What happens to your email after you die? Can the executor of your estate (or the administrator if you die without a will) gain access to your email account and read all of your email? That is the question at the heart of a lawsuit, Ajemian vs. Yahoo, that is heading to the Supreme Court, assuming that the Supreme Court agrees to hear it.

Death is an uncomfortable subject, but the events that surround it – most notably, funerals – still require diligent planning. Fortunately, there are experts like Gail Rubin who can help with this difficult process. In this interview, Rubin covers the basics of funeral planning, as well as responds to our listeners’ funeral stories and questions.

Andrea Raynor has seen her share of suffering. She served as chaplain to the morgue at Ground Zero in the aftermath of September 11th, and she is currently a hospice chaplain. The challenges that Raynor has faced uniquely qualify her to discuss and advise on the similarities and differences of losing a loved one unexpectedly through unanticipated tragedy, versus the (relatively) long goodbye of an illness, and, most importantly, how to support those left behind in each case. In this interview, Andrea addresses precisely these topics, among others, as well as shares some of the stories of her incredible life.

The news of Michael Jackson’s cardiac arrest, and subsequent death, caused such a tsunami of searches on Google that the search giant’s system believed that it was under attack, and triggered Google’s attack defense mode, including requiring searchers to solve a CAPTCHA. Searchers searching for information on Michael Jackson were met with an intermediate page which said “Your query looks similar to automated requests from a computer virus or spyware application,” and apologetically asks them to solve the CAPTCHA.

A new website and service called “Slightly Morbid” allows you to store a list of email addresses to be notified in case of your death, serious illness, disappearance, or other situation warranting notifying all of your closests friends whom you’ve never met. While getting a death notice by email may seem, well, slightly morbid and impersonal, it’s better than not knowing at all.