The Corpse Trade

This episode of *Arcane Answers*, titled "The Corpse Trade," explores the dark history and modern reality of human remains brokering, starting with the catastrophic cadaver deficit of the **19th century** that led to black market grave robbing and the calculated **homicides of William Burke and William Hare** in Edinburgh, Scotland. Their infamous "**burking**" method, which left bodies desirable for dissection by figures like Doctor Robert Knox, ultimately spurred the **British Anatomy Act of 1832**. The discussion then shifts to America, where serial killer **H.H. Holmes** profited from selling victims' articulated skeletons to medical institutions, embodying a horrifying shift to commercializing finished anatomical specimens. Finally, the hosts examine the current era of **body brokering**, which is meant to be based on consent under acts like the **Uniform Anatomical Gift Act of 1968**, but is plagued by massive loopholes, a lack of oversight, and modern horror stories involving companies like International Biological Incorporation and Biological Resource Center. The episode closes by discussing historical "**corpse medicine**," including the practice of medical cannibalism and the use of mummy remnants for various ailments.