Today we’re going to depart from our regular format a little bit, and explore the area where fiction meets real life.

CONTENT WARNING: This episode deals with amputation.

We hear passages from the novel Machine Man by Max Barry, about a man who slowly transforms himself, body part by body part, into a machine. And then we’ll meet a real life amputee, an MIT professor named Hugh Herr, who is building mechanical body parts for real.

The book passages were performed by Ed Herbstman and Chet Siegel.
The piece was produced by Jonathan Mitchell and edited by David Krasow.
It originally aired on Studio 360.

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BONUS
 

This video demonstrates Hugh Herr's bionic foot design.

MUSIC USED IN THIS STORY

1.Soft Trees Break the Fall
Artist: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Album: The Social Network (soundtrack from the Motion Picture) 

2.Pieces Form the Whole
Artist: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Album: The Social Network (soundtrack from the Motion Picture) 

3.It Catches Up With You
Artist: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Album: The Social Network (soundtrack from the Motion Picture) 

4.Penetration
Artist: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Album: The Social Network (soundtrack from the Motion Picture)