Episode Summary

Did Benjamin Franklin have a basement full of human skeletons?

It sounds like internet conspiracy clickbait… except the bones were real.

When renovations uncovered more than 1,200 human bone fragments beneath Benjamin Franklin’s former London home, historians were forced to answer a very uncomfortable question: Why were they there?

In this episode of Seriously Sus, Nanette and Miranda separate historical fact from centuries of rumor as they investigate one of America’s most fascinating Founding Fathers. From illegal anatomy schools operating beneath Franklin’s residence to his friendship with the infamous Hellfire Club, family betrayals during the American Revolution, and the carefully crafted image that turned him into one of history’s greatest personal brands, Franklin’s life was far stranger than most history books ever admit.

Was he secretly involved with the Hellfire Club? Did he know there were human cadavers being dissected beneath his home? How much of the Benjamin Franklin we think we know was brilliant self-promotion?

Join us as we dig through the evidence, debunk the myths, and ask whether Benjamin Franklin was simply an Enlightenment genius… or just a little bit seriously sus.