Heart of the Matter
Summary
This episode explores the London Necropolis Railway, a 19th-century transit system built to move bodies to a new cemetery after London ran out of grave space, featuring class and religious segregation for the dead. The second story details Werner Forssmann’s daring 1929 self-experiment, where he inserted a catheter into his own heart to pioneer cardiac diagnostics, a breakthrough that eventually earned him the Nobel Prize.
Topics discussed
Sponsor: Lincoln Rejuvenate
Show Introduction
London's grave space crisis and body disposal
Creation of the London Necropolis Railway
Public debate on dignity, class, and religion
Ticket classes and cemetery station details
WWII destruction and the railway's end
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Werner Forssmann's early life and medical training
The concept of cardiac catheterization
Rejection of animal testing and decision to self-experiment
The 1929 self-experiment and X-ray confirmation
Nazi party membership and wartime conduct
Nobel Prize, legacy, and death
Credits and book information
Patreon promotion and outro
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