
that limited time
before the death and when
it was about to happen,
and pre-death terror.
So if you got a guy in the street,
and you heard him scream.
He said, "Oh, my God. The
car's barrelling down on me.
He's gonna hit me. This
is gonna hurt so much."
Pre-death terror.
So unless there's some pain and
suffering before the death,
they have a very limited value.
So why sue then?
Well, look, in death cases,
very often they're
missing somebody,
and the real problem is there's
nothing our system can do
to give them back their loved one.
Right.
Usually, they're coming in,
basically, for catharsis.
- So it's a therapy session.
- Oh, wow.
You talk to them and the
biggest problem they have
is putting a settlement
number on the case.
Because they feel that by
saying, "Yes, $400,000,"
that they put a number
on their loved one.
Okay.
The best way that I
try to do it is this,
I say, "Look, nothing will ever
bring your loved one back.
"However, the money can be
used for good purposes,
for your other child,
for college."
After they're done talking to
you, they sort of feel like
they've had their therapy
session and catharsis,
so you feel like
you did something.
If you were to have
to value yourself,
how would you go about doing that?
How would you run
your own numbers?
I'm a high wage earner,
so automatically
that's calculated in the mix.
I'm 55, so the question is
what's my work life expectancy
because there's pecuniary damages.
Lawyers, or judges,
we die at our desks.
Most lawyers work into 70s.
Put me up to 70, say.
Fifteen times the present income,
that's pretty much what I'm worth.
So, if Allen's time comes
in an untimely manner,
he'll have high value due
to his work as a judge
and a mediator.
Though I doubt his
time will come soon,
the man survived the
'80s as a drummer.
I guess it makes sense,
the law can't give
you your life back.
Maybe all it can to is give
your loved one some cash.
But I'd like to think
I'm worth more
than just my lost income.
How can I maximise
my return on dying?
I need my death to pay-off huge.
Are you assuming you're
going to die tragically?
Well, I'm kinda I'm
kinda dead set on it.
Okay, so, I'm assuming you
don't have any substantial income?
- You have guessed correctly.
- Can you just?
- Yes, sorry.
- Thank you.
Okay, well, other
than lost income,
there isn't a set price
for wrongful death.
It kinda depends on who
you are, how you died,
what poor family you leave behind?
You mean rich family, don't you?
- Ah, that depends on your story.
- Huh.
The average jury award
for wrongful death suits
is slightly over $2 million.
That'll work.
Even more if you have a
compelling and tragic tale.
- Like "Scarface"?
- More like "Steel Magnolias."
I've never seen that movie.
In 2001, a 22-year old
Mets prospect died
from a car defect before he
signed his big contract,
and that family was
afforded 131 million.
Woo hoo hoo.
Your death needs to be Oscar bait.
Like Michael Shannon
in that sex fish movie
or something like that?
You know what? Let's just
focus on what you're gonna
leave behind, shall we?
Are you married?
Well, my wife and I don't
like to put labels on it.
Well, juries do.
Marrying someone could add a
couple million to your value.
Another factor is that
some states award
for hedonic damages,
which means they could
financially compensate your widow
for losing the pleasure
of having sex with you.
She doesn't have to prove
the pleasure part, right?
No. Okay, do you have
any sort of community involvement,
you know, charity work?
- I volunteer
- Great.
My opinions online
about anthem kneeling.
Right.
I'm gonna be honest with you,
I'm starting to think
your death is sounding
a little less wrongful.
Why do you want it
to pay off so well?
Well, I've always wanted
to be wealthy, I mean
How exactly were you intending
on collecting the
money after you die?
Okay, clearly there are some
elements of this scenario
I haven't completely
thought through.
Maybe you could recommend a medium
or some other
interdimensional specialist,
perhaps the person that
gave you those magic balls?
Get out of my office.
- Do you validate parking?
- Not for you.
- But you do.
- I do for others.
Yes, my cousin drove me.
There is another way
to go at all of this.
Like instead of asking
what's the cost of
a wrongful death,
asking what's it worth
to prevent a death?
Governments and companies have
to ask that question all the time.
Mike Gatto is a personal
injury and malpractice lawyer.
When an action or lack of
action by the government
or company leads to
injury or death,
Mike's the man on the case.
So, why are we here?
Sometimes as little
as a safety sign,
very inexpensive, can save lives.
Yesterday, I took
depositions in a case
where two motorcyclists died
because the city failed
to alert motorcyclists that
a roundabout was raised.
They hit it and died.
Whoa.
Safe word, puppies.
So the cost of
something that simple
can have serious ramifications.
I would imagine whatever legal
actions you're pursuing
are far more than the cost
of a couple of street signs.
Many, many times over.
I mean, a street sign, what can
these things cost, 40 bucks?
In the wrongful death claims,
behind the scenes, was
there a calculation made
as to what the payout might be
from a corporation
or a government?
We absolutely believe that occurs.
We rarely find out about it,
but there are a couple
of historical cases
that provide us some perspective.
Many people know of Ford Pinto.
This was the early '70s.
They wanted to bring
the Pinto to market
at a low enough price,
and they wanted to
sell it for $1,999.
And somewhere along the way,
they realised the gas
tank was vulnerable
to explosion and fire.
- And the fix was $11.
- Whoa.
Ford made calculations
and estimates
about the value of human life
and injuries that would stem
from the dangerous gas tank,
and they chose to go forward
all for the sake of money.
So, in corporate
settings, is that common
that people are sitting
around a boardroom making
a calculation about
whether they should
pay out somebody's
death that will result
from something they're doing?
Sadly, I think yes.
We only learn of it
when there are lawsuits
and corporations are
forced to reveal it
or when there's some
whistle-blower.
But rarely are these
things discovered.
Are those boardroom
conversations part
of the normal process
of doing business,
coming up with those
calculations for any company?
I think it's kind of
prudent business.
The question is what do you do
with the information at the end.
Government agencies make
similar calculations using
a metric called the value of
a statistical life or V.S.L.
Using a mix of scientific
studies and market analysis,
different agencies decide
on their own VSLs.
Here's how VSLs are used.
In 2007, the Department
of Transportation
considered a rule
forcing automakers
to instal rear seatbelt
reminder systems in cars.
They estimated it would save
at least 44 lives each year.
But installing it would cost
the auto industry 325 million.
At a cost of 7.4 million per
life, that amount was higher
than the Department of
Transportation's VSL at the time.
So the safety precaution
wasn't installed.
Putting a price tag on death
incentivises companies
and government agencies
to be responsible.
But that price is
determined for us
by outside institutions like
judges, juries, and mediators.
But what if we could
set our own price?
Would we use the same cold, hard
logic as the professionals?
Have you ever asked what's
your life worth to you?
How much would you
charge to risk death?
Abrahan and Francisco make
that calculation everyday.
They harvest goose barnacles
from razor-sharp rocks
in the open waters of the Atlantic
off the country's northern coast.
It's a dangerous job that
claims lives and pays well
because those barnacles
are a delicacy
that are sold at a premium price.
Gourmet diners can pay
as much as 100 euros
or nearly 120 American
dollars per portion.
How often are there
injuries and deaths?
Is it common or?
Every year there are incidents.
Broken ribs, and unfortunately
people dying also.
Two years ago, a barnacle fisher
went down to the rocks on his own,
and when he turned up
several days later,
he was dead.
This looks crazy to me, right?
Even if the sea is calm,
you are always looking for
the worst places to go.
In order to get the
best barnacles.
Where is he putting
them when he gets them?
He puts them here inside
the t-shirt with a belt.
That's a lot to pay attention to.
My mum almost cried
when I told her
I was getting my barnacle licence.
"That's really dangerous."
Yeah. Oh, wow.
There's a little
panic in his voice.
This is crazy by our standards,
but how does this compare to
what you usually deal with?
- Today is a very, very good day.
- Okay.
The sea is calm, you
seldom find it like this.
- Would you like to try one?
- Sure.
You have to show me how to eat it.
- You just have to suck it.
- Just bite it off?
I like this when it's raw.
It's the consistency of boogers
with the taste of an
incredibly clean ocean.
I've never eaten a booger.
I mean neither have I?
Most people might not
quit their day job
to do something that
looks this dangerous.
I wonder what the incentives
are for these guys?
So what do you usually
get? What's an average?
About 500 Euros with conditions
today, yes about 500 Euros.
And then that's split
between you two?
- Each one. Each one.
- 500 each, holy shit.
So, like $600 for each of you.
So, talk to me about
what this place is.
You guys actually come here
before you go out on the boats?
Yes, many times when it's bad
and you can't go on a boat,
here there's a path down.
Oh, you go down this way?
How? It's a steep drop.
Yes, sometimes you can use a rope
for the most dangerous places.
A couple of years ago, one of our
co-workers was climbing
down the cliff,
and he fell between two rocks.
And they had to do a
rescue with a helicopter.
I mean it sounds like the
money's really good,
but it also sounds like
you're putting yourselves
in pretty serious danger.
Is that worth it?
There is an added value, which is
the passion you have for this.
This is an addiction. It's a drug.
- What do you love about it?
- The ocean.
- The ocean.
- Fishing.
Working for myself.
Yes. This
you have to feel it
to be able to explain it.
Just like certain
people have decided
that gooseneck barnacles are
a delicacy worthy of a high price,
Abrahan and Francisco have decided
the money they're paid is enough
for them to risk their lives.
Here's a look at the
invisible calculations
we all make everyday
from a totally different
vantage point.
Most people don't realise
how their decisions
place a value on their own life,
like taking a raise to
do a more dangerous job.
Roofers make $4,000 more than
other construction workers
because they're five
times more likely
to die at work, it's true.
And cut, everyone take five.
These choices reflect a
cost benefit analysis
of what we're willing to risk
to have a life worth living.
I mean the government, they
estimate how much money it costs
to prevent a death before
putting up street signs
or making people wear a hardhat.
So even if you don't do the maths,
you make intuitive calculations
about risk in your
life all the time.
Hold me.
I mean, no idiot would
play Russian roulette,
not even for a million dollars.
It's not worth the one
in six chance of dying,
so you should probably
shell out that $6
for a smoke detector to eliminate
the one-in-a-million chance that
you're gonna die in a fire.
Put these in my kid's
room please, thanks.
Take former 49ers linebacker
Chris Borland, for example.
He retired after playing
just one season in the NFL
to avoid potential brain injury.
He gave up a three-year,
$2.3 million contract
to eliminate that 40% risk.
To him, a brain that
can still do maths
is worth more than that money.
What's your brain worth, Randy?
Quick thinking there, pal.
But avoiding risk in
life isn't always easy.
I mean, no one is gonna
tackle you at a desk job,
but sitting in a chair
all day actually
doubles your chance of death
by increasing your risk
of diabetes, stroke,
cancer, and dementia.
So someone get this murder
machine away from me.
Of course, no one would want
to eliminate all danger.
I mean, staying in a bubble,
yeah, it might mean you value
your life at a billion dollars,
but you couldn't
pay me to do that.
Because eliminating risk
also means eliminating fun.
I'd have to give up headphones,
selfies, escalators,
hot dogs, hot water, Christmas
trees, and bed frames,
all known killers.
Falling out of bed kills one in
700,000 Americans every year.
That's more than terrorism.
But I'm not gonna put my
mattress on the floor
because I'm no longer 25.
I just look it.
Regardless of the
price you're willing
to pay to have a full life,
there is one bill that
always comes due.
When you die, you may
be technically gone,
but there's still a whole
financial system built
around what remains, as
in your literal remains.
And the Cemetery Church
of All Saints is one
of the earliest examples
of a corpse economy.
Wow, how many bones
are here and skulls?
Thousands of them.
About 100,000 long bones,
and about 60,000 skulls.
Filip Velimsky is an archaeologist
who works with the church.
According to him, the
monastery became
a 14th century sensation,
after a monk returned
with a jar of holy soil
from the site of
Christ's crucifixion,
and sprinkled it
over the cemetery.
It's a legend that made for
a powerful sales pitch.
When you're searching for
an eternal resting place,
it's all about location,
location, location.
This area was connected
with Jerusalem and Golgotha,
the holy places of Christianity.
And there were some
miracles in this area.
So, for Christians,
this was some special place
with some special sense.
Were they able to charge
what they wanted,
or was it a place
that was affordable?
They really must pay
quite a lot of money
to have a chance to be
buried here in this area.
Easy resurrection, that's
a deal at a steep price,
and that's what the monks charged.
But in the 14th century, the
Black Plague decimated Europe.
To make burial room for the
millions who perished,
many of the older bodies at
the cemetery were dug up,
and the bones repurposed
into the very unique decor
now adorning the church,
including a human bone chandelier.
You know, to spruce things up.
This place may look like
the predator's house,
but turning these bones
into Erector sets
helped keep the vacancy
sign lit for new arrivals.
It seems like the monks
who built this place
understood that anxieties
about what happened
to bodies and souls after
death are powerful
and difficult to cope with.
Like, maybe they knew
hundreds of years ago,
anything that helps people
deal with those feelings
can be sold, and at a high price.
There was no funeral
industry 200 years ago.
Back then, your family
dropped you into the ground
at a cemetery or in
the backyard, as is,
just like a beloved hamster.
But when Abraham Lincoln
was assassinated,
he became the first
president to be preserved
with an update of an ancient
technique now called embalming.
So many mourners witnessed
Lincoln's shiny preserved body
on its farewell tour, that
embalming went viral.
Undertakers capitalised
on the trend.
Mortuaries popped up
across the United States,
and funeral directors
started charging
for coffins, viewings,
and headstones.
Before long, post-mortem
makeovers became the norm.
And if you were a
political heavyweight
like Vladimir Lenin or Eva Peron,
it became an absolute must.
As for the common folk,
they soon realised
they were having
to buy their dead loved
ones back at a premium.
They weren't cheap,
but they were pretty.
While America might be in
the pocket of big funeral,
the death industry was
nearly unknown in Malaysia
until just 30 years ago.
Before then, the
Malaysian government
operated the cemeteries,
usually run-down with
unprofessional services.
Families had to
choose between that
or burying their loved
ones on their own land.
But Frank Choo's
father had a vision
to build a business
model around burial.
I understand that it's
a relatively new idea
in Malaysia that there's
a place that you can go
for funeral services.
Can you talk about how it started?
Well, we started probably
in the early 80s.
In Malaysia then, all cemeteries
belonged to government.
They actually designated
land for burial sites.
My late father thought,
"Let me see what happened
to the rest of the world."
And he would take us all
over the world for holidays.
And part of the itinerary
was to look at,
to visit cemeteries
or memorial parks.
And in the mid-80s, he decided,
"Okay, I want to bring
this back to Malaysia.
We have got all aspects from
mortuary with
professional embalming,
we have funeral halls, where
people can actually do the wake,
crematory, and finally
we've got parks.
Frank's family imported all these
Western style funeral options,
but his success is
built on offering
localised cultural premiums
and a personal touch.
This building is where we
house ancestral tablets.
And we actually offer
prayers by the monks
twice a month.
I'll take you to
where we store the
cremated remains.
There are also temples here,
catering to a mix of
Buddhism, Christianity,
Hinduism, and traditional
Chinese beliefs.
For Malaysia, this is a
whole new death economy
with price tags of up
to 40,000 ringgit,
or 10,000 US dollars.
No matter where you believe
that you'll travel to
in the afterlife, this
place is a port of entry.
Hi.
Wow.
This is where they're going
to put their photos.
- Okay.
- And the inscriptions.
And then the urns
are inside there?
Yeah, there will be urns,
and these are for couples.
Initially, people were
a bit still sceptical
and because most of those
people had never experienced
a good sendoff and what is a good
way to memorialise loved ones.
And now, after 30 years,
we have over one hundred memorial
parks in the country now.
- Wow.
- It popped up everywhere.
Frank's dad proved
that funeral services,
just like most
successful businesses,
can be tailored to specific
markets and people.
But just how specialised
will the death market get
in its quest to attract customers?
In Hamburg, Germany,
HSV football fans,
the US calls it soccer,
are total fanatics.
At this giant stadium,
rabid sports fans
don't just mourn the
loss of a game,
but also their loved ones,
because it's situated
right next door
to a cemetery tailored
to its unique fans.
Lars Rehder is the grounds keeper.
The entrance, it's a soccer goal
with the original measure.
- Oh, cool.
- Yeah.
People buried here
have the symbol of the club.
How much does it cost for
somebody to be buried here?
Yes, it's about 4,000 dollars
if you want a grave
like this behind.
There are twenty people
buried in one grave.
Oh, wow, okay.
And so it's a little bit cheaper.
- Yeah.
- Or, if you want
some grave with only two people
for a couple, costs
up to 15,000 dollars.
So, you said the big
plot, the big grave,
- 20 people are buried there?
- Yes.
- Is that a family?
- No, it's not a family.
They could be a fan club,
but they share the cost.
Is this where you wanna be buried?
- Yes.
- Yeah?
Yes. I think it's a
very nice place.
This cemetery gives new meaning
to the term die-hard fan.
Look, I'm a Yankee fan,
but I don't wanna get buried in
the Bronx next to Yankee Stadium,
which means I don't
love the Yankees
as much as I thought I did.
Yes, I understand. But I guess
the idea of tying death together
with something you
love makes sense.
After all, you can't
take it with you.
Or can you?
Everything in this shop
is meant to be taken
with you after you die.
If you need some cock
in the afterlife,
you can take that with you.
All of this is made
entirely of paper.
Aw, here's what's up.
It's all meant to be burned.
Part of the Taoist
religious belief
that you can send material
goods to your loved ones
in their afterlife if you
burn paper versions of them,
so death doesn't have to be dull.
It's an ancient Chinese ritual,
updated for the modern economy.
This is obviously the tightest
one, because it's old school.
It's "Marlbero."
This stuff is fine
if you want some
off-the-shelf accessories
for eternity,
but if you want the custom goods,
there's only one man to see.
Mr Is known as the king
of paper offerings.
I'm here to learn from the master
about the economy of shopping
for the recently departed.
Observing from the angle
of Chinese Taoism or Buddhism,
there's a belief that
"valuable things
must be passed down
generation to generation."
The idea is that when you burn
these paper offerings
in this life,
your beloved ones will receive
them in their afterlife.
When somebody burns a paper good
for their loved one
who's passed away,
is the idea symbolic
or is it literal?
These offerings target both
the living and the deceased.
For instance, a son
who has not yet
burnt a paper house
for his dead father,
won't be able to get any sleep
at night for months or years,
since he cannot help
wondering whether his father
has a house to live in over
there in the nether world.
So, can you give me an example
of what people would
ask you to make?
I remember one such case in
which the deceased person
turned out to be the head
of Mafia organisation.
For his funeral,
we were requested to
make many offerings
which resembled his henchmen,
holding either a gun
or a broadsword,
for the sake of showing
his power and authority.
So the mafia guy could take
all of his boys with him
into the afterlife.
Exactly.
Do people ever ask
for things that they haven't had?
Like, is it ever aspirational?
Yes, it is.
That is the true meaning
of paper offerings.
If the deceased person has
not ridden a Rolls-Royce
or a spacecraft when
they were alive,
their family would order paper
offerings resembling
these articles.
It's like fulfilling the
deceased person's dreams.
If you have a tough
financial situation,
is there still an
expectation that you buy
the paper goods for your
loved one for the ceremony?
Right. The worst case in
China mainland is that
in order to fund an
extravagant funeral,
the family of a deceased person
would borrow so much money
that they will have to work as
long as 8 or 10 years to repay it.
Wow, so now I see
what you're saying,
that's a huge burden on families.
That's why they sell the house.
So they'll sell their
house in order
to pay for the funeral expenses?
Correct.
Some people are willing to make
quite a sacrifice just
to make a sacrifice.
Since I'm not sure anyone
is going to shell out
big bucks for my afterlife needs,
I've asked Mr To make me
some of my favourite things,
so I can burn them in advance.
It can't hurt, right?
Oh, this is my dog.
So, she's still a
You got it right.
She's still alive,
and will be forever,
otherwise I would be a mess.
And I associate people
qualities to her,
obviously, because she's my dog,
so I shouldn't burn this, right?
It is not a taboo to burn
animal-shaped offerings.
Because they are just
animals, not human beings.
It's okay to burn the dog-shaped
offering before you
leave this world.
You will be reunited one day.
Oh, okay, so it does
work that way. Sweet.
Great, awesome.
So this is so that I have Wi-Fi.
- Mm.
- Do you have the password?
Figure it out by yourself.
All right.
Ah, tacos and beans.
These will fill you up, down
there in the netherworld.
Over and over again, I hope.
That's nice.
This is a tracksuit.
It looks quite nice on you.
And then for all of these four
things, what do I owe you?
It took us more than 3 days
to make all these things.
So, the total fee is $11,000 HKD.
So it's almost $2,000
which I will give you
on the way out, thank you.
I appreciate it.
I just paid $2,000
for paper mache.
That's a lot of money
to burn through,
like, literally set on fire.
People spend all kinds
of money on death,
and since none of us know for
sure what's on the other side,
it's hard to argue with any
amount someone wants to lay out.
Still, I wonder, are
the economic choices
we make around death based
in any kind of reason?
Why do we think we
need to use money
to say goodbye to our
loved ones anyway?
Caitlin Doughty makes
her living on death.
But for a mortician, she
has some radical views
on what drives the
funeral economy.
Just the idea that you've
got to take your loved one
to a funeral home and,
like, not be involved
in that process except for
showing up to the funeral,
that's, I just always
thought, well,
- that's just what you have to do.
- Yeah.
But legally, you don't even
have to do that, right?
No, part of what I do now
in sort of a public advocate sense
is tell people you
can be involved.
There are other options
for your funerals.
They could be less expensive.
They can be more meaningful.
And there are a tonne of things
that are safe and legal
for your dead bodies
that you may have no
idea are out there.
I think what's so interesting
about death around the world is
that we've really kind of
exported the worst parts
of American culture
around the world.
- Even in death?
- Even in death.
Okay.
The death we export is
capitalistic death.
It's saying that the more that
you buy for your loved one,
the more that you care about them.
And we really need
to do a better job
of divorcing those things.
Can you talk me through
just the basic sort of
what drew you to this career,
and what you love about it?
Absolutely, I have been
in the funeral industry
about 10 years, and I started
as a crematory operator.
I started as the
person in the back
with the big industrial
machines cremating the bodies.
The first thing I noticed is
that I was usually
the only one there.
There was no family.
It was just me cremating
Mum or Dad or your sister,
and that was shocking to me.
Why am I the only one here?
I came to understand over time
that it's really because our
society doesn't tell us
we're supposed to be involved
with death and with funerals.
That we're supposed to show up,
or that we even are
allowed to do that.
150 years ago, the
American way of death
was completely taken
care of by the family.
Someone dies in the house,
they're taken care
of in the house.
Your neighbour makes
the wooden casket.
You carry it on your
shoulders to the grave.
It's completely family
and community involved.
Turn of the 20th century,
you have these guys who
come in and are like,
oh, interesting, we can
make money doing this.
We can actually it's
more safe and sanitary
if we take your bodies,
and we take care of them
and you just pay us to do it.
And over the last 100 years,
we've all kind of been a little
brainwashed into thinking
that's what's the safe and
legal manner of doing this.
And that's just not true.
You don't have to
hand over the body
to a funeral director
to chemically preserve
and essentially sell back
to you as a product.
- Yeah.
- You can have a natural burial,
which is just a
simple wicker casket
or shroud in a shallow hole.
And you really can decompose
into the earth around it,
and grow into a tree
or grow into a shrub,
or a flower bush,
something lovely.
Okay, so this is a shroud.
This is a shroud. You
wanna try it out?
- Yeah, I do.
- You wanna lay back?
- Sure.
- Let the adventure begin.
All right.
We just bring the
side around like so.
I'll leave your head exposed.
This is like camping.
It is a little bit like
camping, you're right.
Okay, we're tying you in here.
Nobody tucks you in like this.
Hi, I'm your camp monitor,
hope you're enjoying
your time at Camp Death.
I'm telling you, I could pass
out for the night like this.
Wait till we put
it over your face.
We'll see how you feel about it.
- Okay, you ready for this?
- Yep.
- This is a big moment.
- Bye, guys.
If you can't breathe, you
have to let me know.
Oh, I'll let you know.
"Local Mortician Kills Man" is
not a headline that I want.
Well, I guess if I die,
we're all set, right?
But I mean there's nothing
left to do, you've done it.
You can just dig the hole.
Okay, you, my friend,
are shrouded.
How are you feeling?
Not bad.
You look good. You look gorgeous.
Yeah, thank you.
I get it. I mean, if
this is an option,
why would you wanna
be stuck in a box?
Grief can lead us to
some radical choices,
and a lot of them are
less than economical.
There's no arguing that
there's a booming economy
built around every side of death.
Mourning our dearly departed
loved ones will cost us.
Meanwhile, losing someone
to unexpected circumstances
could lead to crazy compensation.
And if I wanna take
out my enemies,
I now know that I'd
better bring cash.
Making the calculations
for these choices
can often be messy,
but spending money in
the death economy seems
to buy relief from the
existential dread
that arises with the knowledge
that death is coming
for all of us.
And now, puppies.
- Down mark.
- Get out of my office.
Do you validate parking by chance?
- Nope.
- Okay.
Have a good Easter.
Yep.
- Please leave.
- Thank you,
Do you know of any good attorneys?
I'll call the police.
Do you know Sting?
The worst joke.
Compensate your widow if she loses
the pleasure of your sex.
Would you like to have
the pleasure of my sex?
It sounds like a fucking
weird Victorian novel.
I have to say that
to my wife tonight.
I have to write it down, because
I'm gonna say that to my wife.
Would you like the pleasure
of my sex tonight?
Oh, shit.
Shit.
Death, it's the final
destination for all of us,
and it's a real money maker.
The average American funeral costs
between eight and 10,000 bucks.
That's a $20 billion
dollar a year industry,
and that's just for funerals.
There's also a huge
underground industry
made up of lawyers, corporations,
government officials, and
some not so official people.
Hey, are you the hit man?
Who the fuck are you?
Who all get paid to put a
price tag on your toe tag.
They decide how much it's
worth to preserve your life,
to end it, or what it's
gonna take to pay off
your next of kin once
you're out of here.
So how much is my life worth?
How much should I
spend on a coffin?
And how much sex
should I be having
to maximise my return on dying.
These are just a few
of the questions
we're going to lay to rest.
Welcome to The Death Episode.
Whether you like it or not,
we're all connected by money.
I'm Kal Penn exploring
This Giant Beast That
Is The Global Economy.
First of all, don't worry,
I know a whole show
about the death economy
might make you a bit nervous.
Heck, I don't even like to think
about the possibility of me dying,
so let's have a safe word
just in case things
get uncomfortable.
How about puppies?
So how much is a life worth?
I could ask a million
people this question,
and get a million answers.
But I've decided to start
by asking a person
who's schooled in the
practise of ending lives.
- Hey, are you the hit man?
- Who the fuck are you?
I'm Kal.
All right.
I guess I don't need my seatbelt
if we're not going anywhere.
I mean, we I
I sorta wanted
- First of all, don't stutter.
- Yeah.
- Okay. All right.
- You nervous?
- I'm a little nervous.
- Okay, just relax.
- Okay.
- Okay?
- Yep.
- Okay.
So how do people find you
when they're looking for a hitman?
I'm not in the fucking
Yellow Pages, believe me.
Right, that's what
I'm saying, how
Okay, I was the fucking hitman
to go do something, okay?
Does the cost of the hit
change if people have kids?
If they live in an apartment
building instead of a house?
What are you, a fucking cop?
- Are you a cop?
- Yeah, I'm a fucking cop.
- I knew you were a cop.
- Yeah?
- Okay.
- Good, get the fuck out.
From the '80s through
the early 2000s,
Dominick Polifrone used to
hold meetings just like this
in out of the way parking
lots with desperate people
willing to pay big money
to have somebody whacked.
They thought Dominick
was a contract killer
ready to commit murder
on their behalf,
but he was actually an
undercover ATF agent.
His work was dangerous, but
it helped convict many people
looking to take human lives.
Including in 1986,
when he helped catch serial
killer and mob hitman,
Richard Kuklinski,
known as The Iceman
for his method of freezing
his victims after death.
Going undercover as a hitman
in order to nail a real hitman
was all just part of
the job for Dominick.
He's an expert on the
economics of extermination.
How does this actually work?
What you're trying to do is say,
"Hey, listen, I got this problem
that I got to take care of."
- Yeah.
- My wife is cheating on me,
or I met somebody, I got
to get rid of my wife.
- Okay.
- How do you want it done?
Do you want it clean? Do you want
it to look like an accident?
There's various options
So even, even with a hit,
you have like a menu of choices.
Menu?
That's how I'm
envisioning it, right?
- Kinda like you're
- A menu, well, I wanna know,
do you want it to look
like an accident?
Or do you want it to, you know,
you wanna make a statement?
Can you talk to me about
how much it will cost
to have somebody killed.
Well, the price isn't
written in stone.
Let's say you have two clients.
One is the CEO of a big company,
the other one is a carpenter.
How do you tell them how
much it's gonna cost.
I get a read and a feel
from that individual.
Okay.
Now, if you come from
a wealthy family,
I can tell you it's 10,000.
So let's say somebody's
a carpenter,
somebody's, you know, somebody's
working as a mechanic, so
Yeah, okay, it's five grand.
Having never known what it
costs to have somebody killed,
five grand seems low.
Look, if you're gonna do
a hit for made people
for organised crime,
it could go anywhere
from 10 grand or more.
Okay, tell me if this is right.
The price of a hit is
not like the price
of a slice of pizza.
It's not two or three dollars
depending on where you go.
It depends on who is
asking for the hit,
and how much you think they
can reasonably afford.
- That's correct.
- Okay.
Do people always pay in cash,
or can they transfer money?
Is it digital? Do you take Venmo?
Who do I look like,
a fucking bank?
Well, I wonder in terms of
You gonna give me a
credit card or what?
Do people try?
- No, cash.
- It's always cash.
You know, if you brought
me a credit card,
I'd have to kill you.
Okay, so what's the
value of a human life
in the hitman world?
Nothing.
It's nothing, interesting.
Life in that type of
business, you kidding me?
How much would it
cost for a hit on me?
I'd do it for nothing.
- Well, that's good to know.
- Hey, no problem.
In Dominick's world, the
price to end a life
is pretty much whatever
the market will bear.
Whoever wants the hit
has got to pay upfront.
But what happens if the equation
is the other way around?
Who decides the cost of death
after the dying's done?
If you happen to die, and
it's someone else's fault,
it could be classified
as a wrongful death,
and your next of kin
might get a big payday.
Exactly how much is decided
by guys like this.
Allen Hurkin-Torres is a
retired New York judge
who managed one of the largest
caseloads in all of the US
with more than 15,000 settlements.
But in his past life, Allen
also rocked the shit
out of some New York punk clubs
with his power pop
band, The Speedies.
Everybody always sees
you in a suit and tie.
- Huh.
- That that's who you are.
- But that's the band shot.
- Oh, dude.
And I'm gonna give
you a hint, stripes.
No way.
Allen now works as a
private mediator,
helping settle lawsuits before
they reach a courtroom,
and has secured more
than $2 billion worth
of successful settlements.
How do you want me to
cut these, by the way?
What does your heart tell you?
My heart tells me
All right, I got it.
Allen's life is a little
bit rock and roll,
little bit wrongful death,
and a whole lot of food.
Well, my job in the courthouse was
a little bit different
than most judges,
because my job was to get rid
of the cases by settlement.
Because essentially,
in Brooklyn we
probably had thousands of cases.
And what kinds of cases
did you work on?
Personal injury cases,
wrongful death cases,
so all I did was mediate
cases every single day.
Somebody asked me one day
how personal injury differed
from wrongful death.
I told them it is a
personal injury case,
except the injury is the worst
kind you can have, you're dead.
I think the death cases,
they pose whole different hurdles
about, you know, right and wrong,
and what we appreciate in society.
A wrongful death case
is very different
from a criminal case,
no one's going to jail.
Instead, justice is dispensed
as a financial transaction.
It's like how O.J. Simpson
wasn't convicted of murder,
but was found to be
responsible for two deaths.
The justice system told him
to fork over more
than $25 million.
Or when a man died from
injuries he suffered
after dodging a flying shrimp
at a Benihana restaurant
which required surgery.
His wife sued the restaurant,
claiming she was owed $10 million
for the loss of her husband.
Unfortunately for her, the
jury didn't see it that way.
Who typically sues who,
like, for a case?
Very often it's the husband
who's making more money.
And he's been killed,
and the wife is suing
for wrongful death,
saying she should be compensated.
How do you determine
the value of a life?
Well, the statutes vary
from state to state,
but with states like New York,
the damages are considered
just pecuniary.
So what is that?
What does that mean?
You're worth, what you're worth
as far as how much
money you generate,
you're viewed as an economic
engine that throws off money,
and very often, who
you're throwing
the money to, who
you're supporting.
But part of the problem
is with the way
that the death
statutes are made is
that basically the death of a
kid is not worth anything.
- Why?
- Kids or the elderly,
they're not economic engines,
they're not throwing off money,
they're not supporting anybody.
So the question is what's
the value of that child,
that value of that elderly person?
The answer is very, very little.
Wow, that seems crazy.
So the only component
that they really have is
pain and suffering for
that limited time
before the death and when
it was about to happen,
and pre-death terror.
So if you got a guy in the street,
and you heard him scream.
He said, "Oh, my God. The
car's barrelling down on me.
He's gonna hit me. This
is gonna hurt so much."
Pre-death terror.
So unless there's some pain and
suffering before the death,
they have a very limited value.
So why sue then?
Well, look, in death cases,
very often they're
missing somebody,
and the real problem is there's
nothing our system can do
to give them back their loved one.
Right.
Usually, they're coming in,
basically, for catharsis.
- So it's a therapy session.
- Oh, wow.
You talk to them and the
biggest problem they have
is putting a settlement
number on the case.
Because they feel that by
saying, "Yes, $400,000,"
that they put a number
on their loved one.
Okay.
The best way that I
try to do it is this,
I say, "Look, nothing will ever
bring your loved one back.
"However, the money can be
used for good purposes,
for your other child,
for college."
After they're done talking to
you, they sort of feel like
they've had their therapy
session and catharsis,
so you feel like
you did something.
If you were to have
to value yourself,
how would you go about doing that?
How would you run
your own numbers?
I'm a high wage earner,
so automatically
that's calculated in the mix.
I'm 55, so the question is
what's my work life expectancy
because there's pecuniary damages.
Lawyers, or judges,
we die at our desks.
Most lawyers work into 70s.
Put me up to 70, say.
Fifteen times the present income,
that's pretty much what I'm worth.
So, if Allen's time comes
in an untimely manner,
he'll have high value due
to his work as a judge
and a mediator.
Though I doubt his
time will come soon,
the man survived the
'80s as a drummer.
I guess it makes sense,
the law can't give
you your life back.
Maybe all it can to is give
your loved one some cash.
But I'd like to think
I'm worth more
than just my lost income.
How can I maximise
my return on dying?
I need my death to pay-off huge.
Are you assuming you're
going to die tragically?
Well, I'm kinda I'm
kinda dead set on it.
Okay, so, I'm assuming you
don't have any substantial income?
- You have guessed correctly.
- Can you just?
- Yes, sorry.
- Thank you.
Okay, well, other
than lost income,
there isn't a set price
for wrongful death.
It kinda depends on who
you are, how you died,
what poor family you leave behind?
You mean rich family, don't you?
- Ah, that depends on your story.
- Huh.
The average jury award
for wrongful death suits
is slightly over $2 million.
That'll work.
Even more if you have a
compelling and tragic tale.
- Like "Scarface"?
- More like "Steel Magnolias."
I've never seen that movie.
In 2001, a 22-year old
Mets prospect died
from a car defect before he
signed his big contract,
and that family was
afforded 131 million.
Woo hoo hoo.
Your death needs to be Oscar bait.
Like Michael Shannon
in that sex fish movie
or something like that?
You know what? Let's just
focus on what you're gonna
leave behind, shall we?
Are you married?
Well, my wife and I don't
like to put labels on it.
Well, juries do.
Marrying someone could add a
couple million to your value.
Another factor is that
some states award
for hedonic damages,
which means they could
financially compensate your widow
for losing the pleasure
of having sex with you.
She doesn't have to prove
the pleasure part, right?
No. Okay, do you have
any sort of community involvement,
you know, charity work?
- I volunteer
- Great.
My opinions online
about anthem kneeling.
Right.
I'm gonna be honest with you,
I'm starting to think
your death is sounding
a little less wrongful.
Why do you want it
to pay off so well?
Well, I've always wanted
to be wealthy, I mean
How exactly were you intending
on collecting the
money after you die?
Okay, clearly there are some
elements of this scenario
I haven't completely
thought through.
Maybe you could recommend a medium
or some other
interdimensional specialist,
perhaps the person that
gave you those magic balls?
Get out of my office.
- Do you validate parking?
- Not for you.
- But you do.
- I do for others.
Yes, my cousin drove me.
There is another way
to go at all of this.
Like instead of asking
what's the cost of
a wrongful death,
asking what's it worth
to prevent a death?
Governments and companies have
to ask that question all the time.
Mike Gatto is a personal
injury and malpractice lawyer.
When an action or lack of
action by the government
or company leads to
injury or death,
Mike's the man on the case.
So, why are we here?
Sometimes as little
as a safety sign,
very inexpensive, can save lives.
Yesterday, I took
depositions in a case
where two motorcyclists died
because the city failed
to alert motorcyclists that
a roundabout was raised.
They hit it and died.
Whoa.
Safe word, puppies.
So the cost of
something that simple
can have serious ramifications.
I would imagine whatever legal
actions you're pursuing
are far more than the cost
of a couple of street signs.
Many, many times over.
I mean, a street sign, what can
these things cost, 40 bucks?
In the wrongful death claims,
behind the scenes, was
there a calculation made
as to what the payout might be
from a corporation
or a government?
We absolutely believe that occurs.
We rarely find out about it,
but there are a couple
of historical cases
that provide us some perspective.
Many people know of Ford Pinto.
This was the early '70s.
They wanted to bring
the Pinto to market
at a low enough price,
and they wanted to
sell it for $1,999.
And somewhere along the way,
they realised the gas
tank was vulnerable
to explosion and fire.
- And the fix was $11.
- Whoa.
Ford made calculations
and estimates
about the value of human life
and injuries that would stem
from the dangerous gas tank,
and they chose to go forward
all for the sake of money.
So, in corporate
settings, is that common
that people are sitting
around a boardroom making
a calculation about
whether they should
pay out somebody's
death that will result
from something they're doing?
Sadly, I think yes.
We only learn of it
when there are lawsuits
and corporations are
forced to reveal it
or when there's some
whistle-blower.
But rarely are these
things discovered.
Are those boardroom
conversations part
of the normal process
of doing business,
coming up with those
calculations for any company?
I think it's kind of
prudent business.
The question is what do you do
with the information at the end.
Government agencies make
similar calculations using
a metric called the value of
a statistical life or V.S.L.
Using a mix of scientific
studies and market analysis,
different agencies decide
on their own VSLs.
Here's how VSLs are used.
In 2007, the Department
of Transportation
considered a rule
forcing automakers
to instal rear seatbelt
reminder systems in cars.
They estimated it would save
at least 44 lives each year.
But installing it would cost
the auto industry 325 million.
At a cost of 7.4 million per
life, that amount was higher
than the Department of
Transportation's VSL at the time.
So the safety precaution
wasn't installed.
Putting a price tag on death
incentivises companies
and government agencies
to be responsible.
But that price is
determined for us
by outside institutions like
judges, juries, and mediators.
But what if we could
set our own price?
Would we use the same cold, hard
logic as the professionals?
Have you ever asked what's
your life worth to you?
How much would you
charge to risk death?
Abrahan and Francisco make
that calculation everyday.
They harvest goose barnacles
from razor-sharp rocks
in the open waters of the Atlantic
off the country's northern coast.
It's a dangerous job that
claims lives and pays well
because those barnacles
are a delicacy
that are sold at a premium price.
Gourmet diners can pay
as much as 100 euros
or nearly 120 American
dollars per portion.
How often are there
injuries and deaths?
Is it common or?
Every year there are incidents.
Broken ribs, and unfortunately
people dying also.
Two years ago, a barnacle fisher
went down to the rocks on his own,
and when he turned up
several days later,
he was dead.
This looks crazy to me, right?
Even if the sea is calm,
you are always looking for
the worst places to go.
In order to get the
best barnacles.
Where is he putting
them when he gets them?
He puts them here inside
the t-shirt with a belt.
That's a lot to pay attention to.
My mum almost cried
when I told her
I was getting my barnacle licence.
"That's really dangerous."
Yeah. Oh, wow.
There's a little
panic in his voice.
This is crazy by our standards,
but how does this compare to
what you usually deal with?
- Today is a very, very good day.
- Okay.
The sea is calm, you
seldom find it like this.
- Would you like to try one?
- Sure.
You have to show me how to eat it.
- You just have to suck it.
- Just bite it off?
I like this when it's raw.
It's the consistency of boogers
with the taste of an
incredibly clean ocean.
I've never eaten a booger.
I mean neither have I?
Most people might not
quit their day job
to do something that
looks this dangerous.
I wonder what the incentives
are for these guys?
So what do you usually
get? What's an average?
About 500 Euros with conditions
today, yes about 500 Euros.
And then that's split
between you two?
- Each one. Each one.
- 500 each, holy shit.
So, like $600 for each of you.
So, talk to me about
what this place is.
You guys actually come here
before you go out on the boats?
Yes, many times when it's bad
and you can't go on a boat,
here there's a path down.
Oh, you go down this way?
How? It's a steep drop.
Yes, sometimes you can use a rope
for the most dangerous places.
A couple of years ago, one of our
co-workers was climbing
down the cliff,
and he fell between two rocks.
And they had to do a
rescue with a helicopter.
I mean it sounds like the
money's really good,
but it also sounds like
you're putting yourselves
in pretty serious danger.
Is that worth it?
There is an added value, which is
the passion you have for this.
This is an addiction. It's a drug.
- What do you love about it?
- The ocean.
- The ocean.
- Fishing.
Working for myself.
Yes. This
you have to feel it
to be able to explain it.
Just like certain
people have decided
that gooseneck barnacles are
a delicacy worthy of a high price,
Abrahan and Francisco have decided
the money they're paid is enough
for them to risk their lives.
Here's a look at the
invisible calculations
we all make everyday
from a totally different
vantage point.
Most people don't realise
how their decisions
place a value on their own life,
like taking a raise to
do a more dangerous job.
Roofers make $4,000 more than
other construction workers
because they're five
times more likely
to die at work, it's true.
And cut, everyone take five.
These choices reflect a
cost benefit analysis
of what we're willing to risk
to have a life worth living.
I mean the government, they
estimate how much money it costs
to prevent a death before
putting up street signs
or making people wear a hardhat.
So even if you don't do the maths,
you make intuitive calculations
about risk in your
life all the time.
Hold me.
I mean, no idiot would
play Russian roulette,
not even for a million dollars.
It's not worth the one
in six chance of dying,
so you should probably
shell out that $6
for a smoke detector to eliminate
the one-in-a-million chance that
you're gonna die in a fire.
Put these in my kid's
room please, thanks.
Take former 49ers linebacker
Chris Borland, for example.
He retired after playing
just one season in the NFL
to avoid potential brain injury.
He gave up a three-year,
$2.3 million contract
to eliminate that 40% risk.
To him, a brain that
can still do maths
is worth more than that money.
What's your brain worth, Randy?
Quick thinking there, pal.
But avoiding risk in
life isn't always easy.
I mean, no one is gonna
tackle you at a desk job,
but sitting in a chair
all day actually
doubles your chance of death
by increasing your risk
of diabetes, stroke,
cancer, and dementia.
So someone get this murder
machine away from me.
Of course, no one would want
to eliminate all danger.
I mean, staying in a bubble,
yeah, it might mean you value
your life at a billion dollars,
but you couldn't
pay me to do that.
Because eliminating risk
also means eliminating fun.
I'd have to give up headphones,
selfies, escalators,
hot dogs, hot water, Christmas
trees, and bed frames,
all known killers.
Falling out of bed kills one in
700,000 Americans every year.
That's more than terrorism.
But I'm not gonna put my
mattress on the floor
because I'm no longer 25.
I just look it.
Regardless of the
price you're willing
to pay to have a full life,
there is one bill that
always comes due.
When you die, you may
be technically gone,
but there's still a whole
financial system built
around what remains, as
in your literal remains.
And the Cemetery Church
of All Saints is one
of the earliest examples
of a corpse economy.
Wow, how many bones
are here and skulls?
Thousands of them.
About 100,000 long bones,
and about 60,000 skulls.
Filip Velimsky is an archaeologist
who works with the church.
According to him, the
monastery became
a 14th century sensation,
after a monk returned
with a jar of holy soil
from the site of
Christ's crucifixion,
and sprinkled it
over the cemetery.
It's a legend that made for
a powerful sales pitch.
When you're searching for
an eternal resting place,
it's all about location,
location, location.
This area was connected
with Jerusalem and Golgotha,
the holy places of Christianity.
And there were some
miracles in this area.
So, for Christians,
this was some special place
with some special sense.
Were they able to charge
what they wanted,
or was it a place
that was affordable?
They really must pay
quite a lot of money
to have a chance to be
buried here in this area.
Easy resurrection, that's
a deal at a steep price,
and that's what the monks charged.
But in the 14th century, the
Black Plague decimated Europe.
To make burial room for the
millions who perished,
many of the older bodies at
the cemetery were dug up,
and the bones repurposed
into the very unique decor
now adorning the church,
including a human bone chandelier.
You know, to spruce things up.
This place may look like
the predator's house,
but turning these bones
into Erector sets
helped keep the vacancy
sign lit for new arrivals.
It seems like the monks
who built this place
understood that anxieties
about what happened
to bodies and souls after
death are powerful
and difficult to cope with.
Like, maybe they knew
hundreds of years ago,
anything that helps people
deal with those feelings
can be sold, and at a high price.
There was no funeral
industry 200 years ago.
Back then, your family
dropped you into the ground
at a cemetery or in
the backyard, as is,
just like a beloved hamster.
But when Abraham Lincoln
was assassinated,
he became the first
president to be preserved
with an update of an ancient
technique now called embalming.
So many mourners witnessed
Lincoln's shiny preserved body
on its farewell tour, that
embalming went viral.
Undertakers capitalised
on the trend.
Mortuaries popped up
across the United States,
and funeral directors
started charging
for coffins, viewings,
and headstones.
Before long, post-mortem
makeovers became the norm.
And if you were a
political heavyweight
like Vladimir Lenin or Eva Peron,
it became an absolute must.
As for the common folk,
they soon realised
they were having
to buy their dead loved
ones back at a premium.
They weren't cheap,
but they were pretty.
While America might be in
the pocket of big funeral,
the death industry was
nearly unknown in Malaysia
until just 30 years ago.
Before then, the
Malaysian government
operated the cemeteries,
usually run-down with
unprofessional services.
Families had to
choose between that
or burying their loved
ones on their own land.
But Frank Choo's
father had a vision
to build a business
model around burial.
I understand that it's
a relatively new idea
in Malaysia that there's
a place that you can go
for funeral services.
Can you talk about how it started?
Well, we started probably
in the early 80s.
In Malaysia then, all cemeteries
belonged to government.
They actually designated
land for burial sites.
My late father thought,
"Let me see what happened
to the rest of the world."
And he would take us all
over the world for holidays.
And part of the itinerary
was to look at,
to visit cemeteries
or memorial parks.
And in the mid-80s, he decided,
"Okay, I want to bring
this back to Malaysia.
We have got all aspects from
mortuary with
professional embalming,
we have funeral halls, where
people can actually do the wake,
crematory, and finally
we've got parks.
Frank's family imported all these
Western style funeral options,
but his success is
built on offering
localised cultural premiums
and a personal touch.
This building is where we
house ancestral tablets.
And we actually offer
prayers by the monks
twice a month.
I'll take you to
where we store the
cremated remains.
There are also temples here,
catering to a mix of
Buddhism, Christianity,
Hinduism, and traditional
Chinese beliefs.
For Malaysia, this is a
whole new death economy
with price tags of up
to 40,000 ringgit,
or 10,000 US dollars.
No matter where you believe
that you'll travel to
in the afterlife, this
place is a port of entry.
Hi.
Wow.
This is where they're going
to put their photos.
- Okay.
- And the inscriptions.
And then the urns
are inside there?
Yeah, there will be urns,
and these are for couples.
Initially, people were
a bit still sceptical
and because most of those
people had never experienced
a good sendoff and what is a good
way to memorialise loved ones.
And now, after 30 years,
we have over one hundred memorial
parks in the country now.
- Wow.
- It popped up everywhere.
Frank's dad proved
that funeral services,
just like most
successful businesses,
can be tailored to specific
markets and people.
But just how specialised
will the death market get
in its quest to attract customers?
In Hamburg, Germany,
HSV football fans,
the US calls it soccer,
are total fanatics.
At this giant stadium,
rabid sports fans
don't just mourn the
loss of a game,
but also their loved ones,
because it's situated
right next door
to a cemetery tailored
to its unique fans.
Lars Rehder is the grounds keeper.
The entrance, it's a soccer goal
with the original measure.
- Oh, cool.
- Yeah.
People buried here
have the symbol of the club.
How much does it cost for
somebody to be buried here?
Yes, it's about 4,000 dollars
if you want a grave
like this behind.
There are twenty people
buried in one grave.
Oh, wow, okay.
And so it's a little bit cheaper.
- Yeah.
- Or, if you want
some grave with only two people
for a couple, costs
up to 15,000 dollars.
So, you said the big
plot, the big grave,
- 20 people are buried there?
- Yes.
- Is that a family?
- No, it's not a family.
They could be a fan club,
but they share the cost.
Is this where you wanna be buried?
- Yes.
- Yeah?
Yes. I think it's a
very nice place.
This cemetery gives new meaning
to the term die-hard fan.
Look, I'm a Yankee fan,
but I don't wanna get buried in
the Bronx next to Yankee Stadium,
which means I don't
love the Yankees
as much as I thought I did.
Yes, I understand. But I guess
the idea of tying death together
with something you
love makes sense.
After all, you can't
take it with you.
Or can you?
Everything in this shop
is meant to be taken
with you after you die.
If you need some cock
in the afterlife,
you can take that with you.
All of this is made
entirely of paper.
Aw, here's what's up.
It's all meant to be burned.
Part of the Taoist
religious belief
that you can send material
goods to your loved ones
in their afterlife if you
burn paper versions of them,
so death doesn't have to be dull.
It's an ancient Chinese ritual,
updated for the modern economy.
This is obviously the tightest
one, because it's old school.
It's "Marlbero."
This stuff is fine
if you want some
off-the-shelf accessories
for eternity,
but if you want the custom goods,
there's only one man to see.
Mr Is known as the king
of paper offerings.
I'm here to learn from the master
about the economy of shopping
for the recently departed.
Observing from the angle
of Chinese Taoism or Buddhism,
there's a belief that
"valuable things
must be passed down
generation to generation."
The idea is that when you burn
these paper offerings
in this life,
your beloved ones will receive
them in their afterlife.
When somebody burns a paper good
for their loved one
who's passed away,
is the idea symbolic
or is it literal?
These offerings target both
the living and the deceased.
For instance, a son
who has not yet
burnt a paper house
for his dead father,
won't be able to get any sleep
at night for months or years,
since he cannot help
wondering whether his father
has a house to live in over
there in the nether world.
So, can you give me an example
of what people would
ask you to make?
I remember one such case in
which the deceased person
turned out to be the head
of Mafia organisation.
For his funeral,
we were requested to
make many offerings
which resembled his henchmen,
holding either a gun
or a broadsword,
for the sake of showing
his power and authority.
So the mafia guy could take
all of his boys with him
into the afterlife.
Exactly.
Do people ever ask
for things that they haven't had?
Like, is it ever aspirational?
Yes, it is.
That is the true meaning
of paper offerings.
If the deceased person has
not ridden a Rolls-Royce
or a spacecraft when
they were alive,
their family would order paper
offerings resembling
these articles.
It's like fulfilling the
deceased person's dreams.
If you have a tough
financial situation,
is there still an
expectation that you buy
the paper goods for your
loved one for the ceremony?
Right. The worst case in
China mainland is that
in order to fund an
extravagant funeral,
the family of a deceased person
would borrow so much money
that they will have to work as
long as 8 or 10 years to repay it.
Wow, so now I see
what you're saying,
that's a huge burden on families.
That's why they sell the house.
So they'll sell their
house in order
to pay for the funeral expenses?
Correct.
Some people are willing to make
quite a sacrifice just
to make a sacrifice.
Since I'm not sure anyone
is going to shell out
big bucks for my afterlife needs,
I've asked Mr To make me
some of my favourite things,
so I can burn them in advance.
It can't hurt, right?
Oh, this is my dog.
So, she's still a
You got it right.
She's still alive,
and will be forever,
otherwise I would be a mess.
And I associate people
qualities to her,
obviously, because she's my dog,
so I shouldn't burn this, right?
It is not a taboo to burn
animal-shaped offerings.
Because they are just
animals, not human beings.
It's okay to burn the dog-shaped
offering before you
leave this world.
You will be reunited one day.
Oh, okay, so it does
work that way. Sweet.
Great, awesome.
So this is so that I have Wi-Fi.
- Mm.
- Do you have the password?
Figure it out by yourself.
All right.
Ah, tacos and beans.
These will fill you up, down
there in the netherworld.
Over and over again, I hope.
That's nice.
This is a tracksuit.
It looks quite nice on you.
And then for all of these four
things, what do I owe you?
It took us more than 3 days
to make all these things.
So, the total fee is $11,000 HKD.
So it's almost $2,000
which I will give you
on the way out, thank you.
I appreciate it.
I just paid $2,000
for paper mache.
That's a lot of money
to burn through,
like, literally set on fire.
People spend all kinds
of money on death,
and since none of us know for
sure what's on the other side,
it's hard to argue with any
amount someone wants to lay out.
Still, I wonder, are
the economic choices
we make around death based
in any kind of reason?
Why do we think we
need to use money
to say goodbye to our
loved ones anyway?
Caitlin Doughty makes
her living on death.
But for a mortician, she
has some radical views
on what drives the
funeral economy.
Just the idea that you've
got to take your loved one
to a funeral home and,
like, not be involved
in that process except for
showing up to the funeral,
that's, I just always
thought, well,
- that's just what you have to do.
- Yeah.
But legally, you don't even
have to do that, right?
No, part of what I do now
in sort of a public advocate sense
is tell people you
can be involved.
There are other options
for your funerals.
They could be less expensive.
They can be more meaningful.
And there are a tonne of things
that are safe and legal
for your dead bodies
that you may have no
idea are out there.
I think what's so interesting
about death around the world is
that we've really kind of
exported the worst parts
of American culture
around the world.
- Even in death?
- Even in death.
Okay.
The death we export is
capitalistic death.
It's saying that the more that
you buy for your loved one,
the more that you care about them.
And we really need
to do a better job
of divorcing those things.
Can you talk me through
just the basic sort of
what drew you to this career,
and what you love about it?
Absolutely, I have been
in the funeral industry
about 10 years, and I started
as a crematory operator.
I started as the
person in the back
with the big industrial
machines cremating the bodies.
The first thing I noticed is
that I was usually
the only one there.
There was no family.
It was just me cremating
Mum or Dad or your sister,
and that was shocking to me.
Why am I the only one here?
I came to understand over time
that it's really because our
society doesn't tell us
we're supposed to be involved
with death and with funerals.
That we're supposed to show up,
or that we even are
allowed to do that.
150 years ago, the
American way of death
was completely taken
care of by the family.
Someone dies in the house,
they're taken care
of in the house.
Your neighbour makes
the wooden casket.
You carry it on your
shoulders to the grave.
It's completely family
and community involved.
Turn of the 20th century,
you have these guys who
come in and are like,
oh, interesting, we can
make money doing this.
We can actually it's
more safe and sanitary
if we take your bodies,
and we take care of them
and you just pay us to do it.
And over the last 100 years,
we've all kind of been a little
brainwashed into thinking
that's what's the safe and
legal manner of doing this.
And that's just not true.
You don't have to
hand over the body
to a funeral director
to chemically preserve
and essentially sell back
to you as a product.
- Yeah.
- You can have a natural burial,
which is just a
simple wicker casket
or shroud in a shallow hole.
And you really can decompose
into the earth around it,
and grow into a tree
or grow into a shrub,
or a flower bush,
something lovely.
Okay, so this is a shroud.
This is a shroud. You
wanna try it out?
- Yeah, I do.
- You wanna lay back?
- Sure.
- Let the adventure begin.
All right.
We just bring the
side around like so.
I'll leave your head exposed.
This is like camping.
It is a little bit like
camping, you're right.
Okay, we're tying you in here.
Nobody tucks you in like this.
Hi, I'm your camp monitor,
hope you're enjoying
your time at Camp Death.
I'm telling you, I could pass
out for the night like this.
Wait till we put
it over your face.
We'll see how you feel about it.
- Okay, you ready for this?
- Yep.
- This is a big moment.
- Bye, guys.
If you can't breathe, you
have to let me know.
Oh, I'll let you know.
"Local Mortician Kills Man" is
not a headline that I want.
Well, I guess if I die,
we're all set, right?
But I mean there's nothing
left to do, you've done it.
You can just dig the hole.
Okay, you, my friend,
are shrouded.
How are you feeling?
Not bad.
You look good. You look gorgeous.
Yeah, thank you.
I get it. I mean, if
this is an option,
why would you wanna
be stuck in a box?
Grief can lead us to
some radical choices,
and a lot of them are
less than economical.
There's no arguing that
there's a booming economy
built around every side of death.
Mourning our dearly departed
loved ones will cost us.
Meanwhile, losing someone
to unexpected circumstances
could lead to crazy compensation.
And if I wanna take
out my enemies,
I now know that I'd
better bring cash.
Making the calculations
for these choices
can often be messy,
but spending money in
the death economy seems
to buy relief from the
existential dread
that arises with the knowledge
that death is coming
for all of us.
And now, puppies.
- Down mark.
- Get out of my office.
Do you validate parking by chance?
- Nope.
- Okay.
Have a good Easter.
Yep.
- Please leave.
- Thank you,
Do you know of any good attorneys?
I'll call the police.
Do you know Sting?
The worst joke.
Compensate your widow if she loses
the pleasure of your sex.
Would you like to have
the pleasure of my sex?
It sounds like a fucking
weird Victorian novel.
I have to say that
to my wife tonight.
I have to write it down, because
I'm gonna say that to my wife.
Would you like the pleasure
of my sex tonight?
Oh, shit.
Shit.