THE BONE THIEVES: Why Sierra Leone is Guarding its Graveyards

Today we’re exploring the darkest corners of the drug trade and the brightest dreams of ancient science. One story involves a literal "grave" addiction, and the other asks if we can finally beat the economy by making our own bullion.In Sierra Leone, a terrifying new drug called Kush is tearing through the population, and its ingredients are the stuff of horror movies. We’re diving into the "Zombie" crisis where addicts have turned to grave robbing to harvest human bones to mix into the drug. We discuss the Bone Overdose Narcotic Epidemic, why the government has declared a national emergency, and the heartbreaking reality of police guarding cemeteries to keep the dead in the ground.Then, we move from the macabre to the metallurgical. For centuries, people asked: can lead really become gold? We look at the history of alchemy, the "Philosopher’s Stone," and the modern science that says... actually, yes, we can. We break down the Gold Output Lead Discovery, the particle accelerators required to do it, and why it’s currently way more expensive to make gold than it is to just go buy a wedding ring.