Pigs with human kidneys. Iron lungs. Bionic prostheses. And bendable genitals. Mary Roach is here, and Alie is freaking out. Over the last two decades, this science icon has written seven New York Times bestsellers, including Stiff, Bonk, Gulp, and Packing for Mars. Her latest release, Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy is all about Human Technomorphology. Prep your flesh for getting to 4th base in a lab, bugs on drugs, elective amputation, gene-tweaked farm animals, vacuum chambers, beating hearts, leftover tendons and much more with a scicomm legend who’s Alie’s personal career hero. Visit Mary Roach’s website and follow her on InstagramCheck out Mary’s books including her latest, Replaceable You, available on Amazon and Bookshop.orgDonations went to The Amputee Coalition and United Ostomy Associations of AmericaMore episode sources and linksOther episodes you may enjoy: Disability Sociology (DISABILITY PRIDE), Genicular Traumatology (BAD KNEES), Stem Cell Biology (CELLS MAKING CELLS), Systems Biology (MEDICAL MATHEMATICS), Neurotechnology (AI + BRAIN TECH), Osteology (SKELETONS/BODY FARMS), Surgical Oncology (BREAST CANCER), Dipterology (FLIES)400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topicSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesSponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow Ologies on Instagram and BlueskyFollow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTokEditing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake ChaffeeManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Full Episode
Oh, hey, it's last year's calendar. You don't know if you should throw away. Ali Ward. And this is a very special episode of Ologies that I know so many of you right now are losing your damn minds. Friends, I'm right there with you. Wow. Over the last 20 years, this guest has written so many New York Times bestsellers. It's a labor to list them all, but I will because they are glorious books.
So you may know these titles. Stiff, The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. Spook, Science Tackles the Afterlife. Bonk, The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex. Packing for Mars, The Curious Science of Life in the Void, Gulp, Adventures on the Elementary Canal, Grunt, The Curious Science of Humans at War, and Fuzz, When Nature Breaks the Law. This guest is the Meryl Streep of science writing.
I looked it up. Meryl Streep has three Oscars. This person, seven New York Times bestsellers, absolute goat. With just an eight brain and a notepad, this person has changed the way the public interfaces with science. Now, because of that, in the first half, I just barraged them with questions about science communication and how they write books.
and their approach to storytelling in conveying science to the public, what it's like behind the scenes. And then in the second half, we really dive into your questions on human technomorphology, which is the topic in their latest book, Replaceable You, Adventures in Human Anatomy, which comes out today, September 16th. I had to wait to put this up until today. Get the book. Love it.
I read it in a day and a half. It's like a bingeable book, this one. So this interview, side note, had to be rescheduled a few times just because of some tech glitches. And right after we did record, I closed my laptop and I started crying. But you will find out why in a bit.
But first, thank you to patrons of the show who support us for as little as a dollar a month and submit questions before we record. Thank you to everyone wearing things from allogiesmerch.com.
Thank you to all the caring souls who leave reviews of the show because you know it helps and you know I read them, including listener Recommended in Dreams who wrote a review saying, Seriously, twice now I have recommended this podcast to people in a dream. Recommended in dreams. I thank you in dreams.
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Also, thank you to sponsors of this show who make it possible for us to donate to causes of the ologist choosing each week. Okay, let's get into how and why we modify the human body, past, present, and future as we talk to this author and journalist who has gone to actual ends of the earth to interview the finest experts with the best stories.
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