Head Number 7

In Life, and Death

Turi looks at the complicated history of universities and human remains - from grave robbing to buying bones with your books. And learn about the broadcasting legend who ended up mixed up in a plot involving the mafia and the UK’s National Health Service.Listen to episodes of Head Number 7 exclusively and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App or Apple Podcasts. Start your free trial today by visiting  https://wondery.com/links/head-number-7/ Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Donating your body to science is a final, noble act. If you’re donating it to one of the world’s most prestigious medical schools you might even hope you will contribute to a scientific breakthrough. But at Harvard Medical School something went wrong…the head of their mortuary had gone rogue and in 2019 a shocking discovery led to the realisation that body parts were being sold online.  So how did Cedric Lodge go from respected member of the Harvard community to running a network of human oddity collectors, and making huge profits? And what were their customers doing with the body parts?In Head Number 7 geneticist and ancient DNA expert Professor Turi King, takes you inside Cedric’s descent into darkness, finds out more about the people who donated their bodies only to be sold for parts and asks, who owns your body after you die? Listen to episodes of Head Number 7 exclusively and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App or Apple Podcasts. Start your free trial today by visiting wondery.com/links/head-number-seven Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.