1.0Wondery | Premium Podcastshttps://wondery.comCharlee Leightonhttps://wondery.com/author/charlee/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="MexwmUyuxj"><a href="https://wondery.com/shows/head-number-7/">Head Number 7</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://wondery.com/shows/head-number-7/embed/#?secret=MexwmUyuxj" width="600" height="338" title="“Head Number 7” — Wondery | Premium Podcasts" data-secret="MexwmUyuxj" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); /* ]]> */ </script> Harvard Medical School is one of the most prestigious universities in the world and is king of the Ivy Leagues. A name which is the byword for prestige. So how have they ended up at the centre of two huge court cases, centred around the most macabre crime imaginable? Head Number 7 investigates how the man who ran the mortuary at Harvard Medical School was selling “heads, brains, skin and bones” on Facebook Marketplace. Cedric Lodge was allowing people to come and view the bodies, with some buyers spending more than £35,000. One customer was Katrina Maclean of Salem, Massachusetts who purchased skin to tan into leather, another was Joshua Taylor who sent one Paypal payment with references of “braiiiiiins” and “Head no 7”. Head Number 7 will tell the story of Cedric and his partner’s descent into criminality, the dark intentions of their customers and, perhaps most importantly, bring to life the people who made the selfless decision to donate their bodies to science only to be sold for parts to collectors of “oddities”. This will both be a true crime style investigation and a thoughtful look at social, cultural and philosophical expectations around corpses. Why is the treatment of remains so important throughout human history, and is this ultimately a victimless crime or complete sacrilege?