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Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More

The Resurrectionists: Grave Robbers Who Built Modern Medicine

Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More

Gary Arndt

Education, History

4.7 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 29 April 2026

⏱️ 15 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the early days of modern medicine, some of the most important scientific breakthroughs depended on a deeply disturbing underground trade.  Under the cover of darkness, gangs known as Resurrectionists robbed fresh graves and sold bodies to anatomy schools hungry for cadavers.  Their work helped train doctors and advance science, but it also terrified the public and reshaped laws, ethics, and culture.  Learn more about the Resurrectionists and their disturbing yet important legacy on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Newspapers.com Honor the past by uncovering its stories at Newspapers.com  Promo Code EVERYTHINGEVERWHERE Samsara Don’t wait for the next accident to take action. Head to Samsara.com/EVERYTHING ButcherBox Get your choice between chicken breast or top sirloin for a year OR ground beef for life, PLUS $20 off when you go to ButcherBox.com/everything Quince Go to quince.com/daily for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order! Mint Mobile Save 50% on Unlimited premium wireless plans starting at $15/month at MintMobile.com/EED Audible Listen to Project Hail Mary Audible.com/hailmary Fast Growing Trees Get 20% off your first purchase when using the code DAILY at checkout at fastgrowingtrees.com/daily Subscribe to the podcast!  https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/ -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Charles Daniel Associate Producers: Austin Oetken & Cameron Kieffer   Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Discord Server: https://discord.gg/Ds7Rx7jvPJ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/  Disce aliquid novi cotidie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

In the early days of modern medicine, some of the most important scientific breakthroughs depended upon a deeply disturbing underground trade.

0:08.5

Under the cover of darkness, gangs known as resurrectionists robbed fresh graves and sold bodies to anatomy schools hungry for cadavers.

0:17.4

Their work helped train doctors and advanced science, but it also terrified the public and reshaped laws, ethics, and culture.

0:25.4

Learn more about the Resurrectionists, and their disturbing yet important legacy on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

0:32.6

Music Do you ever climb into bed ready to sleep, only to have your mind start racing the moment your head hits the pillow?

0:50.9

Thoughts bouncing around, replaying the day or jumping ahead to tomorrow?

0:55.3

That is exactly why Catherine Nikolai created Nothing Much Happens. Each episode is a gentle, cozy bedtime story where,

1:01.8

well, nothing much happens. No drama, no tension, nothing you need to follow closely. Just soft

1:07.5

narration, calming repetition, and soothing sensory details designed to help your mind slow down and your body relax.

1:14.0

It's not about entertainment, it's about rest. And millions of listeners around the world use it every night to quiet their thoughts and finally fall asleep.

1:21.8

If you've ever struggled to shut your brain off at night, this might be exactly what you've been missing.

1:26.4

You can listen to Nothing Much Happens wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are every Monday and Thursday.

1:38.5

Understanding human anatomy took a surprisingly long time to develop, especially considering

1:44.1

that everything we need to know

1:46.0

is locked inside each of us. The reason it took so long is that the only way you can really

1:51.4

understand what's under our skin is to dissect cadavers. I mean, I suppose you could do it to living

1:57.5

people, but I think the problem with that is pretty obvious.

2:07.2

While it may seem rather macabre, cadavers are vital for understanding anatomy, as they provide hands-on reference material without risking anyone's safety.

2:11.5

Allowing surgeons to train on human cadavers, fosters a better understanding of human anatomy,

2:16.5

encourages confident case handling,

2:18.6

reduces misinformation, and provides insight into anatomical differences, all without risk of harm

2:24.5

to patients.

...

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