Mortal Remains, Society, and Culture Throughout History

Show #117 | Guest: Author Thomas W. Laqueur discusses his latest The Work of the Dead: A Cultural History of Mortal Remains. He is the Helen Fawcett Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley, and his previous books include Making Sex: Body and Gender from the Greeks to Freud and Solitary Sex: A Cultural History of Masturbation. He is a regular contributor to the London Review of Books. | Show Summary: In The Work of the Dead, University of California professor and author Thomas W. Laqueur explores why cultures have never been indifferent to mortal remains. Even in our supposedly disenchanted scientific age, the dead body still matters--for individuals, communities, and nations.