As an introduction to our occasional series, A Brief History of the Afterlife, we offer a discussion of Albert Brooks' brilliant 1991 film Defending Your Life. Is this an afterlife we would like to "wake up to" after death? What does this vision of our eternal reward tell us about the moment when the film was made or the particular preoccupations of the filmmaker, Albert Brooks?

Originally recorded in August, 2025 for The End of the World with Michael and Stu.