Christopher Kerr
American hospice physician, neurobiologist, and author of Death Is But a Dream
Christopher Kerr (American hospice physician, neurobiologist, and author of Death Is But a Dream) has appeared as a guest on 1 episode in TMT. Topics they speak about most include End-of-life dreams and visions, Medicalization of death, Hospice care.
In their words
Positions and remarks grouped by topic, each with the exact quote and where it was said.
End-of-life dreams and visions
Kerr says about 12% of patients have distressing dreams, which can be the most transformational.
“about 12% of our patients report dreams that are distressing or uncomfortable. They're not all comfortable”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: The Deathbed Doctor: At The End Of Your Life, Only 1 Thing Will Matter! | Dr Christopher Kerr (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 35:05
Kerr reports that religious belief does not appear to change how patients experience end-of-life events.
“We've looked at this question of religion, and we have not found that having a religious belief changes how you experience these end-of-life”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: The Deathbed Doctor: At The End Of Your Life, Only 1 Thing Will Matter! | Dr Christopher Kerr (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 15:52
Kerr argues end-of-life visions differ from delirium because they are lucid, based on real events, and comforting.
“These events are recalled with acuity, they're based on real happenings, and they're left with a feeling of comfort, not distress or fear”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: The Deathbed Doctor: At The End Of Your Life, Only 1 Thing Will Matter! | Dr Christopher Kerr (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 16:54
Kerr says his research shows nearly 90% of dying people have intense dreams or visions as death approaches.
“what our research has shown is nearly 90% of people start to have very intense dreams or visions as they get closer to death”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: The Deathbed Doctor: At The End Of Your Life, Only 1 Thing Will Matter! | Dr Christopher Kerr (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 0:02
Medicalization of death
Kerr says a third of hospice admissions die within a week because death was denied until late, which he calls medical harm.
“A third of our patients that come into hospice are dead in seven days. They just didn't start dying in seven days”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: The Deathbed Doctor: At The End Of Your Life, Only 1 Thing Will Matter! | Dr Christopher Kerr (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 57:35
Kerr argues medicine tries to defy death and often denies it even when treatment has become futile.
“I think medicine does its best to defy death. And unfortunately, it often denies it even when it's obvious and when things have become futile”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: The Deathbed Doctor: At The End Of Your Life, Only 1 Thing Will Matter! | Dr Christopher Kerr (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 29:36
Kerr notes a large gap between Americans who want to die at home and those who do, blaming the medicalization of dying.
“80% of Americans want to die at home and about 30% do”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: The Deathbed Doctor: At The End Of Your Life, Only 1 Thing Will Matter! | Dr Christopher Kerr (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 28:46
Hospice care
Kerr says the people most at peace in death were those who gave and received love, regardless of accomplishment.
“I've seen people who have led remarkably simple lives, but they were pure in the love that they were able to experience”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: The Deathbed Doctor: At The End Of Your Life, Only 1 Thing Will Matter! | Dr Christopher Kerr (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 44:13
Kerr says the top concern of hospice patients is not being a burden to their families.
“Well, the first one the hospice patient cares about is not being a burden”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: The Deathbed Doctor: At The End Of Your Life, Only 1 Thing Will Matter! | Dr Christopher Kerr (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 19:50
Other remarks
Kerr says that after his patients and his own cancer he no longer fears the process of dying.
“I can tell you that I'm certainly not fearful of the actual process of dying anymore”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: The Deathbed Doctor: At The End Of Your Life, Only 1 Thing Will Matter! | Dr Christopher Kerr (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 1:12:55
Childhood death
Kerr says dying children accept their state without struggling over finality or regrets.
“they don't struggle to find acceptance that they're already accepting. They don't think in terms of finality of mortality”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: The Deathbed Doctor: At The End Of Your Life, Only 1 Thing Will Matter! | Dr Christopher Kerr (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 1:17:35
Post-traumatic growth
Kerr reports his study found dying patients showed measurable psychological growth up to their last days.
“people were growing and adapting, and this was measurable and significant according to post-traumatic growth scales, right up into the last days of life”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: The Deathbed Doctor: At The End Of Your Life, Only 1 Thing Will Matter! | Dr Christopher Kerr (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 1:07:24
Grief
Kerr says how a loved one dies measurably affects the bereavement of those who witness it.
“how people die absolutely affects our bereavement. How we witness that changes our bereavement, and it's measurable”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: The Deathbed Doctor: At The End Of Your Life, Only 1 Thing Will Matter! | Dr Christopher Kerr (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 53:38
Psychedelic therapy
Kerr says psychedelics given to dying patients reduce their fear of death and give them a sense of connection to something larger.
“First of all, their fear of dying dissipates. And they tend to see themselves as something larger, immersed within and connected to life at large”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: The Deathbed Doctor: At The End Of Your Life, Only 1 Thing Will Matter! | Dr Christopher Kerr (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 51:17
Life extension
Kerr suggests the longevity movement overemphasizes interventions, pointing to blue zone residents who simply live well.
“that little lady in Japan or Italy isn't waking up in a cold plunge and measuring out creatine. She's just living well”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: The Deathbed Doctor: At The End Of Your Life, Only 1 Thing Will Matter! | Dr Christopher Kerr (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 43:27
Pain management at the end of life
Kerr says the belief that dying is very painful is the biggest myth, as there is rarely pain that cannot be managed.
“that it's far worse than people think, that there isn't a pain, rarely a pain we can't manage”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: The Deathbed Doctor: At The End Of Your Life, Only 1 Thing Will Matter! | Dr Christopher Kerr (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 27:21
Regret
Kerr disputes the popular regret literature, saying in his experience dying patients rarely raise regret.
“And that's not my experience. I don't see people bringing up regret towards the end of their life”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: The Deathbed Doctor: At The End Of Your Life, Only 1 Thing Will Matter! | Dr Christopher Kerr (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 18:44
Consciousness
Kerr argues that love and these visions cannot be reduced to brain function, and says he believes in a soul.
“I can't show you where love is. I can't recreate love in a dish, and I can't create this”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: The Deathbed Doctor: At The End Of Your Life, Only 1 Thing Will Matter! | Dr Christopher Kerr (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 14:24
Appearances
The Deathbed Doctor: At The End Of Your Life, Only 1 Thing Will Matter! | Dr Christopher KerrThe Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett · Oct 19, 2026 · 1 h 23 min
Hospice physician Christopher Kerr tells Steven Bartlett what 1,500 dying patients reveal about end-of-life dreams, what matters at death, pain, grief, and love.
Often appears with
- Steven Bartlett · 1 shared episode