Replaceable You – Mary Roach on the Miracles We Can’t Copy

Best-selling science writer Mary Roach joins Curie to talk about her new book Replaceable You, a deep dive into what happens when medicine tries to repair—or outright replace—parts of the human body. From elective amputations to pig-to-human organ research, burn units, and bioprinting labs, Roach explores the strange, awe-inspiring, and sometimes absurd frontiers of modern medicine. Along the way, she unpacks why replacement isn’t always straightforward, why surgeons often resist it, and what these efforts reveal about the extraordinary complexity of the human body. It’s equal parts fascinating, funny, and humbling—a reminder that even with decades of scientific progress, nature remains the hardest engineer to outdo