Stories
Investigative reporting on the business, politics, and people of the American deathcare industry.
QUIETLY ACQUIRED: How America's Largest Funeral Chain Bought 47 Homes in 18 Months
We tracked every deal, every price increase, every community left with fewer choices. The consolidation of American deathcare is accelerating — and it's happening without scrutiny.
Carriage Services Buys Knoxville's Oldest Funeral Home. The Town Pushed Back.
When the fourth-generation family funeral home changed hands, residents noticed: higher prices, shorter services, and a corporate script replacing personal care.
Cremation Rate Hits 62%. Traditional Funeral Homes Have 5 Years to Adapt or Close.
CANA's latest data shows cremation accelerating beyond projections. We map what this means for small-town funeral home revenue models and survival strategies.
65% of Mortuary Students Are Women. Zero Fortune 500 Funeral CEOs Are.
The pipeline is full. The leadership is empty. We spoke with 14 women across the industry about the barriers that keep them out of the executive suite.
FTC Funeral Rule Rewrite: What's Actually Changing
The first major update to the Funeral Rule in decades. We break down what changes, what stays the same, and what it means for consumers and operators.
Aquamation Legalized in 12 More States This Year
Alkaline hydrolysis is gaining legal ground fast. We map the state-by-state landscape and what's driving the expansion.
Private Equity's New Favorite Asset Class: Your Funeral
Deathcare is recession-proof, cash-rich, and fragmented — exactly what PE firms look for. We trace the money flowing into the industry.
The Death Cafe Movement Hits 1,000 Events
What started as a quirky idea in a London basement has become a global phenomenon. We look at why Americans are gathering to talk about dying.
Why Independent Funeral Directors Are Going Out of Business
They can't compete on price, they can't compete on marketing, and they can't find successors. We examine the slow extinction of the independent funeral director.
The Hidden Fees in Your Funeral Bill: An Investigation
We analyzed hundreds of funeral bills across six states and found a pattern of opaque pricing, inflated markups, and fees that regulators have known about for decades. The FTC Funeral Rule was supposed to fix this. It hasn't.
Cremation vs. Burial: The Real Cost Comparison in 2026
The national cremation rate has crossed 62%. But the decision between cremation and burial isn't just about preference — it's about thousands of dollars in costs most families never see coming. We broke down the real numbers.
How Hedge Funds Are Buying Your Local Funeral Home
Beyond SCI, a constellation of private equity firms and hedge funds has been acquiring independent funeral homes at an accelerating pace. We traced the money — and the impact on the families who pay the bills.
The Embalming Industry's Sustainability Problem
The United States buries an estimated 800,000 gallons of formaldehyde-based embalming fluid every year. As environmental regulation tightens globally, the American funeral industry's reliance on a known carcinogen faces an uncertain future.
Alzheimer's Death Rate Surge Is Reshaping End-of-Life Care
Alzheimer's disease deaths have increased 145% since 2000 while heart disease and stroke declined. For funeral directors, the dementia epidemic means longer visits, harder conversations, and families who need something different from the traditional funeral.
The Rise of Direct Cremation Startups
Direct cremation startups are offering transparent pricing, online ordering, and zero upselling — forcing traditional funeral homes to compete on price for the first time. But regulatory barriers and industry resistance are slowing the disruption.
FUNERAL HOME WORKERS: The Industry's Silent Mental Health Crisis
A national survey of funeral directors reveals alarming rates of burnout, substance abuse, and PTSD. With an aging workforce and few mental health resources tailored to deathcare, the industry faces a personnel crisis that threatens the quality of care grieving families receive.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE LAST FAMILY FUNERAL HOME CLOSES
When the fourth-generation funeral home in Milledgeville, Georgia closed last year, residents faced a 45-minute drive to the nearest alternative. It's a story repeating itself in rural communities nationwide as aging directors retire without successors and corporate chains fill the void.
THE BODY DONATION INDUSTRY: Who Profits When You Donate Your Remains
Body donation is often presented as a noble final act. But behind the scenes, a multi-million-dollar industry of body brokers operates with minimal oversight, selling donated remains to medical training companies, researchers, and the military — sometimes without donor or family consent.
STATE-BY-STATE FUNERAL REGULATION: Your Rights Depend on Your Zip Code
The federal FTC Funeral Rule sets a baseline of consumer protections. But state regulations vary wildly — from states that require itemized pricing and transparent contracts to states where funeral homes can operate with virtually no oversight. Here's what the map looks like.
HOW DEATHCARE ADVERTISING TARGETS THE GRIEVING
A review of digital marketing practices in the deathcare industry reveals how funeral homes, cremation providers, and pre-need insurance companies use targeted advertising to reach families at their most vulnerable. FTC enforcement has been limited, and existing rules were written for a pre-internet era.
WOMEN CEOS RUNNING MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR FUNERAL GROUPS
From StoneMor Partners to regional funeral groups, a new generation of female chief executives is challenging the good-old-boy network that has governed American deathcare for over a century. Their leadership styles are different — and so are their business strategies.
THE GREEN BURIAL MOVEMENT: From Niche to Mainstream
The number of green burial grounds in the U.S. has tripled since 2019. What began as a fringe movement embraced by environmentalists and back-to-land practitioners is becoming a legitimate alternative — and the fastest-growing segment of the deathcare market.
CEMETERY LAND IS RUNNING OUT IN AMERICA'S LARGEST CITIES
London has been reusing graves for decades. Singapore has gone nearly 100% cremation. Now American cities are confronting the same math: finite land, growing populations, and a burial tradition that consumes real estate at an unsustainable rate.
HOW COVID CHANGED FUNERAL SERVICES — PERMANENTLY
The pandemic forced funeral homes to adopt technology overnight. Five years later, many of those emergency adaptations have become permanent features of American deathcare — changing not just how we mourn, but who gets to participate.
THE PRE-NEED FUNERAL CONTRACT TRAP
An estimated $40 billion sits in prepaid funeral contracts across the United States. But when families try to collect, many discover coverage gaps, inflated prices, and contracts that don't travel across state lines. An investigation into the fine print of planning ahead.