Head Number 7 | Podcast Guru

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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

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Recent Episodes

DEC 17, 2024

Priceless

Are the bodies allegedly sold from the Harvard morgue priceless or worthless? Turi learns it’s an argument that’s key to the case. And finds out the surprising ways a donated body can help science and technology, from football helmets to ejector seats.

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 acast.com/privacy for more information.

31 MIN

DEC 10, 2024

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 acast.com/privacy for more information.

35 MIN

DEC 3, 2024

Blast Test

What rights do you have over your own corpse? If you donate your body to science what will actually become of it? As the families of the victims mobilise they learn about the legal grey areas that exist around the rights of a corpse.

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 acast.com/privacy for more information.

33 MIN

NOV 26, 2024

14 Tonnes

Harvard writes a letter to the family members of those allegedly sold from their mortuary and the story hits the news. Who were the people behind the bodies donated to Harvard Medical School? The families take action.

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 acast.com/privacy for more information.

26 MIN

NOV 19, 2024

Five Gallon Bucket

A woman in Pennsylvania is leaving her husband, as she packs up she goes down to his cellar - she’s been told not to go in there. She finds a bucket full of human organs, her discovery brings Cedric’s alleged network of collectors crashing down.

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 acast.com/privacy for more information.

32 MIN