Free Online Talk · Body Snatching from da Vinci to Today—And Yes, It's Still Going On, with Author, Andy McPhee

$0.00

Monday, January 12, 2026 (Preferably January 12; it's closest to the book's pub date. Otherwise the 17th.)

7pm ET (NYC time)
Free! RSVP with email at checkout

PLEASE NOTE: Video playback of free events is only available to Patreon members. Become a Member HERE.

Ticketholders: A Zoom invite is sent out two hours before the event to the email used at checkout. Please check your spam folder and if not received, email hello@morbidanatomy.org.

Does the future health of the living outweigh society’s need to maintain the dignity of its dead? A deadly riot against medical men in 1788 brought that question into stark relief, and there is no clear answer even today.

Pilfering bodies from graveyards to study human anatomy has presented a moral conundrum within medicine and the public since at least the Middle Ages. This presentation, based on the speaker's forthcoming book, The Doctors’ Riot of 1788: Body Snatching, Bloodletting, and Anatomy in America, explores a deadly riot in New York City started not by doctors, but by the public railing against doctors and anatomy students for stealing bodies from the predominantly White Trinity Church cemetery. We will focus on body snatching in earlier centuries as well as what the speaker calls modernized body snatching in the United States. Participants will be challenged to address the central question: After all this time, why haven’t we found a way to ensure our own dignity after death?

Former critical care nurse, nurse educator, and award-winning writer, Andy McPhee is the author of four books and hundreds of news articles for young adults. He has overseen the publication of dozens of educational healthcare textbooks and now writes nonfiction books about important events in history. His first, Donora Death Fog: Clean Air and the Tragedy of a Pennsylvania Mill Town, explores the worst air pollution disaster in US history and how its lessons are being neglected today. His new book, The Doctors’ Riot of 1788: Body Snatching, Bloodletting, and Anatomy in America, is due from Prometheus Books January 6, 2026. Andy loves writing, golf, and fine food—not necessarily in that order—and he lives with his wife and two dogs in Saint Petersburg, Florida.

Monday, January 12, 2026 (Preferably January 12; it's closest to the book's pub date. Otherwise the 17th.)

7pm ET (NYC time)
Free! RSVP with email at checkout

PLEASE NOTE: Video playback of free events is only available to Patreon members. Become a Member HERE.

Ticketholders: A Zoom invite is sent out two hours before the event to the email used at checkout. Please check your spam folder and if not received, email hello@morbidanatomy.org.

Does the future health of the living outweigh society’s need to maintain the dignity of its dead? A deadly riot against medical men in 1788 brought that question into stark relief, and there is no clear answer even today.

Pilfering bodies from graveyards to study human anatomy has presented a moral conundrum within medicine and the public since at least the Middle Ages. This presentation, based on the speaker's forthcoming book, The Doctors’ Riot of 1788: Body Snatching, Bloodletting, and Anatomy in America, explores a deadly riot in New York City started not by doctors, but by the public railing against doctors and anatomy students for stealing bodies from the predominantly White Trinity Church cemetery. We will focus on body snatching in earlier centuries as well as what the speaker calls modernized body snatching in the United States. Participants will be challenged to address the central question: After all this time, why haven’t we found a way to ensure our own dignity after death?

Former critical care nurse, nurse educator, and award-winning writer, Andy McPhee is the author of four books and hundreds of news articles for young adults. He has overseen the publication of dozens of educational healthcare textbooks and now writes nonfiction books about important events in history. His first, Donora Death Fog: Clean Air and the Tragedy of a Pennsylvania Mill Town, explores the worst air pollution disaster in US history and how its lessons are being neglected today. His new book, The Doctors’ Riot of 1788: Body Snatching, Bloodletting, and Anatomy in America, is due from Prometheus Books January 6, 2026. Andy loves writing, golf, and fine food—not necessarily in that order—and he lives with his wife and two dogs in Saint Petersburg, Florida.