
Gross Anatomy
Dispatches from the Front (and Back)
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $18.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Mara Altman
-
By:
-
Mara Altman
About this listen
An honest, funny, neurotic, and totally gross love child of Mindy Kaling and Mary Roach.
Mara Altman's volatile and apprehensive relationship with her body has led her to wonder about a lot of stuff over the years. Like, who decided that women shouldn't have body hair? And how sweaty is too sweaty? Also, why is breast cleavage sexy but camel toe revolting? Isn't it all just cleavage? These questions and others like them have led to the comforting and sometimes smelly revelations that constitute Gross Anatomy, an essay collection about what it's like to operate the bags of meat we call our bodies.
Divided into two sections, "The Top Half" and "The Bottom Half", with cartoons scattered throughout, Altman's book takes the listener on a wild and relatable journey from head to toe - as she attempts to strike up a peace accord with our grody bits.
With a combination of personal anecdotes and fascinating research, Gross Anatomy holds up a magnifying glass to our beliefs, practices, biases, and body parts and shows us the naked truth: that there is greatness in our grossness.
©2018 Mara Altman (P)2018 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
Unthinkable
- An Extraordinary Journey Through the World's Strangest Brains
- By: Helen Thomson
- Narrated by: Helen Thomson
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A prize-winning journalist with a background in neuroscience, Helen Thomson spent years tracking down people who live with the world's most extraordinary neurological disorders - like a man who tried to break his back because his legs no longer felt like his own, and another who believed that he was dead for nine years. Not content to simply read about these cases on paper, Thomson reached out to 10 people with these afflictions, and they agreed to tell her their stories.
-
-
Very interesting
- By Ruthi on 07-01-19
By: Helen Thomson
-
Ripped from the Headlines!
- The Shocking True Stories Behind the Movies' Most Memorable Crimes
- By: Harold Schechter
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bestselling true-crime master Harold Schechter explores the real-life headline-making psychos, serial murderers, thrill-hungry couples, and lady-killers who inspired a century of classic films.
-
-
Fascinating Look at Films Based on True Crimes
- By Admiralu on 08-06-20
By: Harold Schechter
-
Coined
- The Rich Life of Money and How Its History Has Shaped Us
- By: Kabir Sehgal
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The importance of money in our lives is readily apparent to everyone - rich, poor, and in between. However grudgingly, most of us accept the expression "money makes the world go round" as a universal truth. We are all aware of the power of money - how it influences our moods, compels us to take risks, and serves as the yardstick of success in societies around the world. Yet because we take the daily reality of money so completely for granted, we seldom question how and why it has come to play such a central role in our lives.
-
-
Everything you never knew about money.
- By Clare on 05-15-15
By: Kabir Sehgal
-
Salt Sugar Fat
- How the Food Giants Hooked Us
- By: Michael Moss
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter at The New York Times comes the explosive story of the rise of the processed food industry and its link to the emerging obesity epidemic. Michael Moss reveals how companies use salt, sugar, and fat to addict us and, more important, how we can fight back.
-
-
This is all too real, and YOU are the victim.
- By Michael on 03-03-13
By: Michael Moss
-
Entangled Life
- How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures
- By: Merlin Sheldrake
- Narrated by: Merlin Sheldrake
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When we think of fungi, we likely think of mushrooms. But mushrooms are only fruiting bodies, analogous to apples on a tree. Most fungi live out of sight, yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that supports and sustains nearly all living systems. Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel, and behave.
-
-
Mycology for Everyone
- By Cephalopods Revenge on 05-12-20
By: Merlin Sheldrake
-
The Book of Help
- A Memoir in Remedies
- By: Megan Griswold
- Narrated by: Megan Griswold
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A hilarious and heartbreaking memoir-in-remedies by a self-described "professional soul-searcher" that details a journey of self-discovery through more than 160 tonics, seminars, regimens, and transformative therapies. With a voice that is at once intimate and hilarious, Megan captures the openness and honesty necessary for people to take a new path in life. Listeners will open the audiobook with curiosity about all the different healing therapies that Megan tries, but leave with a new understanding of themselves.
-
-
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride has some serious competition!
- By Elisa R. Goodman on 02-15-19
By: Megan Griswold
-
Unthinkable
- An Extraordinary Journey Through the World's Strangest Brains
- By: Helen Thomson
- Narrated by: Helen Thomson
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A prize-winning journalist with a background in neuroscience, Helen Thomson spent years tracking down people who live with the world's most extraordinary neurological disorders - like a man who tried to break his back because his legs no longer felt like his own, and another who believed that he was dead for nine years. Not content to simply read about these cases on paper, Thomson reached out to 10 people with these afflictions, and they agreed to tell her their stories.
-
-
Very interesting
- By Ruthi on 07-01-19
By: Helen Thomson
-
Ripped from the Headlines!
- The Shocking True Stories Behind the Movies' Most Memorable Crimes
- By: Harold Schechter
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bestselling true-crime master Harold Schechter explores the real-life headline-making psychos, serial murderers, thrill-hungry couples, and lady-killers who inspired a century of classic films.
-
-
Fascinating Look at Films Based on True Crimes
- By Admiralu on 08-06-20
By: Harold Schechter
-
Coined
- The Rich Life of Money and How Its History Has Shaped Us
- By: Kabir Sehgal
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The importance of money in our lives is readily apparent to everyone - rich, poor, and in between. However grudgingly, most of us accept the expression "money makes the world go round" as a universal truth. We are all aware of the power of money - how it influences our moods, compels us to take risks, and serves as the yardstick of success in societies around the world. Yet because we take the daily reality of money so completely for granted, we seldom question how and why it has come to play such a central role in our lives.
-
-
Everything you never knew about money.
- By Clare on 05-15-15
By: Kabir Sehgal
-
Salt Sugar Fat
- How the Food Giants Hooked Us
- By: Michael Moss
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter at The New York Times comes the explosive story of the rise of the processed food industry and its link to the emerging obesity epidemic. Michael Moss reveals how companies use salt, sugar, and fat to addict us and, more important, how we can fight back.
-
-
This is all too real, and YOU are the victim.
- By Michael on 03-03-13
By: Michael Moss
-
Entangled Life
- How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures
- By: Merlin Sheldrake
- Narrated by: Merlin Sheldrake
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When we think of fungi, we likely think of mushrooms. But mushrooms are only fruiting bodies, analogous to apples on a tree. Most fungi live out of sight, yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that supports and sustains nearly all living systems. Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel, and behave.
-
-
Mycology for Everyone
- By Cephalopods Revenge on 05-12-20
By: Merlin Sheldrake
-
The Book of Help
- A Memoir in Remedies
- By: Megan Griswold
- Narrated by: Megan Griswold
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A hilarious and heartbreaking memoir-in-remedies by a self-described "professional soul-searcher" that details a journey of self-discovery through more than 160 tonics, seminars, regimens, and transformative therapies. With a voice that is at once intimate and hilarious, Megan captures the openness and honesty necessary for people to take a new path in life. Listeners will open the audiobook with curiosity about all the different healing therapies that Megan tries, but leave with a new understanding of themselves.
-
-
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride has some serious competition!
- By Elisa R. Goodman on 02-15-19
By: Megan Griswold
-
An Elegant Defense
- The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: A Tale in Four Lives
- By: Matt Richtel
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A magnificently reported and soulfully crafted exploration of the human immune system - the key to health and wellness, life and death. An epic, first-of-its-kind audiobook, entwining leading-edge scientific discovery with the intimate stories of four individual lives, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist.
-
-
Weak foundation, good conclusion
- By David on 03-24-19
By: Matt Richtel
-
Reality Is Not What It Seems
- The Journey to Quantum Gravity
- By: Carlo Rovelli, Simon Carnell - translator, Erica Segre - translator
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the New York Times best-selling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, The Order of Time, and Helgoland, a closer look at the mind-bending nature of the Universe. What are the elementary ingredients of the world? Do time and space exist? And what exactly is reality? Theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli has spent his life exploring these questions. He tells us how our understanding of reality has changed over the centuries and how physicists think about the structure of the Universe today.
-
-
Most compelling physics book in at least 10 years!
- By Kyle on 02-03-17
By: Carlo Rovelli, and others
-
Subliminal
- How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior
- By: Leonard Mlodinow
- Narrated by: Leonard Mlodinow
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Leonard Mlodinow, the best-selling author of The Drunkard’s Walk and coauthor of The Grand Design (with Stephen Hawking), gives us a startling and eye-opening examination of how the unconscious mind shapes our experience of the world and how, for instance, we often misperceive our relationships with family, friends, and business associates, misunderstand the reasons for our investment decisions, and misremember important events.
-
-
Pretty Good
- By Bob on 06-24-12
By: Leonard Mlodinow
-
How to Die in Space
- A Journey Through Dangerous Astrophysical Phenomena
- By: Paul M. Sutter PhD
- Narrated by: Paul M. Sutter PhD
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
So you’ve fallen in love with space and now you want to see it for yourself, huh? You want to witness the birth of a star, or visit the black hole at the center of our galaxy? You want to know if there are aliens out there, or how to travel through a wormhole? You want the wonders of the universe revealed before your very eyes? Well stop, because all that will probably kill you.
-
-
Read me
- By william on 12-27-20
-
Sid Meier's Memoir!
- A Life in Computer Games
- By: Sid Meier, Jennifer Lee Noonan - contributor
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over his four-decade career, Sid Meier has produced some of the world's most popular video games, including Sid Meier's Civilization, which has sold more than 51 million units worldwide and accumulated more than one billion hours of play. Sid Meier's Memoir! is the story of an obsessive young computer enthusiast who helped launch a multibillion-dollar industry.
-
-
Only the Interesting Stuff
- By R. Squyres on 10-05-21
By: Sid Meier, and others
-
The Princess Diarist
- By: Carrie Fisher
- Narrated by: Carrie Fisher, Billie Lourd
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Carrie Fisher recently discovered the journals she kept during the filming of the first Star Wars movie, she was astonished to see what they had preserved—plaintive love poems, unbridled musings with youthful naiveté, and a vulnerability that she barely recognized. Today, her fame as an author, actress, and pop-culture icon is indisputable, but in 1977, Carrie Fisher was just a teenager with an all-consuming crush on her costar, Harrison Ford.
-
-
Come for the headlines, stay for the whole story
- By JOSEPH on 12-06-16
By: Carrie Fisher
-
Damnation Island
- Poor, Sick, Mad, and Criminal in 19th-Century New York
- By: Stacy Horn
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Today it is known as Roosevelt Island. In 1828, when New York City purchased this narrow, two-mile-long island in the East River, it was called Blackwell's Island. There, over the next hundred years, the city would build a lunatic asylum, prison, hospital, workhouse, and almshouse. Stacy Horn has crafted a compelling and chilling narrative told through the stories of the poor souls sent to Blackwell's, as well as the period's city officials, reformers, and journalists (including the famous Nellie Bly). Damnation Island re-creates what daily life was like on the island....
-
-
Fascinating!
- By tamborine on 08-06-18
By: Stacy Horn
-
You'll Grow Out of It
- By: Jessi Klein
- Narrated by: Jessi Klein
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In You'll Grow Out of It, Jessi Klein offers - through an incisive collection of real-life stories - a relentlessly funny yet poignant take on a variety of topics she has experienced along her strange journey to womanhood and beyond. These include her "transformation from Pippi Longstocking-esque tomboy to are-you-a-lesbian-or-what tom man", attempting to find watchable porn, and identifying the difference between being called "ma'am" and "miss" (" miss sounds like you weigh 99 pounds").
-
-
I like this woman so much!
- By Sarah F. on 07-24-16
By: Jessi Klein
-
I'm Fine...and Other Lies
- By: Whitney Cummings
- Narrated by: Whitney Cummings
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A hilarious and emotional personal account of the life, times, mistakes, and crippling codependence of comedian, producer, director, actress, and writer Whitney Cummings. Full of intellect, pathos, and profundity, I'm Fine...and Other Lies is, in Whitney's words, her first book, which means her last date. With her signature incendiary edge and self-deprecation, Whitney comes clean about what has shaped her into the trailblazing comic that she is today.
-
-
I've been waiting for this woman to write a book!
- By Giggle Pants on 10-09-17
By: Whitney Cummings
-
Come As You Are: Revised and Updated
- The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life
- By: Emily Nagoski PhD
- Narrated by: Emily Nagoski, Nicholas Boulton
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For much of the 20th and 21st centuries, women’s sexuality was an uncharted territory in science, studied far less frequently - and far less seriously - than its male counterpart. That is, until Emily Nagoski’s Come As You Are, which used groundbreaking science and research to prove that the most important factor in creating and sustaining a sex life filled with confidence and joy is not what the parts are or how they’re organized but how you feel about them.
-
-
Usless!!!
- By tammy on 03-04-21
-
I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn’t)
- Telling the Truth about Perfectionism, Inadequacy, and Power
- By: Brené Brown
- Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based on seven years of ground-breaking research and hundreds of interviews, I Thought It Was Just Me shines a long-overdue light on an important truth: Our imperfections are what connect us to each other and to our humanity. Our vulnerabilities are not weaknesses; they are powerful reminders to keep our hearts and minds open to the reality that we're all in this together.
-
-
I'm sure its great if you are a mother ....
- By Leslie A Hill on 08-09-11
By: Brené Brown
-
The Mystery of the Exploding Teeth
- And Other Curiosities from the History of Medicine
- By: Thomas Morris
- Narrated by: Thomas Morris, Ruper Farley
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A puzzling series of dental explosions beginning in the 19th century is just one of many strange tales that have long lain undiscovered in the pages of old medical journals. Award-winning medical historian Thomas Morris delivers one of the most remarkable, cringe-inducing collections of stories ever assembled.
-
-
Boring Toilet Humor
- By Nemo on 01-30-20
By: Thomas Morris
Critic reviews
“It's an honest, often hilarious look at women's bodies, how we think of them, our practices, questions, embarrassments. It's all on display, and Mara Altman is not shy about any of it.” (NPR’s All Things Considered)
“Delightfully crass...[Altman’s] level of research coupled with her unique shade of humor sets her series of essays apart.” (Publishers Weekly)
“An endearingly outrageous attempt to demystify the female body while shedding light on the causes of female corporeal insecurities. A simultaneously funny and informative memoir about the wonder of the human body.” (Kirkus Reviews)
What listeners say about Gross Anatomy
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Seth Wawak
- 07-28-24
Body Positive
Amazing history connecting female gender norms with the early advertising industry. Could have done without the body exploration element.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Deedra
- 05-16-22
Gross Anatomy
This was a good book.Some was funny,some was just uncomfortable,but I learned a few things. Mara Altman wrote and narrates and does a good job.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lola C.
- 11-30-22
Comedy and biology mixed perfectly together.
I love the story! Definitely gave you the sense that maybe you’re not so weird after all. Yeah, humans are gross. But in this book, we sort of make light of it, and giggle about all of the things that seemingly everyone has to deal with at some point in time or another. my only complaint is that I wish she would have added a chapter and told us how the birth went and how the babies are doing! Although I think a whole other book could be written on that topic! Hint, hint…
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jeni
- 10-23-18
Such a funny attestation to the plight of women
Loved the whole thing. This is the book I'm getting my friends and family for Christmas.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ds
- 04-05-19
So many facts
Well-researched and so interesting. We have all felt some of the author's insecurities. Nice to hear someone think out loud.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rochelle
- 04-26-23
LOL - Gross Anatomy!
Love this book! It was hilariously educational and kept me going during a flight from New Zealand to Houston.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- swigdor
- 11-30-18
Frank, Honest, and Humorous Look at Our Bodies
It is a fun ride alongside the author who openly and humorously discusses all the taboos and fears associated with our bodies that women everywhere share. This book seeks to answer such questions as "Why does my dog like my crotch?" or "Is my nipple hair normal?" Mara is like the friend you openly talk about everything with, but she goes one step further. She hunts down experts in such niche topics as medieval vagina historians, and gets their opinions as to her big questions.
It is an enjoyable listen while learning some new information and being able to feel less self conscious about your own insecurities.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Vampymissk
- 03-06-20
Quirky, Cringe-Worthy & Informative!!
I guess you would say, Everything-You-Wanted -To-Know but definitely afraid to ask. Mara's book was actually very informative despite being a potential stand-up act of self deprecating humor!! She is fun and quirky telling us all kinds of stuff about out bodies that we've wondered about. Yes, there were times driving that I gasped out loud and did get majorly grossed out. I'm sure passing cars were thinking I was having a spell of some kind! While there were some topics I would have liked to hear or to go on other tangents of her topics, I realized that this was her story not mine! There is probably endless material on this to have a series of books. It was a fun ride!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- jennfc
- 09-01-18
Honest and thoughtful
Wow. Mara has brought up all the strange body subjects I have always thought made me weird and uncomfortable in such an informative matter that made me realize that they are where my power lies, and truthfully, are a completely normal part of being a woman. Thank you so much!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sharlotte
- 08-28-18
Fantastic!
I'm so glad I stumbled on this well-researched, engaging book. I highly recommend it for interesting information and a fun listen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful