Body Builders #482
July 13, 2018
This week we explore how science and technology can help us walk when we've lost our legs, see when we've gone blind, explore unfriendly environments, and maybe even make our bodies better, stronger, and faster than ever before. We speak to Adam Piore, author of the book "The Body Builders: Inside the Science of the Engineered Human", about the increasingly amazing ways bioengineering is being used to reverse engineer, rebuild, and augment human beings. And we speak with Ken Thomas, spacesuit engineer and author of the book "The Journey to Moonwalking: The People That Enabled Footprints on the Moon" about the lesser-known engineers who helped create the spacesuit that went to the moon.
Guests:
- Adam Piore
- Ken Thomas
Featured Books
The Body Builders: Inside the Science of the Engineered Human
The Journey to Moonwalking: The People Who Enabled Footprints on the Moon
Guest Bios
Adam Piore
Adam Piore is an award-winning journalist based in New York. A former editor and correspondent for Newsweek Magazine, his narrative features have appeared in Conde Nast Traveler, GQ, Discover Magazine, Mother Jones, Playboy, Scientific American, the Atavist, BusinessWeek and many others. He is a contributing editor at Popular Science and Discover Magazines, and the author of the new book "The Body Builders: Inside the Science of the Engineered Human".
Ken Thomas
Ken Thomas is a second generation space engineer. He became a spacesuit project engineer in 1989 and his career spanned both the Shuttle Extravehicular Mobility Unit program and the Lunar-Mars suit. He has taught at Central Connecticut State University and Johnson Space Center's NASA Academy, and since 1994 has worked as a consultant to the National Air and Space Museum's Space History Department. He's here today to talk about his most recent book, "The Journey to Moonwalking: The People That Enabled Footprints on the Moon".
