Mary Roach, Author, Bonk, Stiff, Packing for Mars, and Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War; Twitter @mary_roach

Millions of people serve in our armed forces, but what does it take get them prepared and keep them alive? Roach tackles the science behind some of a soldier’s most challenging adversaries – panic, exhaustion, heat and noise. She shares some of her bizarre experiences dodging hostile fire as part of a training exercise with the U.S. Marine Corps Paintball Team and staying up all night with the crew manning missiles on the nuclear submarine USS Tennessee.

Take a tour of duty with Roach and you’ll never think about our nation’s defenders the same way again.