The Prisoners Used for Their Skin
A young man sentenced to 23 months in a Philadelphia prison finds himself at the centre of medical experiments, where hundreds of prisoners become human subjects for their skin.
Humanity’s journey to understanding the body has been a gory one, littered with unethical experiments, unintended consequences and unimaginable endurance.
In The Human Subject, Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Julia Shaw investigate the threads connecting modern day medicine to its often brutal origins. With every episode they explore some of that dark history and ask - is our present day knowledge worth the suffering it took to get us here?
The year is 1964 and 20 year old Edward Anthony is being checked into Philadelphia’s Holmesburg prison, also known as ‘The Terrordome’, about to serve a 23-month sentence for dealing marijuana.
Only two weeks into being at the prison he agrees to the first of many medical experiments run by Dr Albert Kligman and the University of Pennsylvania dermatology department. This first experiment, a 'bubble bath test', leaves him feeling like his back is on fire. To his cellmates he yells, ‘It’s killing me’. This is the story of Edward and hundreds of other prisoners who were exploited in this Philadelphia prison. in the pursuit of knowledge and for financial gain.
Presenters: Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Julia Shaw
Series Producer: Simona Rata
Assistant Producer: Mansi Vithlani
Executive Producer: Jo Meek
Sound Design: Craig Edmondson
Commissioner: Dan Clarke
An Audio Always production for Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 4
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Broadcast
- Sun 21 Jul 2024 23:00Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 4
The Human Subjects Who Participated in History’s Darkest Medical Experiments
Dr Julia Shaw investigates some profoundly unethical experiments.
Podcast
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The Human Subject
Investigating the threads connecting modern-day medicine to its often brutal origins.
