Grave Robbing

Rebecca hosts the episode where the sisters talk about both historical and modern instances of grave robbing. Rebecca tells the story of the theft of Charlie Chaplin's body for ransom, William Cobbett's well-intentioned but misguided relocation of Thomas Paine's remains, two Pakistani brothers arrested for grave robbing and cannibalism, and a Pennsylvania man caught selling over 100 sets of human remains online. The conversation then broadens into discussions of archaeological grave robbing in the name of science, the black market for donated bodies, and cultural attitudes toward death — including an Indonesian tradition of exhuming ancestors to celebrate them — before wrapping up with a lighthearted tangent about their great-grandmother, hyenas, orcas, and a philosophical musing on why Western culture fears death so much. Sources 6abc Philadelphia. “Court Docs Reveal Accused Grave Robber’s Plot to Steal Human Remains.” YouTube, 9 Jan. 2026, www.youtube.com/watch?v=xygNM9jtJtM. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026. July 2015, Stephanie Pappas 17. “The 6 Most Gruesome Grave Robberies.” Livescience.com, 2 Nov. 2021, www.livescience.com/51591-gruesome-grave-robberies.html. Khan, M Ilyas. “Pakistan Cannibal Brothers Jailed for 12 Years.” BBC News, 11 June 2014, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-27801252.