It’s 1849, and a gruesome murder has just happened at Harvard. As body parts turn up, the science of the day is put to the ultimate test to find out: who committed this brutal killing? Prof. Paul Collins tells us how this morbid mystery unfolds.
Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsMurderInTheIvoryTower
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) The murder that shocked Harvard
(02:35) A very rich man disappears
(06:08) The tea chest of horrors
(07:34) The professor
(09:33) The janitor
(12:00) The case against the professor
(14:25) The trial
(17:48) 1800s forensics enter the picture
(25:29) The verdict
This episode was produced by Kaitlyn Sawrey with help from Wendy Zukerman, Rose Rimler, Meryl Horn and Odelia Rubin. Editing by Blythe Terrell, with help from Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking by Michelle Harris. Mix and sound design by Emma Munger. Music by Emma Munger and Bobby Lord. A huge thanks to Jessica Murphy and the team at the Harvard University Archives, plus Lars Trembly and Matthew Nelson, Frank Lopez, Joseph Lavelle Wilson and the Zukerman Family.
Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Who Killed Affordable Housing?
Gluten: Should You Give It Up?
AI: Is It Out Of Control?
Blue Balls: A Ball-Faced Lie?
The Dentist: Toss the Floss? Flush the Brush?
Skin Care: Is Anti-Aging a Scam?
Did We Predict the Pandemic?
I’ll Be Dammed: Beavers Fighting Climate Change
Ketamine: How Special is Special K?
Pit Bulls: Bad to the Bone?
Superbugs: Apocalypse … Now?
Hangovers: What Really Helps?
Alcohol: Time to Put a Cork in It?
Weight Loss Meds: Is Ozempic a Miracle Drug?
Nerds, Assemble! Science Vs Is Back
Listen to Science Vs in Spanish!
Adderall: What's It Doing to Your Brain?
When Science and Superstitions Collide
Hypnosis: Does It Really Work?
Deodorant: Is It Dangerous?
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Science Weekly
Planet Money
Space Nuts
Up First
Unexplainable