Head Number 7 podcast artwork

PODCAST · true crime

Head Number 7

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? Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener

  1. 9

    Preparing for Trial

    The families want justice, but is the law on their side? They fight a class action against the university, while preparations for Cedric’s trial are underway - but will it ever happen? We speak to the lawyer who defended one of the most infamous body broker scandals in historyListen 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&nbsp; https://wondery.com/links/head-number-7/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  2. 8

    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&nbsp;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&nbsp;https://wondery.com/links/head-number-7/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  3. 7

    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&nbsp; https://wondery.com/links/head-number-7/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  4. 6

    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.

  5. 5

    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.

  6. 4

    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.&nbsp;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.

  7. 3

    Wets

    What were Cedric’s customers doing with the body parts they purchased and how illegal is it? The dark world of human “oddity” collectors is revealed, and the price tags that come with a clandestine purchase.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.

  8. 2

    An Anatomical Gift

    For 15 years Cedric Lodge has run Harvard Medical School mortuary - he’s a quirky&nbsp;local legend with a licence plate that reads “GRIM-R”, and he even has a place in the Universities hall of fame, but all that changes when he’s arrested for the most macabre crimes imaginable...selling body parts of those who donated their bodies to the medical school. The customers? Online collectors of the macabre.Geneticist and ancient DNA expert Professor Turi King explores this extraordinary story with lawyers, scientists and the family members of those who donated their bodies to Harvard Medical School while Cedric Lodge was running the morgue. Turi meets three victims: Amy Dasch, whose husband James was a brilliant biologist and innovator, who believed donating his body was the extension of his work as a scientist. Author and academic Jack Porter who lectures at Harvard, but now has to grapple with the fact his wife Raya may have been sold by Lodge. And Jennie Dunkley, who's husband Barry spent a lifetime working in law enforcement. 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.

  9. 1

    Introducing: Head Number Seven

    In June 2023 over a hundred people got a letter from Harvard Medical School, what it said changed their lives forever. Head Number 7 tells a story about an FBI investigation, an underground network, and human remains being sold on social media.Join geneticist and ancient DNA specialist Dr Turi King as she investigates the buying and selling of body parts, finds out what it really means to donate your body to science and asks who really owns our bodies once we're gone?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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Type above to search every episode's transcript for a word or phrase. Matches are scoped to this podcast.

Searching…

We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.

No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.

Showing of matches

No topics indexed yet for this podcast.

Loading reviews...

ABOUT THIS SHOW

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? Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener

HOSTED BY

Always True Crime

Produced by Audio Always

CATEGORIES

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Head Number 7 have?

Head Number 7 currently has 9 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is Head Number 7 about?

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...

How often does Head Number 7 release new episodes?

Head Number 7 has 9 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to Head Number 7?

You can listen to Head Number 7 on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts Head Number 7?

Head Number 7 is created and hosted by Always True Crime.
URL copied to clipboard!