Last Seen podcast

Last Seen

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  WBUR  

Season 4: "Postmortem" is about the stolen bodies of Harvard and the gray market for human remains. Find out what happened at Harvard Medical School: how body parts were stolen and sold across the country. Who did this and why? Coming soon.

Season 4: "Postmortem" is about the stolen bodies of Harvard and the gray market for human remains. Find out what happened at Harvard Medical School: how body parts were stolen and sold across the country. Who did this and why? Coming soon.

 

#37

Postmortem, Ep. 5: A reckoning

In Episode 5 of Postmortem: The Stolen Bodies of Harvard, reporter Ally Jarmanning digs deeper into the "legitimate" realm of body-parts collecting ⁠— museums ⁠— and asks the burning question: How different is this from the world of Jeremy Pauley in his basement or Cedric Lodge seizing a financial opportunity at Harvard's morgue. At the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, she takes us through displays of skeletons and sometimes-troubling human specimens. What comes up here and at museums around the country ⁠— did the people who used to belong to these bodies ever imagine themselves in a jar, or on a shelf? Did they give permission for decades of gawking? After all this reporting, Jarmanning examines the ethics of it all, probing how we should treat the dead, and who gets to decide. And she returns us to Harvard, where hardly anyone, except Lodge, has been held to account. If you have questions, comments or tips about this story, you can reach us at [LastSeen@wbur.org] (mailto:LastSeen@wbur.org) . ... Read more

01 May 2024

28 MINS

28:42

01 May 2024


#36

Postmortem, Ep. 4: The anatomy lab

As haunting as the Harvard morgue scandal is, you don't have to go back very far in history to find practices for sourcing bodies that would be shocking today. Reporter Ally Jarmanning finds that for more than a century, medical schools relied on grave robbing and body snatching to supply anatomical dissection classes. In Episode 4 of Postmortem: The Stolen Bodies of Harvard, she talks to medical school professors and historians about this grim reality, shedding light on how new the notion of ethics in this field is. And we hear from an FBI agent who's investigated the world of body brokers. If you have questions, comments or tips about this story, you can reach us at [LastSeen@wbur.org] (mailto:LastSeen@wbur.org) . ... Read more

01 May 2024

23 MINS

23:47

01 May 2024


#35

Postmortem, Ep. 3: The collectors

Who are the people buying this stuff anyway? People who collect human remains don’t see it as gross. In fact, these collectors connect and communicate openly on social media. In Episode 3 of Postmortem: The Stolen Bodies of Harvard, reporter Ally Jarmanning meets Jeremy Pauley, the Pennsylvania man with a tattooed eye whose arrest unravels this whole case. Jarmanning dines in the home of a Delaware couple with a house full of skeletons; they call themselves “rescuers” of human remains. And she introduces us to Mike Drake, a New York City collector. Through all these conversations, it becomes clear: There's no solid ethical line in this world of remains collectors; everyone is making up their own rules. If you have questions, comments or tips about this story, you could reach us at [LastSeen@wbur.org] (mailto:LastSeen@wbur.org) . ... Read more

01 May 2024

35 MINS

35:50

01 May 2024


#34

Postmortem Ep. 1: The crime

Hundreds of people have donated their bodies to Harvard Medical School, hoping to advance science and train the next generation of doctors. But in the basement of the nation's most prestigious medical institution, something went terribly wrong in recent years. In the five-part series Postmortem: The Stolen Bodies of Harvard, WBUR reporter Ally Jarmanning takes us deep into the macabre story of what happened, and how the elite university became a stop on a nationwide network of human remains trading. In Episode 1, police find buckets of body parts in a basement in Pennsylvania. We hear from the district attorney there and learn more about how this case connects to Harvard and Cedric Lodge, the morgue manager accused of stealing and selling donor body parts. An old classmate of Lodge's reflects on the man at the center of the scandal. And doctors who know Harvard well ponder how this could have happened — here, of all places. If you have questions, comments or tips about this story, you can reach us at [LastSeen@wbur.org] (mailto:LastSeen@wbur.org) . ... Read more

01 May 2024

25 MINS

25:38

01 May 2024


#33

TRAILER: Last Seen S4 'Postmortem': The Stolen Bodies of Harvard

Hundreds of people donated their bodies to Harvard Medical School hoping to advance science and train the next generation of doctors. Meanwhile, prosecutors say that for years, the school's morgue manager treated it like a storefront, letting potential customers browse body parts and bringing home skin and brains to be shipped out to people across the country. Last year's arrest of the morgue manager, Cedric Lodge, exposed a nationwide network of human remains swapping that ensnared Harvard and lay bare the school’s broken promises to donors. In this five-part narrative series, host and reporter Ally Jarmanning explains what happened at Harvard, talks to donor families about their interrupted grief, and meets with human remains collectors to find out why they’re interested in this macabre field. We explore the dark origins of our nation’s medical schools. And we try to answer the haunting questions that drive the series: How should we treat the dead? And who gets to decide? All 5 episodes coming soon. Follow Last Seen wherever you get your podcasts. Resources: Read more about WBUR's reporting on the case [here] (https://www.wbur.org/tag/harvard-morgue-scandal) . ... Read more

16 Apr 2024

02 MINS

02:54

16 Apr 2024


#32

Last Seen presents: "Beyond All Repair," a new murder mystery podcast

Introducing Beyond All Repair, a new WBUR podcast hosted by Amory Sivertson. This series tells the story of a murder, but also the woman who was accused of that murder, Sophia. Sophia was newly married and six months pregnant when she was charged with murdering her mother-in-law in 2002. She gave birth to a son in jail that she hasn’t seen since, and for the last three years, she’s been telling me her story in hopes of getting justice for her mother-in-law, of having a chance of meeting her son, and of finally being believed. This is the first chapter of Beyond All Repair. Episode 2 is already waiting for you. [Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.] (https://link.chtbl.com/beyondallrepair) ... Read more

11 Mar 2024

25 MINS

25:33

11 Mar 2024


#31

A family's peace | Part III

On a sunny Saturday in 2016, Benine Timothee left her house to visit a friend who lived close by and never returned. She had lived in the United States for only three months when she was shot and killed outside a corner store in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood. No arrests have been made, and there are no suspects in the case. This is the third and final episode of our three-part series, A Family's Peace, reported by independent investigative journalist Shannon Dooling. Benine's homicide is still unsolved, and Boston police haven't offered updates to her family in years. In Part III, Shannon talks to the Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney to get the insider scoop on how unsolved homicide cases are handled. Feeling left behind, Andre, Benine's widower, continues to search for answers and workarounds that don't involve law enforcement. Finally, we hear from Benine's children, Jephte and Nelissa, about how much their lives have changed since their mother's death, and how the family goes on living, with or without closure. ... Read more

27 Dec 2022

28 MINS

28:22

27 Dec 2022


#30

A family's peace | Part II

On a sunny Saturday in 2016, Benine Timothee left her house to visit a friend who lived close by and never returned. She had lived in the United States for only three months when she was shot and killed outside a corner store in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood. No arrests have been made, and there are no suspects in the case. This is the second episode of our three-part series, A Family's Peace, reported by independent investigative journalist Shannon Dooling. In part two, we learn just how hard it has been for Benine's family to get any  details surrounding her death, and why. Despite the hurdles, Shannon tracks down new insights to share with Benine's family members. She also dives into a theory that has haunted Boston's Haitian community for years about who really killed Benine. ... Read more

20 Dec 2022

29 MINS

29:08

20 Dec 2022


#29

A family's peace | Part I

On a sunny Saturday in 2016, Benine Timothee left her house to visit a friend who lived close by and never returned. She had lived in the United States for only three months when she was shot and killed outside a corner store in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood. No arrests have been made, and there are no suspects in the case. For six years, her family and others have been haunted by the question — what really happened to their mother, wife, and friend on that October afternoon in 2016? In this three-part series for Last Seen, independent investigative reporter Shannon Dooling joins Benine's family members on their quest for truth and information. Together, they explore what it means to go on living, after losing a loved one so suddenly, with no explanation. And if it's possible to ever find peace, in the absence of closure. In this first episode, we learn about Benine's life in Haiti, her family's hopes and dreams of a new life in Boston, and why her husband and children feel forgotten by law enforcement. ... Read more

13 Dec 2022

23 MINS

23:29

13 Dec 2022


#28

The Guilty Plate

This week, we're bringing you another food-related mystery - this time from our friendly neighbors to the north, Vermont Public and Brave Little State producer Josh Crane. If you go out to eat right now, you’re likely to run into restaurants that are struggling because they’re missing a crucial ingredient: staff. In this episode, Josh sets out to solve the mystery of the COVID-era restaurant industry exodus, by telling the story of one Vermont diner, The Guilty Plate. The full version of this story was originally published on December 1, 2022 on Vermont Public's podcast, Brave Little State. ... Read more

06 Dec 2022

30 MINS

30:29

06 Dec 2022


#27

Chinese pie

Mashed potatoes, corn and ground beef. These aren't the ingredients for shepherd's pie, but for Chinese pie, a traditional and very famous French Canadian dish. WBUR producer Amanda Beland, grew up eating Chinese pie, or pâté chinois, with her French Canadian family. But the pie's origins have always been a culinary mystery. In this episode of Last Seen, Amanda talks to historians and culinary experts to reveal where pâté chinois comes from, and how it might have gotten that name. ... Read more

29 Nov 2022

32 MINS

32:20

29 Nov 2022


#26

Confectioner's Row

For years, WBUR senior arts and culture reporter Andrea Shea drove by an old, mysterious factory in Cambridge, Mass. To her surprise, it turned to be the last vestige of a 20th century candy hub called Confectioner's Row. Manufacturing jobs dried up, and only one factory, Cambridge Brands, remains. In this episode of Last Seen, Andrea walks us through the history of Confectioner's Row and meets face-to-face with the CEO of Cambridge Brands — who is touted as a real life Willy Wonka. ... Read more

22 Nov 2022

28 MINS

28:32

22 Nov 2022


#25

Berried treasure

WBUR senior arts reporter Amelia Mason is on the hunt to solve a mystery that has been haunting her for years: why are black raspberries so hard to find? The answer takes us through grocery stores, farms, foraging expeditions, and Amelia's own childhood backyard. ... Read more

14 Nov 2022

30 MINS

30:08

14 Nov 2022


#24

Trailer: 'Last Seen,' Season 3

The third season of Last Seen, coming November 2022, is a collection of personal and political mysteries from public radio storytellers that you won't want to miss. ... Read more

09 Nov 2022

01 MINS

01:35

09 Nov 2022


#23

Episode 10: Searching for a Miracle

On his way to Hollywood, a young Black man named Winston Willis stopped in Cleveland in 1959 to shoot a little pool and walked away $35,000 richer. He used his winnings to open over two dozen businesses on Cleveland's East Side, a vibrant area that locals referred to as "Inner City Disneyland." For a time, Willis was a multi-millionaire, the largest employer of Black people in the Midwest, and a bold business mogul with a big reputation. Nowadays, there's no trace of the "Miracle on 105th Street". That same intersection is dominated by the campus of a non-profit hospital system. And most people growing up in Cleveland today have never heard of Winston Willis. Cleveland writer and race educator Ajah Hales examines the forces that punished Willis for daring to live the American dream, and goes on a search for his missing legacy. ... Read more

29 Mar 2022

55 MINS

55:14

29 Mar 2022


#22

Episode 9: Bad Actor

People will tell you Richard Bento is a good actor — on and off the stage. Over the past decade, he's been a pillar of the New England community theater scene - acting in and directing countless productions, and fostering the love of theater in other thespians. But lately, he's been at the center of some real life dramas swirling behind the scenes,  involving accusations of fraud, embezzlement, and other kinds of scams. After disappearing from one local theater for a time, he's been known to pop up at another and pull his stunts all over again, leaving a wake of mistrust and missing funds behind. Reporter and producer Quincy Walters (WBUR) investigates Bento’s con artistry and his most recent vanishing act. ... Read more

22 Mar 2022

40 MINS

40:43

22 Mar 2022


#21

Episode 8: The Emotional Lives of Everyday Objects

Many prized possessions and artifacts imbued with sentimental value go missing, unintentionally. But, what about when we choose to renounce the items that mean the most to us -- like that mixtape your old girlfriend made, right before she broke up with you? The Nirvana baseball cap you wore to a Kurt Cobain memorial? Or the Sorel boots your father-in-law gave you, right before he died? Join arts and culture journalist Allyson McCabe (Lost Notes, Short Cuts) as she weaves together personal stories of objects in flux with artistic attempts to convey their spiritual significance in our everyday lives. As Allyson discovers, getting rid of your baggage isn't quite as simple as getting rid of the bags. ... Read more

15 Mar 2022

29 MINS

29:45

15 Mar 2022