Last Seen

Last Seen

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?

 Introducing: What Remains from NHPR's Outside/In

Introducing: What Remains from NHPR's Outside/In

Introducing “What Remains,” a special series from NHPR’s Outside/In. A classroom display of human skulls sparks a reckoning at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia. A movement grows to “abolish the collection.” The Penn Museum relents to pressure. But there are more skeletons in the closet. To hear all three parts, including the prologue, subscribe to Outside/In.

Jan 29, • 37:13

Postmortem, Ep. 5: A reckoning

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

May 1, 2024 • 28:42

Postmortem, Ep. 4: The anatomy lab

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 e

May 1, 2024 • 23:47

Postmortem, Ep. 3: The collectors

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

May 1, 2024 • 35:50

Postmortem, Ep. 2: The victims

Postmortem, Ep. 2: The victims

When news of the Harvard morgue scandal went viral, no one was hit harder than the families of people who had donated their bodies for study at the nation's most prestigious medical school. As if grieving the loss of a loved one wasn't enough, now there was this: the specter of a family member's body dismembered and sold to strangers for profit. In Episode 2 of Postmortem: The Stolen Bodies of Harvard, reporter Ally Jarmanning talks with Amber Haggstrom, whose mother donated her body to Harvard

May 1, 2024 • 29:10

Postmortem Ep. 1: The crime

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 tra

May 1, 2024 • 25:38

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

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

Apr 16, 2024 • 2:54

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

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

Mar 11, 2024 • 25:33

 Introducing ‘The Gun Machine’, a podcast about how America was forged by the gun industry

Introducing ‘The Gun Machine’, a podcast about how America was forged by the gun industry

Produced by WBUR, Boston’s NPR, in partnership with The Trace, The Gun Machine looks into the past to bring you a story that most Americans never learned in history class: how early partnerships between mad scientist gunsmiths and a fledgling U.S. government created the gun industry in the Northeast, and how that industry has been partners with the government ever since. Host Alain Stephens examines how this 250-year relationship underpins all Americans’ interactions with guns — including our

Oct 6, 2023 • 3:00

'Violation,' Part 1: Two sons, lost

'Violation,' Part 1: Two sons, lost

Why did Jacob Wideman murder Eric Kane? In 1986, the two 16-year-olds were rooming together on a summer camp trip to the Grand Canyon when Jacob fatally — and inexplicably — stabbed Eric. That night, Jacob went on the run, absconding with the camp’s rented Oldsmobile and thousands of dollars in traveler’s checks. Before long, he turned himself in and eventually confessed to the killing — although he couldn’t explain what drove him to do it. It would take years of therapy and medical treatm

Mar 23, 2023 • 34:57

Last Seen introduces Violation, a new podcast about who pulls the levers of power in the justice system

Last Seen introduces Violation, a new podcast about who pulls the levers of power in the justice system

We thought Last Seen fans would want to hear this trailer for a new podcast from WBUR. Violation tells the story of two families bound together by an unthinkable crime. It explores America's opaque parole system and asks: How much time in prison is enough? Who gets to decide? And, when someone commits a terrible crime, what does redemption look like? Listen to the trailer and if you like what you hear, head over to the Violation feed wherever you get your podcasts and hit subscribe so you'll g

Mar 15, 2023 • 3:36

A family's peace | Part III

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 st

Dec 27, 2022 • 28:22

A family's peace | Part II

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 h

Dec 20, 2022 • 29:08

A family's peace | Part I

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 thi

Dec 13, 2022 • 23:29

The Guilty Plate

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

Dec 6, 2022 • 30:29

Chinese pie

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.

Nov 29, 2022 • 32:20

Confectioner's Row

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.

Nov 22, 2022 • 28:32

Berried treasure

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.

Nov 14, 2022 • 30:08

Trailer: 'Last Seen,' Season 3

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.

Nov 9, 2022 • 1:35

Tell Us What You Think of Last Seen

Tell Us What You Think of Last Seen

Season 2 of Last Seen just wrapped, which means it's time for a listener survey! The second season of this show was one big experiment. We brought you an anthology of ten new mysteries - from the esoteric to the straight forward - told by a variety of storytellers, in a variety of styles, about all kinds of people, places and things that have gone missing. And we're so curious to find out what YOU - our loyal listeners - thought about it! It would mean so much to us if you'd take just a *few*

Apr 29, 2022 • 1:57

Episode 10: Searching for a Miracle

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 Stree

Mar 29, 2022 • 55:14

Episode 9: Bad Actor

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 po

Mar 22, 2022 • 40:43

Episode 8: The Emotional Lives of Everyday Objects

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 stori

Mar 15, 2022 • 29:45

Episode 7: A Most Unusual Houseguest

Episode 7: A Most Unusual Houseguest

When artist Alison Byrnes opened a package she had mailed to herself two years earlier, she was expecting to find a sealed box of her prints - but that's not what was inside. The United States Postal Service had made a rather serious mistake. Instead of artist prints, USPS delivered a little blue urn -- containing the ashes of a total stranger. Attempts at finding the family of the deceased failed, and the cremated remains of Jennings L. Heffelfinger sat abandoned and forgotten, year after yea

Mar 8, 2022 • 34:29

Episode 6: A Hole in the Silence

Episode 6: A Hole in the Silence

Spain has one of the highest number of forced disappearances in the world, second only to Cambodia. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and General Francisco Franco's dictatorship, fascist troops killed tens of thousands of people and threw them into mass graves. For decades, few people knew this — and no one in Spain talked about it. But in the year 2000, a man in the middle of an identity crisis began digging into his family's past, searching for a grandfather who had gone missing in the

Mar 1, 2022 • 46:02

Episode 5: Belly Up

Episode 5: Belly Up

When three friends went on a rum-fueled rampage one night deep in the Nevada desert, they never expected the trouble they would find themselves in a week later. The men broke into a remote unit of Death Valley National Park known as Devil's Hole — a mysterious flooded cave that happens to be home to the one of the rarest fish on Earth, and one that's critically endangered too. This episode, based on Paige Blankenbuehler's High Country News feature, is a bite-size crime story starring an obscur

Feb 22, 2022 • 38:26

Episode 4: Africa’s Lost Year of Hope

Episode 4: Africa’s Lost Year of Hope

In 1960, dubbed "The Year Of Africa", a pair of bold leaders fanned the flames of hope for a brighter future in the Belgian colony of Congo. But by the following year, that hope had been dashed by outside forces. Using traditional griot storytelling, writer Brenton Zola transports us to a turning point in Congo's path to independence, and remembers the future that almost was.

Feb 14, 2022 • 43:50

Episode 3: The Lost World

Episode 3: The Lost World

Every school kid learns that there are exactly eight planets in our solar system. But what if we told you there might be a ninth? A world that may be six times the size of Earth and take 12,000 years to orbit the Sun. The only thing is, while some scientists are convinced Planet Nine exists, no one has seen it. Yet. Science journalist and WBUR producer Dean Russell (Endless Thread) traces the lives of two astronomers, separated by a century, bound by their thirst for finding that missing planet

Feb 8, 2022 • 35:56

Episode 2: Out of Time

Episode 2: Out of Time

Freeports are the most expensive and secretive warehouses in the world, which now hide some of the world’s cultural treasures from the public eye. Join Ben Brock Johnson as he traces the path of one lost Modigliani painting, "Seated Man with a Cane," and attempts to catch a glimpse inside these high-tech storage dungeons.

Jan 31, 2022 • 37:27

Episode 1: Murph

Episode 1: Murph

In 1964, Jack Murphy, or "Murph the Surf," pulled off the biggest jewel heist in New York City history only to be caught 48 hours later. Amory Sivertson traces the enigmatic life of this folk hero and examines why men like him continue to be idolized.

Jan 31, 2022 • 36:56

Trailer: 'Last Seen,' Season 2

Trailer: 'Last Seen,' Season 2

The new season, coming out Feb. 1, has 10 new true-crime mysteries that you don’t want to miss.

Jan 19, 2022 • 1:19

Coming in February: Things that have gone missing

Coming in February: Things that have gone missing

WBUR’s popular true-crime podcast returns, with mysterious tales about people, places, ashes, planets, endangered species, feelings and much more.

Nov 4, 2021 • 2:31

Last Seen Presents: Anything For Selena

Last Seen Presents: Anything For Selena

Listen to the trailer for "Anything For Selena," a new podcast from WBUR and Futuro Studios coming in January 2021. Subscribe now so you don't miss it! About The Show: On March 31, 1995, nine-year-old Maria Garcia came home to find her mother glued to the TV, tears rolling down her rosy cheeks. The phone kept ringing. Relatives in Mexico and the States wanted to know if Maria’s family was watching, too. American networks and Mexican programming aired the same top story. Selena Quintanilla, the

Oct 29, 2020 • 4:52

 Last Seen Presents: 'Madness'

Last Seen Presents: 'Madness'

"Madness" is a new investigative series from our fellow WBUR podcast, Endless Thread. Told in 5 parts, "Madness" unravels the shocking history of CIA-funded mind-control experiments. In the first episode, Endless Thread presents powerful accounts of abuse at a psychiatric hospital in Montreal, and introduces the renowned doctor who conducted these disturbing experiments on his unwitting patients. Tell us what you think of Last Seen! Please fill out our short survey.

Jul 8, 2020 • 20:19

Last Seen Presents: A Place Of Respite

Last Seen Presents: A Place Of Respite

Last Seen's sister podcast, Kind World, recently produced a special series featuring stories of kindness and compassion at the U.S.-Mexico border. Tell us what you think of Last Seen! Please fill out our short survey.

Nov 4, 2019 • 14:51

 Last Seen Presents: The Amber Room

Last Seen Presents: The Amber Room

Last Seen fans, here's a story about one of the greatest missing treasures of all-time, The Amber Room, from our friends at WBUR's Endless Thread podcast. The Amber Room was a treasure of kings and an architectural marvel before being stolen by Nazis and lost to history. So…what happened? It all depends on who you ask. Tell us what you think of Last Seen! Please fill out our short survey.

Jul 30, 2019 • 30:20

 Last Seen Presents: The Amber Room

Last Seen Presents: The Amber Room

Last Seen fans, here's a story about one of the greatest missing treasures of all-time, The Amber Room, from our friends at WBUR's Endless Thread podcast. The Amber Room was a treasure of kings and an architectural marvel before being stolen by Nazis and lost to history. So…what happened? It all depends on who you ask.

Jul 30, 2019 • 0:00

 Last Seen Presents: 'Infectious', Part 1

Last Seen Presents: 'Infectious', Part 1

"Infectious: The Strange Past and Surprising Present of Vaccines — and Anti-Vaxxers" explores the weird, winding story of scientific innovation, medical disasters and online virality that radicalized new parents and created a movement that threatens to send us back to the disease-ridden dark ages. Subscribe to Endless Thread wherever you get your podcasts. Tell us what you think of Last Seen! Please fill out our short survey.

May 28, 2019 • 38:18

 Last Seen Presents: Kind World

Last Seen Presents: Kind World

Last Seen wants to tell you about another great podcast: Kind World Tell us what you think of Last Seen! Please fill out our short survey.

Apr 22, 2019 • 11:25

Last Seen Presents Endless Thread

Last Seen Presents Endless Thread

We’re back in your feed to share a project we think you’ll love. There will be more from Last Seen in the new year. Until then, we wanted to share another mystery with you: an episode of the great WBUR podcast, Endless Thread. This story focuses on a young man who was last seen… in 1995. If you like it, subscribe to Endless Thread wherever you get your podcasts. Tell us what you think of Last Seen! Please fill out our short survey.

Dec 7, 2018 • 26:45

Episode 10: 'Last Seen' Live

Episode 10: 'Last Seen' Live

A behind-the-scenes conversation about how we investigated the most sensational unsolved art heist in history.

Nov 19, 2018 • 1:00:51

Episode 9: 'The Big Dig'

Episode 9: 'The Big Dig'

We follow a mobster's tip to excavate a lot in Orlando.

Nov 12, 2018 • 38:17

Episode 8: 'Flimflammer'

Episode 8: 'Flimflammer'

After a parallel heist gone wrong, did Brian McDevitt succeed at the Gardner Museum?

Nov 5, 2018 • 43:51

Episode 7: 'I Was The One'

Episode 7: 'I Was The One'

Was the world's greatest art thief the inspiration, or actually the mastermind, of the Gardner heist?

Oct 29, 2018 • 36:51

Episode 6: 'Befriend And Betray'

Episode 6: 'Befriend And Betray'

This is a story about how to plot an art recovery, and then blow it entirely.

Oct 22, 2018 • 32:04

Episode 5: 'The Bobbys'

Episode 5: 'The Bobbys'

We trace the art's possible path from Boston to Connecticut to Philadelphia.

Oct 15, 2018 • 33:02

Episode 4: 'Two Bad Men'

Episode 4: 'Two Bad Men'

Were George Reissfelder and David Turner involved in the Gardner heist?

Oct 8, 2018 • 40:36

Episode 3: 'Not A Bunch Of Jamokes'

Episode 3: 'Not A Bunch Of Jamokes'

Was the heist planned in the belly of Boston's criminal underworld operating out of a Dorchester auto body shop?

Oct 1, 2018 • 37:15

Episode 2: 'Inside Job?'

Episode 2: 'Inside Job?'

On the night of the heist, security guard Rick Abath made the critical mistake of letting the thieves into the museum. In this episode, we ask if it was indeed a mistake.

Sep 24, 2018 • 33:23

Episode 1: '81 Minutes'

Episode 1: '81 Minutes'

In 1990, two thieves stole 13 irreplaceable artworks from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. We take a closer look at what happened that night.

Sep 14, 2018 • 35:11

Introducing 'Last Seen'

Introducing 'Last Seen'

A look into the largest unsolved art heist in history: the theft of 13 irreplaceable artworks from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. "Last Seen" begins Sept. 17.

Jul 16, 2018 • 3:12

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