Playback: I See Dead People

About this episode

Carla Valentine discusses her work with corpses and the importance of understanding mortuary practices.

Pathology technician Carla Valentine always knew she wanted to work with corpses. In childhood, she conducted funerals for roadkill. These days, she is curator of the Barts Pathology Museum, and a passionate advocate for more awareness about what happens when the mortuary doors swing shut... In this interview with Olly, she reveals how to prepare for an autopsy, how to get a sense of how a person lived from examining their remains, and how to create that ‘look of gentle repose’ so important to grieving families. You’ll discover when rigor mortis starts, how identify the difference between primary and secondary flaccidity, and you'll learn about alkaline hydrolosis (‘the new cremation’) and the American trend for being embalmed sitting up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Olly Mann

Guest: Carla Valentine

Topics covered

• pathology
• mortuary practices
• autopsy preparation
• grief
• death awareness

Keywords

• autopsy
• rigor mortis
• alkaline hydrolosis
• embalming
• grieving families

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Barts Pathology Museum

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