02/13/2015

Tales of Broken Hearts

16:33 minutes

In The Man Who Touched His Own Heart: True Tales of Science, Surgery and Mystery, Rob Dunn considers the heart, from early scientific inquiries by Galen and Leonardo Da Vinci to the birth of cardiology (from a bar room brawl). Along the way, he writes of the creative—and sometimes tragic—ways that scientists and surgeons have sought to mend the maladies of the “neediest muscle in the body.” Read an excerpt here.

Plus, if matters of the heart move you, share these science-themed Valentines with that special someone.

Segment Guests

Rob Dunn

Rob Dunn is author of The Man Who Touched His Own Heart: True Tales of Science, Surgery, and Mystery (Little Brown, 2015) and a professor of applied ecology in the Department of Biological Sciences at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Meet the Producer

About Christopher Intagliata

Christopher Intagliata was Science Friday’s senior producer. He once served as a prop in an optical illusion and speaks passable Ira Flatowese.

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