Mary Roach: You’re More Replaceable Than You Know

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, News Commentary, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 15 September 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What do frog skin, polyester hair and gene-edited pig kidneys have in common? They’re all part of humanity’s long quest to swap out ailing parts of our bodies, according to science writer Mary Roach. From prosthetic limbs to printable organs, Roach joins to talk about the history and complexities of human body replacement and where the science is today. Her new book is “Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy.” Guests: Mary Roach, author, "Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy"; her earlier books include "Grunt," "Stiff," "Bonk" and "Fuzz" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for KQED podcasts comes from Star One Credit Union.
0:04.8	Give your savings account the love it deserves.
0:07.8	When you keep your money with Star One, you keep more of your money.
0:11.5	Star One Credit Union in your best interest.
0:14.9	Introducing the five-year price guarantee from Xfinity.
0:18.4	No matter how your life or your taste and music changes
0:20.9	in five years,
0:22.1	your internet price
0:23.0	will stay exactly the same.
0:25.2	Restrictions apply,
0:26.0	new residential customers only,
0:27.6	taxes and fees extra
0:28.4	and subject to change.
0:30.7	From KQED.
0:32.0	Thank you.
0:50.6	Thank you. From KQBD in San Francisco, I'm Mina Kim. Coming up on Forum, humanity's quest to replace and regenerate our body parts.
0:56.7	We tried brass for noses, petroleum byproducts for breasts, among other unexpected materials
1:02.4	that science writer Mary Roach chronicles in her new book, Replaceable You.
1:07.6	Roach also looks at where the science is today on advances like prosthetic limbs and printable organs,
1:13.7	along the way reminding us how endlessly fascinating our original parts are. Have you had a
1:19.9	body part replaced from a knee or hip to a kidney? Tell us about it after this news.
1:40.5	Welcome to Forum. I'm Mina Kim. What do frog skin, polyester hair, and pig kidneys have in common? They've all been used to try to replace a remarkably complex body parts.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KQED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of KQED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.