The Prisoners Used for Their Skin

The Human Subject

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 BBC Radio 4