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This is fresh air. I'm Terry Gross.

Here's the kind of questions my guest Mary Roach explores in her new book.

What makes a pig a better organ donor than a goat? Could a heart survive indefinitely outside a body?

How do you remove a deceased tissue donor's bones in a way the family will be comfortable with?

Her book titled Replaceable You is about the latest

breakthroughs in replacing body parts from skin to hearts and prosthetic limbs. With advancements

in regenerative medicine, stem cells, and genetic editing, dysfunctioning parts of our bodies

are replaceable in ways that were previously impossible. Mary Roach also writes about attempts

to replace body parts centuries ago, including false teeth in the George Washington era and nose

replacements in the 1500s. Roach is known for her books about what makes the human body so

remarkable, even the parts or functions we may find embarrassing or

disgusting. She's also known for making her books funny and entertaining. Mary Roach, welcome back to

fresh air. So what led you to want to write about replacing body parts? Well, for one thing,

I'm 66 and things are starting to go, so it's kind of ever

present in my head. Also, with one exception, my books have always been about the human body

in some way, shape, or form. And so this was kind of a logical place to go at my age.

But really, one of the things that triggered it was a conversation with a reader who had

contacted me with a book idea that didn't quite fit my interests.

She wanted me to write about professional football referees.

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