Gavin Francis leads us round a cultural map of the body – an adventure in what it means to be human. Taking in health and illness, and offering insights on everything from the ribbed surface of the brain to the unique engineering of the foot.

Drawing on his own experiences as a physician and writer, he blends first-hand case studies with reflections on the way the body has been imagined and portrayed over millennia.

He begins with the moment, age 19, when he first held a human brain.

Read by Bill Paterson
Abridged by Jo Coombs

Produced by Hannah Marshall
A Loftus production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015. Show less